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Norristown’s Geno Auriemma earns NCAA record 1,217 victory in No. 2 UConn’s win over Fairleigh Dickinson

Auriemma broke a tie with retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for the most victories all-time and has coached the Huskies since 1985.

UConn head coach and Norristown native Geno Auriemma is the NCAA all-time wins leader after the Huskies' win Wednesday night.
UConn head coach and Norristown native Geno Auriemma is the NCAA all-time wins leader after the Huskies' win Wednesday night.Read moreJessica Hill / AP
    by Doug Feinberg, Associated Press
    Published 

STORRS, Conn. — Geno Auriemma became the winningest coach in NCAA college basketball history, earning his 1,217th victory as No. 2 UConn beat Fairleigh Dickinson 85-41 on Wednesday night.

Auriemma broke a tie with retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer for the most victories all-time. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski holds the men's record with 1,202. Auriemma began his journey with UConn in 1985 and is 1,217-162 in his career. He has only had one losing season — his first one with the Huskies.

The Huskies (4-0) celebrated Auriemma and associated head coach Chris Dailey's 40 years at the school with more than 60 alums, including former UConn greats Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Rebecca Lobo in attendance.

» READ MORE: Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma and Cheryl Reeve keep Philly at the forefront of women’s hoops

UConn’s latest star led the way as Paige Bueckers had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Freshman Sarah Strong had 20 points.

FDU (4-2) hung around for the first few minutes and only trailed 14-12 before UConn scored nine of the final 11 points of the quarter. The Knights didn't get within single digits the rest of the way.

Takeaways

FDU: The Knights won their first four games this season — the first time that happened in 33 years.

UConn: The Huskies are finally starting to get healthy which will give Auriemma a deeper bench as the season progresses.

» READ MORE: USBWA to name women’s coach of the year award for UConn’s Geno Auriemma

Key moment

Azzi Fudd made her return to the UConn lineup after missing the last year with a right knee injury. She checked in with 3:39 left in the first quarter. She received a loud ovation from the crowd when she came into the game.

Key stat

FDU coach Stephanie Gaitley is 24th on the NCAA wins list and is two victories short of 700.

Up next

FDU hosts Saint Peter’s on Saturday while UConn heads to the Bahamas to play in a tournament. The Huskies’ first game is against Oregon State on Monday.