Fagnano Reacts to Impressive NFL Preseason Debut, Mercury Retire Taurasi Jersey
Joe Fagnano
Expect Joe Fagnano to take a lot more snaps during the NFL preseason, especially after the way he played on Saturday night. The undrafted rookie threw for 224 yards on 22-of-28 passing with one touchdown and one interception in a 24-7 Baltimore Ravens victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Fagnano, who was one of three quarterbacks to play for Baltimore, led the team on three scoring drives.
On Fagnano’s second posession, he needed only five plays to cover 47 yards in just over two and a half minutes of game time, finding fellow rookie Ja’Kobi Lane for a 16-yard touchdown for his first career NFL touchdown pass and a 7-0 Ravens lead.
The next drive, Fagnano once again drove the offense down the field. The former Husky star completed three passes of 10 or more yards. However, the possession came to a halt after he threw an interception to cornerback Kelee Ringo in the back of the end zone.
The Ravens took a 7-0 lead into halftime, and in the first drive of the third quarter, Fagnano put his team in field goal range, where Tyler Loop converted a 42-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0.
Two drives later, Fagnano methodically moved the Ravens down the field on an 11-play, 69-yard possession that nearly took seven minutes off the clock. The drive ended with an Austin Randall four-yard rushing touchdown run.
Skyler Bell
The Buffalo Bills opened their brand new Highmark Stadium in their preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday afternoon. However, Skyler Bell was not active in the Bills’ 29-14 victory as he is dealing with a lower body issue. Bills Head Coach mentioned that if it were an actual game, then he believes Bell would have been out on the field.
The Bills’ next opponent will be the Cleveland Browns this upcoming Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
Louis Hansen
The former UConn tight end signed a deal with the Houston Texans on Sunday. Hansen recorded 46 catches for 463 yards and four touchdowns in three seasons with the Huskies. It is the rookie’s second stint with Houston as he signed back in June with the club but was waived in July.
The Texans have two more preseason games remaining: Thursday, August 20th against the Raiders and Friday, August 28th at the Carolina Panthers.
Anthony Kay
For the fourth straight game in a row, Anthony Kay pitched into the sixth inning. The southpaw picked up the no-decision after throwing 5 ⅓ innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs while issuing one walk and four strikeouts in the Chicago White Sox 4-3 victory at the Detroit Tigers. It’s the 10th time this season Kay has pitched into the sixth as the White Sox have won in five out of his last six starts.
After allowing a run in the bottom of the first inning, Kay set the Tigers down in order in the second. He ended the frame by striking out Corey Julks on a 96 mph fastball. In the third inning, the Tigers had a runner on second base with only one out. Kay struck out Dillon Dingler and got Kevin McGonigle to ground out to end the threat. The former Husky star ran into a bit of trouble in the fourth inning after allowing a leadoff solo home run to Eduardo Valencia, but he settled down and retired the next three Tiger hitters.
Former New York Yankee Glebyer Torres hit an RBI double to tie the game at three in the bottom of the fifth inning with nobody out. After Hao-Yu Lee grounded out, Dingler lined the ball to shortstop where Colson Montgomery caught the ball and then threw it back to second base to pick off Torres and end the inning.
Kay returned for the sixth and retired McGonigle on a groundout to first before exiting after 86 pitches.
Diana Taurasi
The Phoenix Mercury honored future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi by retiring her number 3 jersey on Sunday night during the Mercury’s 88-85 loss to the Portland Fire. She was also inducted into the Mercury Ring of Honor.
The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer (10,646 points), played all 20 seasons of her WNBA career with the Mercury, winning three WNBA Championship titles in 2007, 2009 and 2014. Taurasi was also selected to the WNBA All-Star Game 11 times and won a record six Olympic Gold medals for Team USA.
Paige Bueckers/Azzi Fudd/Christyn Williams
Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark traded baskets Friday night in Indianapolis, with each superstar scoring 29 points. However, it was Clark’s Indiana Fever that came out on top, defeating the Dallas Wings 98-87.
Bueckers shot 11-of-21 from the field, including 2-of-6 from three and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. She also added six rebounds, six assists and two steals in 37 minutes. Clark partnered 10 assists with those 29 points.
Azzi Fudd missed her fourth straight game due to a knee injury. It was reported on Friday by @ChristanWNBA that Fudd will miss about one more week. This means her return could possibly be on Thursday, August 20th in a rematch against the Fever or on Sunday versus the Seattle Storm. Fudd has already been ruled out for the Wings’ next game on Monday night at the Golden State Valkyries.
In perhaps a corresponding move to Fudd’s injury, the Wings signed former Husky star Christyn Williams as a developmental player. The 2022 2nd round draft pick suffered a preseason knee injury that required season-ending surgery prior to her first season. She has only played in four career WNBA games, all of which were last season with the Wings.
Williams’ contract allows her to appear in up to 12 regular season games before she must either sign a standard contract or she will become a free agent. The Wings have nine regular season games left at the time of publication.
Earlier this year, Williams had been playing for the Greensboro Groove of the Upshot League in its inaugural season. She was averaging just below 10 points and nearly two assists per contest.
Williams will have a chance to reunite with both Bueckers and Fudd. Williams and Bueckers were teammates for two seasons from 2020-2022. All three were teammates for the 2021-2022 season.
Naphessa Collier/Dorka Juhasz
The Minnesota Lynx earned a franchise-record 15th road victory on Saturday by defeating the Las Vegas Aces 92-87 in Sin City. Naphessa Collier scored 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, along with six rebounds, two assists and one block in 25 minutes. Dorka Juhasz did not score in five minutes of action.
Collier’s two three-pointers came at a crucial part of the game. The five-time WNBA All-Star knocked in back-to-back triples, 27 seconds apart, to extend the Lynx’s lead from one to seven with under seven minutes to play.
The Aces cut the Lynx lead down to three with 11.3 seconds to play. Las Vegas fouled Collier intentionally to try and extend the game. However, Collier made both free throws to secure the win for Minnesota.
Overall, the Lynx improved to 29-7 on the season, while the Aces fell to 24-12.
Breanna Stewart at Olivia Nelson-Ododa
Olivia Nelson-Ododa did all she could against the New York Liberty at Mohegan Sun on Saturday night. The former Husky star scored a career-high 21 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line. She also reached a career milestone, scoring her 1,000th career WNBA point on a second-quarter free throw. However, it wasn’t enough as the Liberty used a big second quarter by outsourcing the Sun 27-10 to propel themselves to an 82-75 victory.
Nelson-Ododa also added 10 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the season. ONO’s career-best scoring performance at UConn came during her sophomore year, when she scored 27 points in a 97-53 rout of Oklahoma on December 22nd, 2019, in the Hall of Fame Showcase, also at the Mohegan Sun. She also recorded a then-career-high 15 rebounds and a then-tied career-high seven blocks in the win.
Breanna Stewart struggled from the field as she only managed 11 points, nine points below her season average. Aaliyah Edwards did not play due to a left ankle injury.
The Liberty improved to 22-14 on the year, while the Sun fell to 8-25.
Azura Stevens (Chicago Sky)
- Sunday at Storm: 3 points (1-7 FG, 1-2 FT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks in 28 minutes. The Sky (13-22) defeated the Seattle Storm 82-80. The win snapped a three-game losing streak.
Serah Williams (Portland Fire)
- Friday at Storm: 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks in 12 minutes. The Fire defeated the Seattle Storm 84-82.
- Sunday vs Mercury: 4 points (4-4 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 blocks in 13 minutes. The Fire (14-20) defeated the Phoenix Mercury 88-85.
Stefanie Dolson (Seattle Storm)
- Friday vs Fire: Scoreless in 9 minutes. The Storm lost to the Portland Fire 84-82.
- Sunday vs Sky: 1 assist in 7 minutes. The Storm (7-30) fell to the Chicago Sky 82-80.
Katie Lou Samuelson (Seattle Storm)
- Friday vs Fire: 3 points (1-3 3-FG), 1 rebound in 12 minutes. The Storm lost to the Portland Fire 84-82.
- Sunday vs Sky: 2 points (1-2 FG), 1 assist, 2 blocks in 12 minutes. The Storm (7-30) fell to the Chicago Sky 82-80.
Make sure you follow @HuskyPros/X and turn those notifications on for all the latest updates on your favorite Huskies in the Pros!
Subscribe to Storrs Central to support the UConn NIL effort and get access to the latest intel and premium content!
