No. 7 Notre Dame Women's Basketball Renews Rivalry With No. 3 UConn
After dropping its first game of the season on Thursday to No. 20 Maryland, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team has another home game against another ranked team on Sunday. This time it’s No. 3 UConn as the Fighting Irish and Huskies renew their rivalry.
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. - Purcell Pavilion
When: Sunday, Dec. 4 – 3:15 PM EST
Network: ABC - Beth Mowins (Play by Play); Rebecca Lobo (Analyst)
Radio: ND Radio Network, 99.9 FM WQLQ in South Bend – Sean Stires (PBP)
Let's take a look at today’s matchup:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (6-1, 0-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Niele Ivey (40-20 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)
After starting 6-0 for the first time in four years, Notre Dame lost its first game of the season when it fell 74-72 to No. 20 Maryland Thursday night. The thriller was Notre Dame’s first game against a ranked opponent this season. It featured 10 ties and 15 lead changes. Maryland’s Diamond Miller hit the game-winning shot at the buzzer to finish with 31 points.
Sonia Citron matched her season high with 24 points. The hit four of five 3-pointers and pulled down a team best 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Her basket on an inbound pass from Olivia Miles tied the score at 72-72 with :15 second to play.
Miles scored 14 points, 12 in the second half, while playing in foul trouble for a good part of the game.
Projected Irish Starting Lineup
G Olivia Miles- 5-10, Soph. - 15.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.7 APG
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 16.6 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.1 APG
G Dara Mabrey - 5-7, 5th – 12.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.0 APG
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 7.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 11 Blk
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 9.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.1 APG
UConn Huskies (6-0, 1-0 Big East)
Head Coach: Geno Auriemma (1,155-150 in 38th Season at UConn/Overall)
Geno Auriemma will be the third Hall of Fame head coach to work the sideline inside Purcell Pavilion since Wednesday, joining Michigan State men’s coach Tom Izzo and Syracuse men’s coach Jim Boeheim. Sunday's game will be UConn’s first at Purcell Pavilion since 2018. The teams played last year in Storrs, with the Huskies winning 73-54.
UConn opened Big East play on Friday night with its typical blitzing of Providence with a 98-53 win. The Huskies shot 12 of 14 in the first quarter while barely breaking a sweat to cruise to their sixth win to open the season. Lou Lopez Senechal and Aubrey Griffin each scored 18, while Nika Muhl dished out 12 assists for her fourth straight game with double digit assists.
Projected Starting Lineup
G Aaliyah Edwards - Stats – 16.0 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.8 APG
G Nika Muhl - Stats – 4.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 11.0 APG
G Lou Lopez Senechal- Stats – 16.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.0 APG
G Azzi Fudd – Stats – 24.0 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 2.8 APG
G Aubrey Griffin - Stats – 13.2, 6.2 RPG, 2.3 SPG
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
UConn is UConn, with its roster full of McDonald’s All-Americans who each play their part in Auriemma’s assembly line of wins. The Huskies haven’t won a national championship since 2016 (their last of four straight titles), but it’s been 15 years since they failed to reach the Final Four at the end of a season. Part of the challenge of playing the Huskies is the mystique and the intimidation factor that comes with it.
Last year’s Irish roster that played the Huskies in Storrs was filled with players who had never played against them before. Current Irish starters Miles, Citron, Maddy Westbeld, and Dara Mabrey all got that out of their system last year. They hung with UConn for the better part of three quarters, trailing just 51-44 going into the final frame before the Huskies opened the final 10 minutes with a 13-0 run to finish with a 73-54 victory.
Notre Dame is licking its wounds a little after Thursday’s narrow loss to Maryland, but Niele Ivey’s Fighting Irish roster is more diverse this year than last year with the additions of Kylee Watson, Lauren Ebo and freshman KK Bransford. How Ivey deploys them against Auriemma’s man to man defense and how Miles walks the line between scorer and distributor will likely go a long way toward determining the ultimate outcome in one of women’s basketball’s best rivalries.
Notre Dame has 13 wins all-time against UConn. The 13 wins by the Irish are the most by any team against Auriemma’s Huskies.
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