UConn Embarrasses Notre Dame in Record-Breaking Win
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The No. 1 UConn Huskies showed exactly why they're the best team in the country, as they dominated rival Notre Dame for an 85-47 victory at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.
UConn stays undefeated on the season and gets their 19th win of the campaign, marking their best start since they were 37-0 ahead of the 2018 National Championship Game. Notre Dame falls to 12-6 on the season.
This 38-point blowout is also the biggest ever win for the Huskies over the Fighting Irish in the history of the rivalry, eclipsing the 27-point, 80-53 victory on Jan. 21, 2002 at home.
UConn also ends a three-game losing streak in the rivalry, getting their first victory since a 73-54 win on Dec. 4, 2022.
UConn Takes Lead in First Quarter
UConn had an incredible start to the game, with an 8-0 run over the first three minutes as they made their first four shots.
Senior forward Sarah Williams made a jumper and a layup to lead the Huskies with four points, while graduate student guard Azzi Fudd and sophomore forward Sarah Strong added layups themselves.
The Huskies built their lead to double-digits, 11-1, as the Fighting Irish missed their first seven shots of the game and Fudd converted an and-one opportunity off of a layup.
UConn struggled the final seven minutes of the first quarter, making just two of their final 10 shots, which allowed Notre Dame to keep it within single-digits at the end of the period.
Strong joined Fudd in converting an and-one opportunity with 28 seconds left, keeping the Huskies up 16-7.
Notre Dame Keeps it Close at Halftime
UConn extended their lead early on in the second quarter with a 9-4 run that made it a 25-11 game with 7:37 remaining.
Strong added a 3-pointer, Fudd scored a jumper, junior guard KK Arnold added two free throws and freshman forward Bianca Quiñonez made a basket in the paint on the run for the Huskies.
The Fighting Irish didn't go away in the second quarter, as junior guard Hannah Hidalgo showed why she's one of the best players in the nation.
Hidalgo scored 10 of Notre Dame's 16 points in the second quarter, shooting 4-for-6 from the field and adding a 3-pointer as well.
UConn shot 3-for-8 after their early run for just seven more points over the final seven minutes, as Notre Dame kept the deficit at just nine points at the end of the first half, 32-23.
UConn Breaks Open Game in Second Half
The Huskies opened up the second half with a 14-2 run and outscored the Fighting Irish 27-12 to take a 59-35 lead at the end of the third quarter.
UConn had seven different scorers in the period and shot 12-for-17 from the field, 70.6%, with three 3-pointers. They also held Hidalgo to no points and Notre Dame to just 5-for-13 shooting, 38.5%.
The Huskies used a 15-0 run over four minutes in the fourth quarter to get their lead up to as big as 39 points in the win.
UConn shot 10-for-16 from the field and had nine different scorers in the fourth quarter, while holding Notre Dame to just 12 points.
Players of the Game for UConn
Strong excelled again for the Huskies, scoring 18 points and making eight of her 12 field goals, shooting 75% from the field.
She also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double, her sixth of the campaign, plus led UConn with three blocks and three steals.
Fudd had another solid outing, scoring 15 points and shooting 7-for-13 from the field. The Huskies had three other double-digit scorers, with Arnold adding 12 points, Williams scoring 11 points and grabbing eight rebounds and junior guard Ashlynn Shade put up 10 points in the victory.
The defense that UConn put on led them to victory, as they forced 15 Notre Dame turnovers and scored 20 points off of them.
