UConn's Geno Auriemma Compares Notre Dame Star to Lawrence Taylor
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The UConn Huskies, in their Sweet 16 game, faced North Carolina and took them down 63-42. UConn led 11-8 after the first quarter before creating separation with a 17-8 second quarter and a 12-0 run to open the second half. The Huskies forced 24 turnovers and held North Carolina to 28% shooting.
UConn is now sitting on a 37-0 record with a 53-game winning streak. With that win, the Huskies move to the Elite Eight for the 30th time in program history. Next up, the Huskies face long-time rival Notre Dame in Dickies Arena.
Before the match, Geno Auriemma spoke to the press and was asked what the biggest concern going into the Elite Eight is.
“Have you seen Hannah Hidalgo play?” the Auriemma responded. “Man, I don't think I’ve seen a performance like what she had yesterday in a long, long time. She’s like the Lawrence Taylor of basketball. People are probably too young to remember Lawrence Taylor, but he played linebacker for the Giants. And if he was in the next room and you threw the ball to one of you guys, he would intercept it.”
That is no small comparison. Lawrence Taylor is one of the greatest defensive players in football history and was a linebacker for the New York Giants. He played 13 seasons and won Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 1981. He is the only player to do both in the same season.
Lawrence has also made double-digit sacks every year from 1984 to 1990, including 20.5 in 1986. So, comparing him to Hidalgo is no small statement.
However, let's not forget that in the Sweet 16 game against Vanderbilt, Hidalgo scored 31 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and recorded 10 steals. With those numbers, Hidalgo became the second women's player ever to make a triple-double in NCAA tournament history.
As Auriemma rightly added, “She’s just a unique player that comes along once in a lifetime, and she has the ability to disrupt and cause chaos like nobody I’ve ever seen. I think her team obviously feeds off that. They’ve had time to play together now. We played them earlier in January, and they weren’t at full strength, but they’ve had time to be together.”
This season, Hidalgo is averaging 26.7 points, 11 rebounds and nearly nine steals this postseason. Earlier this season, when the Huskies faced Hidalgo, UConn tried its best to limit her.
The Huskies held her to 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting. UConn won that game 85-47. Even in that game, there were moments in the second-quarter stretch where Hidalgo scored 10 of her team’s final 12 points before halftime.
“I think everybody on their team knows what their role is. They know what they do and do it well, and everybody kind of plays together really well. I mean, there’s a reason why they’re playing tomorrow,” said Auriemma.
UConn Faces Notre Dame With Final Four on Line
UConn enters the Elite Eight with a 145-24 all-time NCAA Tournament record. The Huskies are also 24-5 all-time in Elite Eight games. And this will be the ninth NCAA Tournament meeting between UConn and Notre Dame. The Huskies hold a 40-16 all-time edge in the series, but they’re just 3-5 against the Irish in March Madness.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame enters the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019. Notre Dame is 9-1 all-time in the Elite Eight and enters the matchup with a 25-10 overall record, including a 12-6 mark in conference play. The Irish are on a three-game winning streak, with a 14-2 record at home, 7-6 on the road, and 4-2 on neutral courts.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.