UConn women’s basketball snapped its three-game losing streak against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in style with an 85-47 win on Monday at Gampel Pavilion. The 38-point margin of victory is the largest in the history of the rivalry.
After a tight first half in which the Huskies only led by nine, the hosts ran away with it in the second half, out-scoring Notre Dame 53-24.
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Sarah Strong powered UConn with 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks. She also hit the 1,000-point mark with a 3-pointer in the second quarter, getting there in 59 games — third-fastest in program history behind only Paige Bueckers and Maya Moore (55 games each).
Azzi Fudd finished with 15 points while Serah Williams had 10 points and eight rebounds. The Huskies’ sophomores each had big days as well. KK Arnold was the best point guard on the floor, totaling 12 points, five assists and two steals. Ashlynn Shade put up 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Hannah Hidalgo, who averaged 31.5 points in her two previous games against UConn, had 16 points but shot 5-15 from the field and 1-6 from three while turning the ball over three times. As a team, Notre Dame went 1-15 from three.
While the Huskies only had a +3 turnover margin, they were +16 on points off turnovers. They also won the rebounding battle 39-22 — allowing just two offensive rebounds — and had more assists (22) than the Irish had baskets (19).
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UConn started fast, opening the game on an 8-0 run through the first 2:53. The Huskies’ offense faced little resistance as they made their first four shots while the defense held Notre Dame to an 0-4 start. But from there, the points didn’t quite come as easily for the hosts as they managed just eight points in the final seven minutes of the first quarter.
Despite the offensive struggles, UConn’s defense picked up the slack. The Huskies didn’t allow a basket for the first six minutes and gave up just three in the opening period. Through 10 minutes, they led by nine.
Early in the second quarter, UConn began to pull away with a 7-0 run that extended its lead to 14 at the 7:31 mark, its largest of the day to that point. But much like the first period, the Huskies couldn’t keep the momentum going. Notre Dame scored 11 of the final 16 points of the first half to cut UConn’s lead back down to single-digits. The Huskies only went into the half up 23-32.
UConn came out of the break with its hair on fire. The Huskies ripped off a 10-2 run sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers — as many as they had in the first half. Fudd capped it off with a steal-and-score that extended the lead to 21, which prompted Notre Dame to take a timeout and sent Gampel Pavilion into a frenzy.
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This time, the Irish couldn’t stop the bleeding. UConn scored 17 of the next 21 points to pull ahead by 30. The Huskies put up 27 points in the third quarter — just five short of their entire first half total. They kept their foot on the gas in the final period and came out with the 38-point win.
With the win, UConn improves to 19-0 on the season. Next, the Huskies will return to Big East play with a trip to Georgetown on Thursday.
