Dec. 12—SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Niele Ivey isn’t getting tired of being the roadblock for unbeaten top-five opponents this season.
Her eighth-ranked Fighting Irish (8-2) aren’t either, especially when its No. 2 UConn (8-1) on the other side of the court.
“It’s for real, honestly, it’s very special,” Irish forward Liatu King said after making her first appearance in the Notre Dame-UConn rivalry. “I guess I wasn’t really aware of how big the rivalry was, until I’m seeing videos of it, coach Ivey talk about it and I’m like ‘yo, this is for real.'”
Beating the Huskies for the third-consecutive time in the series, Notre Dame’s 79-68 win over UConn Thursday at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend was the third win for the Irish over a previously unbeaten, top-five opponent. Ivey’s squad beat Southern Cal and Texas earlier this season to enter the night 2-0 against such highly-respected teams.
The win over the Huskies continues the argument for Notre Dame to be considered one of the best’s in the country, if not the best.
“I think its shown them what type of team we can be,” Ivey said. “I always talk about them being elite all the time and they understand what they looks like, feels like … We’ve learned a lot over these several weeks, but I’m hoping that they just took the lesson was when we play, we play with heart, we play with discipline, we play with focus. We can be just as elite as everybody else in the country.”
Sophomore phenom guard Hannah Hidalgo scored 34 points against the Huskies last season. At halftime Thursday night, she had scored 17 points, grabbing eight rebounds and five assists.
Hidalgo, who is third in the nation and averages 37.6 minutes per game, ended the night with a team-high 29 points, adding in 10 rebounds and eight assists in 38 minutes. Liatu King joined her in the double-double party, scoring 16 points and 12 rebounds.
“I knew she was going to be a special player,” Ivey said. “She plays with a chip on her shoulder. I was shocked last year when she [became adjusted to the college level] so fast. She’s one of the best in the country, but I knew that recruiting her, and then she stepped on the stage and it was like yeah, she solidified that right when she stepped on this campus.”
Controlled for most of the first half, it was the visiting Huskies who stormed out of the locker room the strongest. Down 39-28, Geno Auriemma’s squad disrupted Notre Dame’s momentum with an annoying defense that did its part by deflecting passes and forcing off-balance shots.
The Fighting Irish lead was cut down to one for the first time since the first quarter but with the third quarter clock expiring, it was Hidalgo who stepped up.
Or, stepped back.
The sophomore held the ball for the final 16 seconds and with the clock melting, Hidalgo stepped back on the right wing, and scored her sixth 3-pointer of the night to give the Irish an added boost as they took a 56-52 lead into the final 10 minutes.
“I think it was pretty big, especially going at the end of the quarter because they had their run and they were going on that run so it was good to ice that run going into the fourth quarter,” Hidalgo said.
Feeding off that play, Notre Dame scored the first six points of the quarter and grew their lead to 62-52. The final bucket before UConn took its third timeout was off a Hidalgo dish to a driving King.
UConn standout guard Paige Bueckers scored 25 points for the Huskies and cut the deficit to six in the final quarter, but Ivey’s squad closed out the win at the free throw line, beating UConn by 11.
“Liatu, I knew she was going to be the X-factor today,” Ivey said. “She was amazing. Had a double-double; her steals, her poise, her ability, her physicality, her athleticism … I thought it was fantastic to see her on this stage.”
While the two teams played even the second half, it was a 17-10 assist advantage and a 10-of-18 showing from behind the perimeter that set the Irish apart. While Hidalgo accounted for six of the Irish’s 10 3-pointers, it was the team’s 55% shooting from the arc that outweighed UConn’s poor 3-of-16 showing from distance.
Sonia Citron’s defense on Bueckers made the guard work harder for her buckets, but Bueckers 25 points didn’t include any outside shots, going 0-of-4. One of those could have cut Notre Dame’s lead to just one with four minutes to play in the third quarter.
“Sonia, the unsung hero, did a fantastic job,” Ivey said. “Paige is an amazing player, she ended up having a great night with 25 points, but I just thought the physicality that Sonia stepped up with [was important].”
Outside of losing two games in the Cayman Islands Classic midseason tournament, Notre Dame remains unbeaten in the United States. Ivey’s squad, now off of wins over top-five teams in Southern Cal, Texas and UConn, has the argument to prove that their offshore outing was most likely a fluke.
Notre Dame in the win also saw its first look at Marquette transfer Liza Karlen since going down with an injury during the Irish’s exhibition in November. Karlen played 10 minutes, scoring four early points to give the Irish a 9-4 lead early in the game.
Following a 10-9 UConn lead, Hidalgo jumped out to a personal 6-0 run, scoring the 3-pointer, then grabbing a steal and knocking down a second-straight triple to give the Irish a 15-10 lead, something they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.
The Fighting Irish were led in the scoring column by Hidalgo (29 points), King (16), Olivia Miles (16), Sonia Citron (7), Kate Koval (4), Liza Karlen (4), Cassandra Prosper (3).
Scoring for the Huskies was Bueckers (25 points), Sarah Strong (14), Kaitlyn Chen (11), KK Arnold (10), Ice Brady (4), Jana El Aldy (4).
Thursday’s game was the beginning of a four-game homestand for the Fighting Irish (8-2). Eastern Michigan, Loyola Maryland and Virginia will all pay South Bend a visit to close out the year. EMU is next up, taking on Notre Dame on Sunday with a 2 p.m. tip time.
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ND WOMENS BASKETBALL
(2) Connecticut — 12; 16; 24; 16 — 68
(8) Notre Dame — 18; 21; 17; 23 — 79
Connecticut — Points (Paige Bueckers, 25), Rebounds (Sarah Strong, 7), Assists (4 tied, 2), Steals (3 tied, 2), Blocks (Sarah Strong, 1)
Notre Dame — Points (Hannah Hidalgo, 29), Rebounds (Liatu King, 12), Assists (Hidalgo, 8), Steals (King, Hidalgo, 3), Blocks (Kate Koval, 2)
Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.
