Sophomore guard KK Arnold’s layup pulled the No. 2 UConn women’s basketball team within one point with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
Fellow sophomore Hannah Hidalgo denied the Huskies the opportunity to go ahead or, at the very least, tie the game.
Hidalgo kept the ball in her hands for most of the final 20 seconds of the quarter. She subsequently buried the triple right as the buzzer sounded after backing away from the paint.
That put the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish up four points, 56-52, after three quarters inside Purcell Pavilion. Connecticut never got that close again. Hidalgo flirted with a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Fighting Irish upset the Huskies 79-68.
“There is a talent level she has that is pretty unique,” Auriemma said about the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year postgame. “You put all her talent together, it is a really difficult matchup for anybody.”
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Hidalgo’s impact on the game spanned well beyond that third-quarter buzzer-beater, however. Four-time Big East Freshman of the Week Sarah Strong put UConn up one with two minutes left in the first period. The ACC Tournament MVP ended the Huskies’ 6-0 run immediately, burying triples on back-to-back possessions and forcing a timeout.
Notre Dame led by as much as 13, but Connecticut stayed in the game because of redshirt senior Paige Bueckers. After shooting 2-11 in Brooklyn, New York, Bueckers bounced back on offense in South Bend, Indiana. While she did not make a three-pointer, the two-time Big East Player of the Year dropped a team-high 25 points on 55% shooting.
Bueckers was not the only Husky who struggled from behind the arc. UConn shot a season-worst 3-16 from downtown, and only Strong had more than one triple. Both of the North Carolina native’s three-pointers came in the second half, which helped her be on double-double watch against her second-straight ACC opponent.
Despite her three first-half fouls, college basketball’s winningest coach believes that Strong stepped up in a different setting.
“This is the first time in her career that she has faced an environment like this,” Auriemma commented. “She is only going to get better and better."
Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen had the other three-pointer and made up for recording just one assist with 11 points at a 50% clip. The Huskies had moments where they ran both Chen and Arnold on the court in an effort to speed up their offense. While it did not work enough for Connecticut to earn the road win, it helped Arnold pick up a season-high 10 points off the bench.
Marquette transfer Liza Karlen’s season debut significantly helped the Fighting Irish crash the glass more often, especially on the offensive end. Notre Dame’s consistent pressure and hustle on the boards from their seven active players stymied the Huskies. The Fighting Irish had three more offensive rebounds and eight more total boards than UConn did in the Hoosier State.
Karlen brought much-needed depth for Notre Dame, but Pittsburgh transfer Liatu King’s relentless aggression down low remained the same. King tacked on another double-double to her season average with 16 points and 12 boards, half of which came on each end of the floor. Although she only scored four points, first-year student Kate Koval collected two of the Fighting Irish’s three blocks.
5-foot-10 guard Olivia Miles missed nearly three minutes of game action after twisting her ankle midway through the opening frame. Despite having it treated often throughout the night, Miles still delivered with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, four rebounds and three assists.
Once the two-time All-American returned with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter, however, the 55th all-time meeting between both schools heated up. Strong’s four first-half points put the Huskies up 10-9 with two minutes left. Hidalgo followed with back-to-back triples, which forced Auriemma to call his first timeout.
Chen ended Notre Dame’s 9-0 run with a last-second jumper in the paint. That floater created a pattern for most of the second quarter where both programs made a living burying twos.
Arnold and Bueckers’ layups helped keep Connecticut’s deficit within single digits. Neither they nor anyone on the Huskies had an answer once the Wooden Award Watch List selection got rolling, however. From the moment she buried the first three of the period until halftime, Hidalgo scored eight of Notre Dame’s 10 points.
The two-time Big East Player of the Year in Bueckers got the last laugh at intermission. Bueckers alone prevented UConn’s 11-point deficit from being even larger. The Fighting Irish had a +9 edge on the glass and scored 11 second-chance points while the Huskies did not make a triple.
Strong buried Connecticut’s first shot from downtown 86 seconds into the second half as part of a 7-0 run. Both she and Chen kept the Huskies within single digits for most of the third quarter. Notre Dame utilized the paint to stay ahead, but their most powerful punch came from their star sophomore.
The Fighting Irish’s fastest player to 1,000 points buried two triples in the frame’s final 80 seconds, which ignited their fourth-quarter offense. Three UConn turnovers in 135 seconds helped Notre Dame stretch their lead back up to double digits. While the Huskies, specifically Bueckers, showed some fight late, the Fighting Irish did just enough to permanently stay ahead.
Notre Dame made each of their last seven shot attempts and handed Connecticut their third-straight loss in the all-time series.
Auriemma liked how his team handled their first true road test, even with a rough first half and without redshirt junior Azzi Fudd. Despite their performance, the 40th-year head coach wants to see changes before the Huskies leave the Nutmeg State again.
“For us going forward, we need more contributions from more people,” Auriemma stated bluntly.
UConn’s non-conference gauntlet takes a short break with a Big East Championship game rematch against the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday. Tip-off from the XL Center is at 1:30 p.m. EST on SNY.
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