UConn 85, Notre Dame 47: Irish get hammered in Storrs
When I saw that the spread for this women’s basketball game between Notre Dame and UConn was 29.5 points, I couldn’t help but think how far this program had fallen. That line, perhaps even more than the 38 points broken, was the cold shower to wake us all up from the dream of an elite Notre Dame women’s basketball program.
Ugh.
Irish suffer road loss at No. 1 UConn
STORRS, CT – The Fighting Irish dropped an 85-47 road loss at Gampel Pavilion Monday night against the No. 1 UConn Huskies in Notre Dame’s final non-conference game of the regular season. The loss drops Notre Dame’s record to 12-6 this season.
Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish with 16 points while adding four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Cassandre Prosper also finished in double figures with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
HOW THIS HAPPENED
The top-ranked team flexed its muscles early on, taking an 11-1 advantage 6 minutes into the match. The Irish offense then scored six of the next eight points to cut the score to 13-7 before the Huskies closed out the quarter with the final three points to take a 16-7 lead into the second period.
Notre Dame and UConn played an even second quarter, with both teams scoring 16 points to make it a 32-23 game at the halftime intermission. The Huskies led by 14 before ending the quarter on a 7-2 run to make it a nine-point game.
Hidalgo scored 10 of the team’s 16 points in the period on 3-of-6 shooting.
The Huskies came out of the halftime break and took control of the game, outscoring the Irish 27-6 over the first 8 minutes of the quarter to take a 59-29 lead. The Irish were able to score the final six points of the stanza to cut the lead to 59-35 as the game headed into the final 10 minutes of action.
UConn finished the game by outscoring Notre Dame 26-16 in the final quarter to come away with an 85-47 victory.
FOLLOWING
The Fighting Irish return to Purcell Pavilion to host Miami for a midweek ACC matchup at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 22. The match will be broadcast on ACCN.
