The Notre Dame Fighting Irish used a dominant first half to beat UConn 74-60. Notre Dame led at halftime 41-24 and shot 65% from the field. UConn shot 28% at the half and lost the rebounding battle 21-11. They also got outscored in the paint 22-4.
Oliva Miles led Notre Dame in scoring with 21 points on 10-18 shooting from the field. She also grabbed eight rebounds and four assists. Maddy Westbeld added 17 points and nine rebounds.
For the game, the fighting Irish shot 56.1% from the field and 46.2% from beyond the arc. They did an outstanding job getting the ball inside, scoring 46 points in the paint. Scoring in the paint and dominating on the boards is an excellent recipe for winning.
Lou Lopez-Senechal led the Huskies with 21 points, Aaliyah Edwards had 14 points, and Nika Muhl added 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists. UConn played the entire second half with Azzi Fudd. She Coolieded with a teammate at the end of the first quarter; Fudd came back in the second but did not pat at all in the second half. It may not be a severe injury.
The Huskies struggled shooting from the field at 36.8% but did shoot 44.4% from three-point land. Besides Fudd not playing in the second half, what hurt UConn the most were points in the paint and rebounding.
The Irish ended a seven-game head-to-head losing streak against UConn in regular-season play, prevailing for the first time since a triple-overtime decision in March 2013. The Huskies had also won 11 of the previous 13 meetings, although Notre Dame’s two wins during that stretch came in the Final Four in 2018 and 2019.
The loss drops UConn to 6-1 and Notre Dame to 7-1. The Huskies host Princeton on Thursday, and The Irish take on Merrimack.
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