Irish take down #2 UConn, 79-68

Irish keep beating top 5 opponents

Notre Dame now has eight wins on the season after beating the UConn Huskies in South Bend. Three of those wins have come at the expense of a top five team.

Not bad.

From the ND press release:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — That’s three straight for the Irish.

On Thursday, No. 8 Notre Dame (8-2) hosted No. 2 UConn (8-1) and defeated the Huskies for the third straight season, 79-68. Hannah Hidalgo led the charge with 29 points including a 6-11 showing from the 3-point line. She also had a near triple-double with 10 boards and 8 assists. Liatu King notched her fifth double-double of the year with 16 points and 12 boards, and Miles added 16 points with an efficient 6-9 showing on the night.

Notre Dame led nearly wire-to-wire. A Miles trey started the scoring before she briefly left the game with an ankle injury. She returned a few minutes later. Liza Karlen stepped in with a quick 4 points, her first in an Irish uniform after missing the first nine games of the year with a foot injury suffered in the exhibition.

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Connecticut took a 10-9 lead with 2:00 left in the first frame before three consecutive Notre Dame 3-pointers, two by Hidalgo and one by Cassandre Prosper. The air attack continued for Hidalgo in Q2, as the sophomore All-American hit another pair of shots from beyond the arc and went into the locker room 4-6 from deep and 5-11 from the floor in the first half. She also hit three free throws.

Notre Dame had a 39-28 lead at the break. The Irish still have not trailed at the half this season. Hidalgo led all scorers with 17 points and King had 10 after going 5-10 from the floor.

UConn went on its run in the third quarter and cut the game to 43-39 before Sonia Citron knocked down a 3-pointer, and Hidalgo hit another buzzer beater, this time a trey. The Huskies shot 61.1 percent in Q3.

The Irish responded with a vengeance to close it out. Notre Dame hit seven of its last seven field goal attempts to ice the game and earn its third victory over a top-five team in as many games. The Irish are the only team in the country with more than one victory over a team ranked No. 5 or higher. They’ve also defeated No. 3 USC and No. 4 Texas.

Up next, Notre Dame hosts Eastern Michigan (1-5) on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion. The game tips off at ACCNX at 2 p.m.