Gampel Pavilion—-The UConn Huskies started the game with a lot of energy and came out full throttle but the Irish took their best punch and then some.
Irish Hannah Hidalgo poured in 34 points to help No. 15 Notre Dame UConn 82-67, Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at Gampel Pavilion.
Hidalgo was on fire early hitting 14 of her 24 shots and had 10 boards for Notre Dame who shot 55% from the court against the Huskies.
It was first time since 2013, the No. 8-ranked Huskies lost at Gampel the No. 15 Fighting Irish. The loss to the longtime rival put a damper in UConn’s night in which it honored the anniversaries of its 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2014 national championship teams.
Notre Dame (15-4, 5-3 ACC) snapped the Huskies’ 13-game win, giving them their first home loss of the season.
“Right now, there’s a lot offensively that we’re not real comfortable with when Nika’s not in the game,” coach Geno Auriemma said.
The Irish was down by as many as 12 points in the first half, before the Fighting Irish went on a 26-5 to close the second quarter up 44-35. Hidalgo led the way with 19 first-half points, and drained 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer.
After defeating UConn in South Bend last December, Saturday marked the first time in 11 years that Notre Dame won back-to-back games against them. The Huskies failed to step up and close the games out both times.
Maddy Westbeld added 23 points and Sonia Citron chipped in 15 as Notre Dame kept pushing the tempo in the second half.
“We knew they were going to go on their runs and we just had to get on ours and stay poised and get through that,” Westbeld said.
At the break, Paige Bueckers was just 1 of 5 from the hardwood with four points in 17 minutes. She finished the game with 17 points and a season-low 29.4 field goal percentage.
The contest was knotted at 60 with just over nine minutes left after a free throw by UConn’s Ice Brady. But UConn guard Nika Muhl fouled out with 9 1/2 minutes left and the Irish outscored the Huskies 22-7 over the last ten minutes of the game.
Aaliyah Edwards scored 23 points and 11 boards for UConn, which came into this game on a 13-game winning streak. The Huskies just wasn’t on the same page on their night.
UP NEXT:
Notre Dame: The Irish continue their road trip with a visit to Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Thursday.
UConn: Travels to Philadelphia for a game Wednesday against Villanova.
