STORRS — A win or loss against Notre Dame in January won’t make or break the season for the UConn women’s basketball team, but pride is on the line for the Huskies when the Fighting Irish come to Gampel Pavilion on Monday night.
It’s been 1,505 days since the last time UConn earned a win in the rivalry in Dec. 2021, and the last four meetings with the Notre Dame all carry heavy baggage for the program. The Irish delivered the Huskies their only double-digit loss of the 2024-25 season with a 79-68 upset in South Bend, Indiana, putting them on a three-game losing streak in the series for the first time since 2013.
“It wasn’t a pretty game overall for us,” sophomore star Sarah Strong said Sunday with a grimace. “It was really ugly, so we’ll hopefully not make it ugly tomorrow.”
The Irish also pulled off an upset the last time they played in Storrs in Jan. 2024, dominating UConn 82-67 on the day it inducted the 2003-04 and 2013-14 NCAA Championship teams in the Huskies of Honor. It was the Huskies’ first home loss to the Irish in more than a decade with generations of legendary alumni in attendance, including Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart.
Even UConn’s 2021 victory is colored by the knee injury suffered by then-sophomore Paige Bueckers in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Star guard Azzi Fudd sustained her own knee injury during the Huskies’ 74-60 defeat in South Bend, Indiana the following season — then the team’s first loss in the series since the Irish’s victory in the 2019 Final Four.
Tennessee has long been considered UConn’s marquee rivalry, but coach Geno Auriemma said the Notre Dame matchup has become the one players circle at the beginning of every season in recent years. The programs have eliminated each other seven times from the NCAA Tournament since 2011, and the Huskies lead the series just 14-12 during that stretch.
Notre Dame forward Liatu King (20) grabs a rebound as UConn forward Sarah Strong (21) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina)
“Stewie’s group was here 10 years ago, and it was a huge rivalry back then,” Auriemma said Sunday. “It’s been going on for quite some time, and what’s made it interesting is that generally speaking when we’ve played them, it’s been two top-5 teams or something like that, so it kind of is reminiscent of the old Tennessee rivalry. This one is, in this group, I think it’s probably the rival that they look forward to the most, for sure.”
If there was ever a year for the Huskies to snap the streak of humiliating losses, this is it. The unanimous No. 1 team in the country enters Monday’s matchup undefeated on a 13-game streak of victories by at least 25 points.
No. 23 Notre Dame meanwhile has struggled frequently throughout the early part of the season as it adjusts to a new-look roster following major losses both to graduation and the transfer portal. The Irish have just six players averaging more than 20 minutes per game after veteran guard KK Bransford was ruled out indefinitely with a knee injury in December. Two of their five losses are against unranked opponents, and they don’t have a single win over a current top-25 team.
For all their flaws, the Irish still have an X-factor in junior Hannah Hidalgo, who always seems to unlock another level when she plays UConn. The star guard put up 34 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as a freshman at Gampel Pavilion, and she powered Notre Dame again last season with 29 points on six made 3-pointers plus 10 boards, eight assists and three steals. Her career field goal percentage is 46.1%, but she has averaged 53.7% across her two games against the Huskies.
“They’re kind of in the situation that we’ve been in the last couple of years: Their their rotation is limited, they’ve lost a lot of scorers from the last couple of years, so it’s taken them a little while to kind of figure everything out,” Auriemma said. “I think offensively, they make you have to figure out a lot of different ways to guard Hannah, and how you decide to guard her either gives their other guys a ton of opportunities, or you limit everybody else’s opportunities so they put you in a tough spot … It’ll be kind of a jigsaw puzzle tomorrow, trying to put it all together.”
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma shouts towards the court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against UConn Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Michael Caterina)
But UConn also has an ace up its sleeve in Fudd, who has played a total of just 13 minutes against Notre Dame in the last four seasons. The Huskies’ sharpshooter was sidelined by a foot injury in 2021 when the Irish came to Storrs, then missed the 2023 game with an ACL tear and last year’s meeting with a knee sprain. Fudd has been spectacular in all of UConn’s ranked games this season, averaging 24.3 points against top-25 opponents.
The Huskies continue to preach their ‘one game at a time’ mentality entering the matchup, but Auriemma doesn’t necessarily dissuade players from leaning into some of the intensity of the rivalry. Strong said the coaching staff has spent the week reminding the team of about the history between the two programs, trying to instill a fire that will translate on Monday night.
“It means a lot, especially with how much the coaches talk about it and how big it is for UConn,” Strong said. “It’s just like, we don’t like Notre Dame. It’s a rivalry, so we’ve got to bring out best … so we’re really excited to play tomorrow.”
How to watch UConn women’s basketball vs. Notre Dame
Site: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs
Time/date: 5 p.m., Monday
Team records: UConn 18-0, Notre Dame 12-5
Series record: UConn leads 39-16
Last meeting: 79-68 Notre Dame, March 9, 2025 in South Bend, Ind.
TV: FOX
Streaming: FOX Sports app
Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports 97.9