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Hannah Hidalgo racked up 29 points on Thursday to help No. 8 Notre Dame hand Paige Bueckers and No. 2 UConn their first loss of the season.
The Fighting Irish staved off a third-quarter comeback push by the Huskies in order to claim a 79-68 victory.
ACC Network @accnetwork
NO. 8 NOTRE DAME TAKES DOWN NO. 2 UCONN ☘️ <br><br>This is <a href=”https://twitter.com/ndwbb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@ndwbb</a>’s 16th win vs. Geno Auriemma, the most by any school. <a href=”https://t.co/7AHyX0LZ0S”>pic.twitter.com/7AHyX0LZ0S</a>
Hidalgo added 10 rebounds to her double-double while also recording eight assists and three steals.
Chiney Ogwumike @chiney
Hannah Hidalgo is the most competitive player in women’s college hoops, and that’s on BOTH ends!
Talia Goodman @TaliaGoodmanWBB
Hannah Hidalgo is my NPOY favorite as of now. <br><br>Just saying.
UConn’s undefeated streak will end at eight games. Bueckers led the Huskies with 25 points while adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Notre Dame led by 11 points at the half, but UConn climbed back from the deficit to within one point of tying by the final moments of the third quarter.
Hidalgo responded with a buzzer-beating three-point jumper to keep the Fighting Irish in front.
Notre Dame Women’s Basketball @ndwbb
HANNAH!! HIDALGO!! BUZZER!! BEATER!!<br><br>📺 ESPN<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoIrish?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#GoIrish</a> // <a href=”https://twitter.com/HannahHidalgo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@HannahHidalgo</a> <a href=”https://t.co/gyqEzUs7ig”>pic.twitter.com/gyqEzUs7ig</a>
Missing star guard Azzi Fudd, who is currently sidelined with a knee sprain, the Huskies were unable close the gap in the fourth quarter.
Allie @Al_lieeee
UCONN needs Azzi Fudd‼️
#firegeno @firegeno
UConn had a bad night, Notre Dame had a good night. But I truthfully think this game would have turned out differently if Azzi Fudd was in the game. She is the spark we were missing. Hope we can put this game behind us!
The loss marks the UConn’s third straight defeat in matchups with Notre Dame, the Huskies’ worst streak in the rivalry matchup since 2013.
UConn now holds an 38-16 all-time record against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish is the first team to defeat the Huskies 16 times under head coach Geno Auriemma, according to the ACC Network.
Fans are now putting pressure on Auriemma after UConn was out-rebounded 38-30 in the loss. UConn also went 3-of-16 from behind the arc, while Notre Dame converted 10 of 18 three-point opportunities.
Bi⚡️ERK @BizerkJerk
This is also want happens when you play Paige Bueckers so much off ball Geno Auriemma. Hidalgo has had the ball in her hands all night.
kendall Green @ontargethoops
Geno Auriemma with the Steve Kerr school of nonsense. Having your best shot creator and scorer playing off ball for huge portions of the game, allowing them to get out of rhythm.
GirlSTIR @GirlStir
Geno Auriemma doesn’t know how to coach against teams with the same level of talent as he has. Oh how the times have changed.
SportyFella @FellaSporty
This loss is on Geno Auriemma. He didn’t prepare his team at all for the ball pressure, ball denial, and it also had to be a coaching decision for them help off the corners as much as they were. 3 point differential was 3 UConn 3s to 10 Notre Dame 3s
Thursday’s result could come up again during March Madness seeding.
Although the Fighting Irish struggled early in conference play with an 0-2 record against Big 12 opponents in the Cayman Islanders, the win also marks Notre Dame’s third over a top-five opponent. The team also claimed victories over USC on Nov. 23 and Texas last week.
Geoffrey Clark @gfclark89
Assuming this score holds, USC, Texas and UConn will be a combined 0-3 against Notre Dame but 26-0 against everyone else. Three Irish wins over top-five opponents.
Kim Adams @_kimadams
Notre Dame’s two losses in the Cayman Islands are irrelevant now.<br><br>They’ve answered with two Top 5 wins. Texas now UConn. 📈📈📈
UConn meanwhile will look to learn from their first loss of the season as the Huskies prepare for conference play to begin in earnest in the new year.
Megan @msxo20
Well that was a disappointing game for UCONN… good growing game though.. learn from it.
south central boots @curiosity51db
hopefully this game is a wake up call for what uconn needs to do to tighten up, bc they are not gonna win that natty looking like that😭
Mr. UConn @1999Huskies
I believe in this team, I really do. But we need to look at what we did wrong this game, where ND was better than us, and how ND capitalized on our mistakes. Take that and improve from it, we absolutely have the talent to get the job done.
The Huskies return to action on Sunday against visiting Georgetown, while the Fighting Irish are back at home to take on Eastern Michigan the same day.
