Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: UConn stomps Irish in South Bend

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Marina Mabrey #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts as her team trails during the second quarter to the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Marina Mabrey #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish reacts as her team trails during the second quarter to the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

In the Jimmy V Women’s Classic, the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team took on second ranked UConn. Here is a recap of that game.

For the 49th time, two of the most storied programs in women’s college basketball faced off on Sunday afternoon. The first ranked Fighting Irish played host to the second ranked UConn Huskies. Notre Dame came into the game favored, but Geno Auriemma and the Huskies would have the last laugh, winning 89-71.

Poor shooting at all levels hurt Irish

Against two top 15 teams in Oregon State and Iowa, the Irish shot over 48 percent from the field. That allowed them to score over 90 points and it took some pressure off their defense.

Well on Sunday night, that wasn’t the case for Notre Dame. They shot just 40.3 percent from the field, made just one three, and made just 66.7 percent of their free throws. Usually the free throw line is a strong suit for the Irish, but even that wasn’t working out for them. UConn did a good job of putting pressure on the Irish and forcing them into bad shots, but it was the rebounding by the Huskies that took away those second chance opportunities for Notre Dame.

The freshman from UConn showed up big

Going into the game, the Irish were favored because they were said to have the more talented and experienced roster. Well Christyn Williams wanted none of that. The freshman guard put her team on her back and took over from the very beginning. Through just the first quarter, she had sixteen points after making her first seven shots of the game. The number one overall recruit ended up finishing with 28 points and was the difference maker in this game.

The Irish struggled to defend her all game. Early on she was making shots from just about anywhere she wanted on the court. Then when the Irish started to force her into the lane and make her drive, she succeeded at that too. There just was no stopping her in her first big road test of her career.

Next. Irish earn No. 3 seed in College Football Playoff. dark

Next Up

Notre Dame will have a little less than a week off before traveling to Toledo, where they will take on the 5-2 team on Dec. 8th.