South Bend, In — Hannah Hidalgo delivered a standout performance with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists as No. 8 Notre Dame (8-2) handed No. 2 UConn (8-1) its first loss of the season in a 79-68 victory on Thursday night.
Paige Bueckers led the Huskies with 25 points, while Sarah Strong added 14. Despite a strong effort, UConn struggled from beyond the arc, shooting just 3-of-16, while Notre Dame capitalized with a 10-for-18 showing from deep.
The Fighting Irish led for most of the game, building a 39-28 halftime lead. UConn made a push late in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to 53-52 with 21 seconds remaining, but Hidalgo answered with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to swing the momentum back to Notre Dame. The Irish opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 62-52 and never looked back.
Hidalgo was instrumental, hitting six of her 11 three-point attempts and nearly recording a triple-double. Liatu King contributed her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Olivia Miles added 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, despite briefly leaving the game with an ankle injury.
Liza Karlen also made her season debut, scoring her first four points in an Irish uniform after missing the first nine games with a foot injury. Her presence provided a boost during the first quarter, where Notre Dame reclaimed the lead with three consecutive three-pointers—two by Hidalgo and one by Cassandre Prosper.
Hidalgo stayed hot in the second quarter, hitting two more shots from beyond the arc and finishing the first half with 17 points. Notre Dame maintained its streak of leading at halftime in every game this season.
Although UConn shot an impressive 61.1% in the third quarter, the Irish closed out the game in dominant fashion, making their final seven field-goal attempts to secure their third victory over a top-five opponent this season. Notre Dame is now the only team in the nation with more than one win against teams ranked No. 5 or higher, having also defeated No. 3 USC and No. 4 Texas earlier this year.
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