No. 2 UConn women’s basketball beats No. 24 Notre Dame, loses Paige Bueckers to injury after honoring Olympians with new monument

As a new era of the UConn-Notre Dame rivalry began Sunday with Niele Ivey now at the helm of her alma mater, the Huskies prevailed over the Irish 73-54 with their second victory over Notre Dame in as many meetings, albeit in hardly the prettiest of games.

UConn committed a season-high 21 turnovers, Notre Dame’s 2-3 zone defense giving them fits, but dominated the glass 45-32. A 14-0 edge in second-chance points in the first half was an early difference-maker.

Senior Olivia Nelson-Ododa did the grunt work in the first half, earning her first double-double of the season early in the third quarter. When she fouled out late in the fourth, she’d finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds (five offensive), both season highs.

“Liv’s put together some really solid performances, especially defensively and rebounding the ball,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “I like how she’s demanding the ball more, being more assertive”

When Notre Dame cut the deficit to seven going into the fourth, Caroline Ducharme’s 14 fourth-quarter points, 10 more than she’d managed in her previous four games, put the Irish away for good. The freshman guard went 3-for-5 from the arc and showed aggression looking to get to the rim, making for the most promising performance of her young career and in Auriemma’s eyes “changing the complexion of the game.”

“Caroline made me look stupid when I kept saying how well she was practicing and how excited I was for her,” Auriemma said. “And today, she kind of showed a glimpse of the things that she can do.”

Sophomore Paige Bueckers (22 points) notched her fourth 20-point game of the season before going down with a non-contact left knee injury with 38 seconds remaining in the game. Auriemma said best-case scenario, she hyper-extended the knee.

Notre Dame was led by freshmen Sonia Citron (19 points) and Olivia Miles (eight points, eight assists), while senior Dara Mabrey hit a trio of 3s.

Neither team looked great most of the day, combining for 11 turnovers in the first quarter. UConn used a 7-2 run to pull ahead 16-12 at the end of the period, a stretch that started with Dorka Juhász hitting Nelson-Ododa for a layup, Nika Mühl saving the ball from going out of bounds and hitting a 3, and Bueckers converting a jumper after coming away with a steal.

Citron’s 3 tied things up at 19 early in the second quarter, but the Huskies closed out the half with a 16-6 run to go into the break up 10. Nelson-Ododa was a big reason why, scoring eight points in that stretch alone by dominating the glass, finishing through contact and taking multiple trips to the line. She nearly had a double-double at the half with 12 points and nine rebounds.

Notre Dame cut the deficit to eight multiple times in the third, but UConn responded each time to extend its lead, first thanks to Aaliyah Edwards and then Bueckers. A sloppy final minute in which Notre Dame drew some fouls and got to the line allowed the Irish to make it a 51-44 game going into the fourth. The Huskies had as many turnovers (20) as made field goals going into the final 10 minutes.

“We’re not very bright,” Auriemma said regarding the turnovers. “Our basketball IQ at times leaves a lot to be desired. We don’t see things that are open, and then we try to do things that aren’t open. ... Part of it is we’re playing too fast. We’re not letting things develop the way you need to to run efficient offense. Not enough people are making outside shots, so now you start to force things. That’s usually the crux of it.”

Nelson-Ododa’s basket and Bueckers’ 3, her third of the game, to start the fourth pushed UConn’s lead back up to double-figures before Ducharme finally got going. She was assertive in driving to the hoop, went 3-for-5 on 3s and got to the line. The Huskies’ 13-0 run overall, where they also held the Irish scoreless from the field until the 5:04 mark, put the game out of reach.

UConn unveils Olympic monument

Prior to the game, UConn unveiled a new Olympic monument, commemorating 50 people with UConn connections who have participated in the Olympic and Paralympic Games over the last 70 years.

“I always look at UConn as like a factory of dreams,” said Andy Bessette, the executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Travelers and a 1980 Olympian in track and field. “Students come here from all over the world, all backgrounds, all ethnicities, all cultures to live a dream, to get educated, to be a doctor, to be a nurse, to be a business leader, to be a teacher, to be professors, researchers, dancers, world-class athletes. I think that’s what makes UConn so special: that you can live your dream by coming to UConn.”

“This is important to what I saw as the vision as an inspiration to young student athletes in high school or younger coming here and saying, ‘I can go to UConn to be a professional women’s basketball player or professional men’s basketball player, a professional football player or an Olympian’ ... and then they get here to fulfill their dreams as students and also athletes.”

While UConn women’s basketball players are well represented on the monument, so are athletes across various sports from Stephanie Labbé (Canada, soccer) to Donn Cabral (USA, track and field) to UConn’s first-ever Olympian, Frank Dooley (USA, swimming).

“I think a lot of people know the history of UConn men’s and women’s basketball, but you don’t know about the [other] Olympic athletes because their stage when they’re here at UConn might not be as big,” 1996 Olympian Rebecca Lobo said. “So it’s great that we’re recognizing that.”

Former Huskies in the crowd for the ceremony included UConn women’s basketball alumni Lobo, Kara Wolters, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, and Jen Rizzotti. Stefanie Dolson was also in the house for halftime of the game, where the UConn Olympians who made the trip to Storrs were honored.

“Kara was kind of looking [around Werth Champions Center] and she’s like, ‘We kind of helped build this,’” Lobo said. “Occasions like this, you reflect on stuff and you kind of look around and think, ‘Wow, this is pretty incredible.’”

“Pretty proud of all those guys, it’s pretty amazing. Really was, to see them all,” Auriemma said.