The Irish won their biggest game of the season knocking off the hated UConn Huskies 79-68 last Thursday night at Purcell Pavilion. This marks the third top-5 win of the season and should go a long way during seeding conversations come March. While every win over UConn should be held and cherished, this one was particularly sweet. The Irish have now won three straight over the Huskies! Niele Ivey is now 3-1 against Geno! Noted Husky haters Marina Mabrey, Arike Ogunbowale, and Skylar Diggins-Smith were all watching courtside a couple seats down from Marcus Freeman! They did it even though Oliva Miles missed a bug chunk of the game after a first quarter ankle injury! They took UConn’s best punch in the third quarter, but held their nerve to dominate winning time! Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, this did it through a whole team effort with contributions up and down the roster.

Hidalgo Shines Again

Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo drew praise from around the hoops world after her performance last Thursday. She scored 29 points with a career high six 3s. She also grabbed 10 rebounds as the smallest player on the court and dished out eight assists. For the second straight year, Hidalgo outshined likely 2025 #1 overall pick Paige Bueckers in this rivalry. As a freshman, Hidalgo scored 34 points against the Huskies last January in Storrs.

As always, Hidalgo’s defense was impactful as she grabbed three steals and helped disrupt basically every UConn dribble handoff action for 40 minutes. On offense, Hannah really showed her growth from last year during the second and third quarters. With Miles playing limited minutes after rolling her ankle early in the game, Hidalgo ran the show by herself for extended minutes for the first time this season. She pushed the ball when there was an opportunity for an easy bucket. She slowed it down when UConn started to get some momentum. She got teammates involved when they were open, but picked her spots when the team needed her. It was a complete performance for the sophomore All American who’s been the player of the game in all three marquee games for ND thus far.

King Proves the Midrange Isn’t Dead

Liatu King had her best game of her short Irish career last Thursday. The senior forward’s 16 points came almost entirely via midrange jump shots. Her 12 rebounds were the most of anyone in the game. She added three steals and two blocks for good measure. Even when she missed two late FTs, she outhustled two UConn players to grab the offensive board. King also played excellent defense on UConn freshman Sarah Strong. King held the early season FotY favorite well below her scoring and rebounding averages and was a reason why the Strong dealt with foul trouble early in the game.

Miles Ices the Game

Irish fans feared the worst when Olivia Miles went down grabbing her ankle in the first quarter. Although she was able to return before halftime, she was definitely not 100%. After sitting almost the entire third quarter, Miles looked completely rejuvenated in the fourth. Her nine points in the final period included a corner three, two driving layups, and two late FTs to seal the win. It’s notable that although Hidalgo dominated the first three quarters, Miles took the reigns of the offense when she returned down the stretch. Through 11 games, her jump shooting improvement seems to be real. Miles was a 25% shooter from deep through her first three years at ND. This season, she’s shooting over 45% from three point range.

Solid Contributions by the Whole Squad

As expected, Sonia Citron drew the tough assignment of guarding UConn’s best scorer. While she didn’t lock down Paige Bueckers to the same level of Juju Watkins a few weeks ago, the UConn star had to work for all of her 25 points and needed 20 shots to get there. Citron held to Paige to 0/4 shooting behind the arc and forced the senior into three turnovers. It’s partially due to Citron that Hidalgo, not Bueckers, was the story of night. Citron had a quiet night on offense, but flashed some play making chops hitting Miles with a driving crosscourt pass for the corner for a 3 early in the fourth quarter. Despite just scoring seven points, her performance at both ends showed exactly why she’ll be a top pick in the WNBA Draft next spring.

Marquette transfer Liza Karlen finally made her regular season debut and got to do it in the biggest game of the year. She played just 10 minutes as she returned from a foot injury but provided some sorely needed size inside and let freshman Kate Koval get some much needed rest. Koval struggled a bit offensively, but grabbed seven boards and had two big blocks. Lastly Cass Prosper was a bit of her chaotic self, but played excellent defense in her 18 minutes on the court. Her ability to defend both guards and power forwards was a huge help with Miles sidelined, and she hit a big three in the final seconds of the first quarter to keep UConn at a distance.

What’s Ahead for ND

The Irish have a bit of a respite to close the 2024. They followed up the UConn win by blowing out Eastern Michigan by 69 (nice) points. The Irish made 16 3s at an absurd 66% clip and welcomed new walk-on Luci Jensen to the squad. The new addition got a few minutes of run with former walk-on Sarah Cernugel late in the game. Emma Risch who didn’t feature against UConn made seven from deep scoring a career high 23 points. Cass Prosper scored 20 off the bench. With Karlen back and facing an undersized MAC squad, Kate Koval was held out entirely. Ivey said it was just for rest purposes as the freshman has played huge minutes to start her college career and that Koval was able to play if needed. Next Sunday, Loyola (MD) visits Purcell to finish the non-conference season. Expect a similar result.

The “real” start of ACC play (ND won at Syracuse before the UConn game) kicks off with a home game against Virginia on December 29th. The 7-5 Hoos have lost by double digits to anyone with a pulse thus far, so this should be a comfortable win for the Irish. The January 5th trip to Chapel Hill is a different matter. The 10-2 Heels are currently ranked 19th. They lost to UConn early in the season and to a ranked GT last weekend, but picked up a nice win over #16 Kentucky in the ACC/SEC Challenge. UNC also beat ND at the JACC last season, so revenge will be on the mind.

Another thing to watch for during the early ACC slate is Maddy Westbeld’s return to action. The senior is expected to come back from a foot injury the next few weeks. The trip to Chapel Hill would be a great time for her season debut. Even if the visit to UNC comes a little too soon, I’m sure Ivey is okay waiting just a bit longer for another All Conference player’s return to the lineup. Despite the Thanksgiving week setbacks in the Caymans, the wins against USC, Texas, and UConn have the Irish back in line for a #1 seed come March. Mission accomplished so far and onto ACC play.