NCAA Women's Basketball Championship 2015: UConn vs. Notre Dame Breakdown
There may be no better rivalry in college basketball—men's or women's—than Notre Dame vs. Connecticut. The Irish and Huskies have gone head-to-head in five straight Final Fours, including each of the last two years in the title game.
Their record in those contests heading into Tuesday night: 2-2. Notre Dame took the first two matchups, and Connecticut has taken the last two on its way to capturing back-to-back national titles. Add in their rivalry in the old Big East, and you're going to have a tough time finding any two teams in college or professional sports who are more intertwined this century.
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| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV |
| Notre Dame vs. Connecticut | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN |
"They're a lot like us. And I think that's why they have had success against us. They have a lot of the same qualities that we have as a team and as a program," UConn coach Geno Auriemma told reporters. "So we give them problems like other teams in the country don't and they give us problems like other teams in the country don't."
Auriemma's Huskies are not undefeated entering Tuesday as they were a year ago, but their run through the last few weeks has perhaps been more impressive. Connecticut has won its five games by an average of 33.4 points and none by fewer than 21. It made Maryland, a No. 1 seed in its own right, look near-Division III level in Sunday's 81-58 victory. The Terps made just five of 19 three-point attempts, point guard Laurin Mincy turned the ball over six times and Connecticut played brilliant defense without fouling, allowing Maryland six attempts at the line.
“The thing about UConn is it’s not one person contributing to that run,” Maryland guard Lexie Brown said, per Ryan Baillargeon of The Diamondback. “It’s the entire team. So we would try key on one person and then somebody else would score. And then we would try to key on that person and the next person would score.”
Five Huskies average double figures, led by Breanna Stewart's 17.8 points per contest. Stewart filled up the stat sheet with 25 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals against Maryland. Her effort was helped along by Morgan Tuck, who scored 24 points and had nine rebounds. No other team could survive a player like Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis going 1-of-8 from the field as Connecticut did against Maryland.
Notre Dame would itself acknowledge there is no chance of taking down UConn without a transcendent performance from Jewell Loyd. The Irish's leading scorer had 22 points and five rebounds in their win over South Carolina but has been plagued by struggles all tournament. She went 5-of-18 against Baylor, was held to four first-half points against Stanford and even needed 24 shots to get her 22 points against the Gamecocks.
Instead, Loyd has seen her teammates step up when Notre Dame needs it most. Madison Cable, a reserve who was only on the floor due to foul trouble, knocked down the game-winner against South Carolina. Brianna Turner and Lindsay Allen have come through huge in other moments.
But the Irish know they have to play a near-perfect game to get past Connecticut. There can't be any flies in the ointment, and that especially applies to their best player. Loyd will have the ball in her hands in crunch time. She'll take the most shots. She'll be the focal point of Connecticut's defensive strategy and have to find a way to come through.
"Jewell knows she has to step up," teammate Michaela Mabrey said, per Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune. "But she is so humble about it, and it comes to her so naturally."
Everyone knows Loyd will have to step up because it's a near-guarantee Stewart does on the opposing bench. The UConn star, who has etched her name all over the school record books, is a two-time Final Four Most Outstanding Player. With a win Tuesday night, she'll have an argument with the Sue Birds, Diana Taurasis and Maya Moores of the world.
"The moments that bring out the best competitor in me are the biggest moments," Stewart said, per Mechelle Voepel of ESPNW.com. "As a basketball player, you want to play on the biggest stage. You want to be in a game with a sold-out crowd where the atmosphere is high, because that's what's fun."
Fun for Stewart has included torturing her biggest rival. She scored 29 points in their Final Four matchup as a freshman, had 21 in last year's title game and has been consistently dominant no matter how Muffet McGraw has tried to attack her. Another performance like that, and Stewart's goal of four national titles in her four years of eligibility is a real possibility.
Given how she and her teammates have played coming into Tuesday night, it's pretty hard to bet against them.
Score Prediction: Connecticut 77, Notre Dame 62
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