There’s not much to say about the UConn-Notre Dame rivalry, except for the fact that it’s the UConn-Notre Dame rivalry.
It’s one of college basketball’s richest feuds, spanning over three decades and 54 matchups, including a pair of national championships (that both swung the Huskies’ way).
Monday’s matchup isn’t quite a national title game – but it’ll have every bit the atmosphere of one.
The top-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (18-0) hosts Notre Dame (12-5) in the confines of Gampel Pavilion for the first time since the Irish spoiled Connecticut’s homecoming two years ago. The Huskies, who are riding behind the momentum of a 34-game win streak, are looking to snap a three-game skid to their archrival in front of their home crowd.
Below are two storylines to watch and an opponent profile of the Irish.
Storylines to Watch for No. 1 Connecticut (18-0)
The Masked Menace vs. The Chief Thief: KK Arnold, who’s coming off the best all-around performance of her junior season against Villanova, will be met head-on by the most notorious figure in the Huskies’ recent past.
Hannah Hidalgo.
The Irish point guard carved Connecticut’s defense apart in their first two meetings; a 34-point, 10-rebound, 6-assist performance as a true freshman was followed by 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists as a sophomore in South Bend.
Hidalgo is the tip of the Irish spear on both ends of the court, averaging a nation-leading 5.6 steals per game and ACC-leading 25 points per game. Marry that with 5.6 assists and 6.2 rebounds per night and it’s easy to see why she’s in the running for National Player of the Year.
But Arnold, who assumed the starting role after Kaitlyn Chen’s departure this off season, has demonstrated her ability to be an on-ball buzzsaw for UConn; she heads the Huskies’ vaunted pressure defense and ranks in the 99th percentile nationally in steal percentage (6.6).
Arnold’s ability to keep the ball out of harm’s way against Hidalgo – who, with a masterful pickpocket, recorded 16 steals against Akron earlier this year – could be vital in determining the outcome Monday.
A Test of Depth: Niele Ivey employs a stiff eight man rotation – eight of Notre Dame’s 11 players who have played this season average north of 10 minutes per game. Seven of those eight, including the injured KK Bransford (31.2 minutes), average more than 23 minutes per night.
Stretching the Irish – who are not as offensive minded as they were last season – thin will be paramount.
Connecticut’s bench, which ranks third in the country in bench points per game (32.4), could be emptied early, especially if Geno Auriemma wants to operate on an uptick tempo.
Look for Blanca Quiñonez and Kayleigh Heckel to play larger roles than usual as the first two off the bench, and for Allie Ziebell to get run on the wing to spell Azzi Fudd, who will be making her *healthy* debut against the Irish.
Opponent Profile: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-5)
Hidalgo leads Notre Dame in points (25), assists (5.6), steals (5.6), field goals (162) and minutes (34.6). She’s scored in double figures every game this season and has stacked five 30-plus performance to pair with two games with 13-plus steals.
She’s the Irish’s epicenter, to nobody’s surprise.
But she also leads the Irish in turnovers (2.9) and isn’t exactly sterling from the field (51.5% eFG).
So if she isn’t scorching hot (like she was against the Huskies last season in South Bend), then who is Ivey drawing up looks for?
Most likely Cassandre Prosper or Iyana Moore, who’ve attempted to fill the shoes left by Olivia Miles (TCU). Prospers has the first 17 games of her senior season and ranks second on the team in scoring (16.6) and leads with almost eight rebounds per game.
Moore, whose started only four of the 15 games she’s played in, is one of four players averaging between nine and 10.5 points per game.
Malaya Cowles has been the go-to option down low (9.8 points, 5.5 rebounds) for a team that ranks 11th in paint points per game (41.2).
It’s an up-tempo, transition oriented team that’s opportunistic on the defensive end. The Irish aren’t a 3-point shooting team (only 28.7% of the time are they shooting from behind the line) but they make the ones they shoot (37.2% as a team, 14th in America).