Women's Basketball Game of the Week: No. 2 UConn Huskies vs. No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Two of the most storied programs in Women’s College Basketball will battle it out on Thursday night in South Bend. In this war of juggernauts, UConn will look to keep its undefeated season alive as Notre Dame hopes to add another top-10 win to its résumé.

The teams have met a total of 53 times. The Huskies have won 38 times, but the Fighting Irish have won each of the last two matchups by double-digits.

The matchup will feature some of the best talent in college basketball and future WNBA draft lottery picks.

Notre Dame

As a team Notre Dame is averaging 85.8 points per game and all its wins have come by double-digits.

After falling in back-to-back games against then-No. 17 TCU and unranked Utah, the Irish bounced back with much-needed wins over then-No. 4 Texas and Syracuse.

Notre Dame has one of the best backcourts in college basketball led by Olivia Miles, Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron. The dominant trio leads the team in scoring, points per game, assists and steals.

Hidalgo is one of the best young players in all of basketball. The sophomore became the fastest player to reach 1,000 points in program history with her 24-point effort against Syracuse. Hidalgo is one of the most complete all-around players in the nation, averaging 24.6 points per game and 4.11 steals per game.

With the absence of Miles a year ago, Citron found herself in a big position and certainly got the job done. Coming off a 25-point game against Syracuse, the senior guard will have to continue the mojo to help lead the Irish to victory.

Miles has a lot of lost time to make up for and she has certainly done that so far. The graduate guard leads the team with 59 assists and is averaging 17.2 points per game.

Hidalgo, Citron and Miles finally getting to share the floor has definitely proven to be lethal for opponents. Preparing to face their toughest opponent of the season, the trio will look lead the team's offensive production. However, Notre Dame will need to show up with strong defense in order to stop star Huskies like Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong.

If the Irish can come out with a win it will be their third top-10 victory of the season, making a strong case as a true contender.

UConn

Moving over to the UConn side of things, this team has been absolutely dominant this season. Currently sitting at the No. 2 in the AP poll, The Huskies are currently undefeated, looking to continue this lucky streak against the Fighting Irish in one of the biggest college basketball rivalries to date.

The Huskies are currently scoring an average of 80.4 points and have outscored opponents by 30.9 points per game. UConn scores 17.4 more points per game (80.4) than Notre Dame allows to opponents (63.0).

A current point of contention for many when it comes to UConn women’s basketball is their star player, Paige Bueckers, who has started this season slower than what many are used to seeing. While Bueckers is still UConn's top scorer and averaging an impressive 18.9 points per game, this is down from her career average and two points per game less than the 21.9 she averaged in the 2023-24 campaign.

However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for Bueckers and UConn, as it could be a result of Bueckers letting the game come to her and not forcing things, which is proven by her 56.3% field goal percentage this year, the highest of her career.

Another key player to watch in this matchup is Kaitlyn Chen. A new addition to The Huskies roster. She provides a fresh pace to a team grounded in tradition and talent. Something that they are excellent at is their ability to adapt and roll with the punches.

All in all this college rivalry game is one that no fan should miss.

Gianna Dowling is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her email, gmd5738@psu.edu.

Brooke Casey is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her email, bec5457@psu.edu