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FORT WORTH, Texas — The UConn women’s basketball team entered the fourth quarter of its Elite Eight matchup with Notre Dame on the ropes, going blow for blow in a defensive slugfest against its longtime rival with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
But it didn’t take long for UConn’s duo of underclassman forwards to deliver the knockout punches. All-American sophomore Sarah Strong and Big East Freshman of the Year Blanca Quinonez drained back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth that launched the undefeated Huskies on a 9-2 run, and the Irish simply didn’t have the firepower to answer.
The Huskies kept their undefeated season alive with an 70-52 victory, powered by Strong and Quinonez. Strong controlled both ends of the court, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Quinonez scored in double digits for the fourth straight game in her first NCAA Tournament, logging 20 points plus a season-best eight rebounds and three assists.
Notre Dame superstar Hannah Hidalgo put up a valiant fight, leading the Irish with 22 points plus 11 rebounds and three steals. But UConn’s smothering defense forced five turnovers against the junior guard and limited the rest of her team to just 30 points. Hidalgo seemed to run out of gas in the fourth scoring just five points as the Huskies got hot.
The No. 1 Huskies advance to the Final Four for the third year in a row and the 25th time in program history with a chance to defend their 2025 national championship. UConn will face the winner of the Elite Eight matchup between 1-seed South Carolina and 3-seed TCU in Phoenix on Friday.
The Huskies had another sluggish start in the Elite Eight, particularly on the offensive end. Notre Dame’s defense focused its attention heavily on Strong, and it took the sophomore phenom more than five minutes to even attempt a field goal. UConn couldn’t get shots to fall early, going 2-for-7 from the field, but its defensive effort kept the Irish from taking advantage. Hidalgo went 0-for-4 in the first quarter, and the Huskies held Notre Dame scoreless for nearly four minutes during their shooting slump.
Quinonez saved the day offensively, checking into the game midway through the first quarter and immediately catching fire. She ended a two-minute scoring drought for UConn with a layup in transition, and she went on to drop 12 points in six minutes through the end of the first. By halftime, she had 14 plus a team-leading five rebounds.
UConn finished the first quarter with momentum after redshirt senior Azzi Fudd stripped Hidalgo in the final seconds and dished a pass to Quinonez for a layup at the buzzer. But all it took was a pass deflection from Hidalgo early in the second to snuff out the energy the Huskies were building.
Hidalgo hit her first field goal of the game two minutes into the quarter, drawing a foul against point guard KK Arnold in the process that got the Notre Dame star to start flexing. It was the steal off of a bad pass launched across the top of the arc by Serah Williams that really got Hidalgo fired up, and after she stomped down the court screaming in celebration, offensive production followed.
Hidalgo went on to score nine consecutive points for the Irish capped by a deep 3-pointer that cut UConn’s lead to just four and forced Auriemma to take a timeout. The Huskies responded quickly, putting up a 6-0 run out of the break and holding the three-time All-American scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.
Once again, a buzzer-beater gave the Huskies a boost as they headed into the halftime locker room. This time it was sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel, floating in an acrobatic layup as she fell to the floor to send UConn out of the first half leading 32-25.
After a 6-1 run to open the second half, the Huskies hit a brutal slump missing 11 field goals in a row. They didn’t put points on the board for more than four minutes into the third quarter media timeout. An impressive string of defensive stops kept Notre Dame from cutting into the lead though as the Huskies kept the Irish scoreless for almost five minutes and forced four turnovers during that stretch.
Redshirt sophomore Jana El Alfy ended UConn’s drought at the rim, but Hidalgo answered seconds later sinking a wild layup and drawing the foul to cut the Huskies’ lead back to single digits.
The Huskies eventually pulled away in the fourth behind a combined 14 points from Quinonez and Strong. Fudd added seven points in the final frame to finish with 13 on top of a team-high four assists and three steals.
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But it didn’t take long for UConn’s duo of underclassman forwards to deliver the knockout punches. All-American sophomore Sarah Strong and Big East Freshman of the Year Blanca Quinonez drained back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth that launched the undefeated Huskies on a 9-2 run, and the Irish simply didn’t have the firepower to answer.
The Huskies kept their undefeated season alive with an 70-52 victory, powered by Strong and Quinonez. Strong controlled both ends of the court, finishing with 21 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three blocks. Quinonez scored in double digits for the fourth straight game in her first NCAA Tournament, logging 20 points plus a season-best eight rebounds and three assists.
Notre Dame superstar Hannah Hidalgo put up a valiant fight, leading the Irish with 22 points plus 11 rebounds and three steals. But UConn’s smothering defense forced five turnovers against the junior guard and limited the rest of her team to just 30 points. Hidalgo seemed to run out of gas in the fourth scoring just five points as the Huskies got hot.
The No. 1 Huskies advance to the Final Four for the third year in a row and the 25th time in program history with a chance to defend their 2025 national championship. UConn will face the winner of the Elite Eight matchup between 1-seed South Carolina and 3-seed TCU in Phoenix on Friday.
The Huskies had another sluggish start in the Elite Eight, particularly on the offensive end. Notre Dame’s defense focused its attention heavily on Strong, and it took the sophomore phenom more than five minutes to even attempt a field goal. UConn couldn’t get shots to fall early, going 2-for-7 from the field, but its defensive effort kept the Irish from taking advantage. Hidalgo went 0-for-4 in the first quarter, and the Huskies held Notre Dame scoreless for nearly four minutes during their shooting slump.
Quinonez saved the day offensively, checking into the game midway through the first quarter and immediately catching fire. She ended a two-minute scoring drought for UConn with a layup in transition, and she went on to drop 12 points in six minutes through the end of the first. By halftime, she had 14 plus a team-leading five rebounds.
UConn finished the first quarter with momentum after redshirt senior Azzi Fudd stripped Hidalgo in the final seconds and dished a pass to Quinonez for a layup at the buzzer. But all it took was a pass deflection from Hidalgo early in the second to snuff out the energy the Huskies were building.
Hidalgo hit her first field goal of the game two minutes into the quarter, drawing a foul against point guard KK Arnold in the process that got the Notre Dame star to start flexing. It was the steal off of a bad pass launched across the top of the arc by Serah Williams that really got Hidalgo fired up, and after she stomped down the court screaming in celebration, offensive production followed.
Hidalgo went on to score nine consecutive points for the Irish capped by a deep 3-pointer that cut UConn’s lead to just four and forced Auriemma to take a timeout. The Huskies responded quickly, putting up a 6-0 run out of the break and holding the three-time All-American scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.
Once again, a buzzer-beater gave the Huskies a boost as they headed into the halftime locker room. This time it was sophomore guard Kayleigh Heckel, floating in an acrobatic layup as she fell to the floor to send UConn out of the first half leading 32-25.
After a 6-1 run to open the second half, the Huskies hit a brutal slump missing 11 field goals in a row. They didn’t put points on the board for more than four minutes into the third quarter media timeout. An impressive string of defensive stops kept Notre Dame from cutting into the lead though as the Huskies kept the Irish scoreless for almost five minutes and forced four turnovers during that stretch.
Redshirt sophomore Jana El Alfy ended UConn’s drought at the rim, but Hidalgo answered seconds later sinking a wild layup and drawing the foul to cut the Huskies’ lead back to single digits.
The Huskies eventually pulled away in the fourth behind a combined 14 points from Quinonez and Strong. Fudd added seven points in the final frame to finish with 13 on top of a team-high four assists and three steals.
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