Clash Of Titans In Title Tilt
Both the Notre Dame and UConn women’s basketball teams have hardly been tested on the hardwood this season.
The familiar foes will each face one big final exam though come Tuesday night.
The nation’s two top teams square off for the national championship in Nashville. The clash of unbeatens is set to tip-off at 8:30 p.m. in Bridgestone Arena with the NCAA Tournament finale on ESPN.
No. 2 Notre Dame brings a 37-0 mark into the fracas. The Irish pummeled No. 11 Maryland 87-61 Sunday night in a semifinal.
Top-ranked UConn sits at 39-0 and used a strong second half to pull away from No. 6 Stanford 75-56 in the second semifinal Sunday evening.
The Irish and Huskies are meeting in the Final Four for the fourth straight year. UConn, after losing three meetings during the regular season, topped the Irish 83-65 in a semifinal showdown last year.
Notre Dame has won seven of the last nine meetings between the former rivals in the Big East Conference. The Irish were national champions in 2001 and earned runner-up honors in both 2011 and 2012, led by former star and South Bend native Skylar Diggins.
UConn has won 45 straight games since losing to Notre Dame in the title game of the Big East Tournament in 2013. The Huskies have won seven of the last 15 national championships and are bidding for a record ninth title Tuesday night and the program’s fifth undefeated season.
The game Tuesday night pits a pair of high-scoring offenses. The Irish average 86.8 points-per-game and the Huskies check in at 82.2 ppg. Notre Dame allows 61.2 ppg, while UConn is allowing only 47.6 ppg.
The Irish are led by All-Americans Jewell Loyd and Kayla McBride. Sophomore guard Loyd averages 18.7 ppg., while senior guard McBride is at 17.5. McBride, the ACC Player of the Year, poured in 28 points Sunday night as the Irish used a huge rebounding advantage to crush conference foe Maryland.
Notre Dame won Sunday despite missing standout Natalie Achonwa. The 6-3 senior center tri-captain is out after suffering a torn ACL in her left knee last Monday late in a win over Baylor in the regional final at Notre Dame. Achonwa was averaging 14.9 points and was the team’s top rebounder prior to being injured. She averaged 20 points and almost 10 rebounds in Notre Dame’s first four wins in the NCAA Tournament.
The Irish got strong post performances Sunday from freshman Taya Reimer, who started in place of Achonwa, and junior Markisha Wright, who had a season-high 12 points.
UConn boasts a superb starting five, led by AP Player of the Year Breanna Stewart. The 6-4 sophomore forward, who had 29 points in the semifinal win over the Irish a year ago, averages 19.4 ppg. Senior guard Bria Hartley averages 16.3, while 6-0 junior Kaleena Masqueda-Lewis is at 13.2. Stefanie Dolson, a 6-5 senior, averages 12.3 and 5-7 sophomore guard Moriah Jefferson 10.2.
The Irish and the Huskies both boast very similar numbers overall. Notre Dame is shooting 51 percent overall from the field, including 40 percent from distance, and 75 percent at the line. The Huskies are at 50 percent from the field overall, including 37 percent on 3-pointers, and 75 percent at the line.
Notre Dame and UConn are an incredible 142-2 against other opponents over the past two seasons.
The UConn men face Kentucky for the national championship tonight. This is the fourth time in history that a school has had both its men’s and women’s teams in the finale of the NCAA Tournament. Both UConn teams won national championships in 2004, the only time that the feat has ever happened.