Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/762987
40 JANUARY 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI T he names have changed, but the Connecticut dynasty remains the same. The four-time reigning na- tional champs won their 83rd con- secutive game with a 72-61 victory at No. 2 Notre Dame Dec. 7 at the Purcell Pavilion, snapping the 35-game home winning streak of the Irish. Women's basketball basically is re- living a female version of John Wood- en's UCLA dynasty from 1964-75 when the Bruins won 10 national titles in 12 years, including seven in a row. Graduate Lew Alcindor & Co. — but then have Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe and Henry Bibby. Graduate them — and here come the Bill Walton Gang. Somewhat similar to Alabama foot- ball today, it's the Huskies … and everyone else playing for No. 2 un- til proven otherwise. In a "rebuilding year," UConn already has vanquished then-No. 2 Baylor (Nov. 17) and then- No. 2 Notre Dame by identical 72-61 scores. The Huskies are also closing in on their NCAA record of 90 straight wins set from 2008-10. With the score deadlocked 34-34 at halftime, UConn asserted control in the second half. Whereas the Huskies were an efficient 12 of 23 (52.2 percent) from the floor and 12 of 13 from the foul line in the final 20 minutes (19 of 20 overall), the Fighting Irish were 12 of 30 (40.0 percent) from the field in the second half and finished 4 of 8 overall from the foul line. The Huskies roster no longer in- cludes top-three WNBA picks Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck, but its latest "Big Three" — for- wards Gabby Williams (19 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals) and Napheesa Collier (20 points, 7 of 9 from floor and 6 of 6 from the foul line), plus guard Katie Lou Samuelson (18 points) — also proved too much for Notre Dame. The Huskies built a 25-14 advan- tage early in the second quarter be- fore Notre Dame went on a 20-5 run to nudge ahead 34-30. After convert- ing 9 of 15 from the field in the first quarter, UConn went 5 of 18 in the sec- ond, with Irish freshman Jackie Young and junior Mychal Johnson coming off the bench to aid the defense, and both added a three-pointer on the other end of the court. However, the Irish began the third quarter miserably by missing their first seven shots and turning over the ball four times to fall behind 42-34, yet tied it again at 42 with an 8-0 run. With 49.9 seconds left in the third quarter and the Huskies ahead 44-43, the game's most decisive run occurred when UConn closed with a 6-0 spurt on a couple of steals and two free throws with only one second left to make it 50- 43 entering the fourth quarter. 2016-17 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 3 Roberts Wesleyan# W, 129-50 Nov. 11 Central Michigan! W, 107-47 Nov. 14 Fordham! W, 67-36 Nov. 17 Green Bay! W, 71-67 Nov. 20 Washington! W, 71-60 Nov. 22 vs. Louisiana Lafayette& W, 91-51 Nov. 26 TCU W, 92-59 Nov. 30 at Iowa@ W, 73-58 Dec. 4 Valparaiso W, 114-54 Dec. 7 Connecticut (ESPN2) L, 61-72 Dec. 10 at DePaul W, 75-61 Dec. 18 at Toledo 2 p.m. Dec. 20 at Michigan State 7 p.m. Dec. 27 at Chattanooga 6:30 p.m. Dec. 29 at North Carolina State* 7 p.m. Jan. 2 at Georgia Tech* 7 p.m. Jan. 5 Wake Forest* 7 p.m. Jan. 8 at Miami* (ESPN/2) 3 p.m. Jan. 12 Pittsburgh* 7 p.m. Jan. 16 at Tennessee (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at Boston College* 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at North Carolina* (ESPNU) 12 p.m. Jan. 26 Duke* 7 p.m. Jan. 29 Virginia* (ESPNU) 12 p.m. Feb. 2 at Virginia Tech* 7 p.m. Feb. 6 Louisville* (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Feb. 12 Georgia Tech* 1 p.m. Feb. 16 at Clemson* 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Syracuse* (ESPN2) 5 p.m. Feb. 23 Boston College* 7 p.m. Feb. 26 Florida State* (ESPN2) 1 p.m. # Exhibition; ! Preseason WNIT; CBSSN — CBS Sports Net- work; & at the Campbell Center in Houston; @ ACC-Big Ten Challenge; * ACC game; dates and a venue for the ACC Tournament will be announced at a later time Status Quo UConn proves it's still No. 1 after victory at No. 2 Notre Dame Senior point guard Lindsay Allen had only one turnover in 40 minutes against UConn, but the Irish offense was stagnant. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND