Notre Dame basketball has a chance to make the Final Four today, as it will face No. 1 seeded Connecticut in the regional final of the Fort Worth Regional 1 bracket.
The two teams faced off against each other earlier in the season, and it was a resounding win for the Huskies. The Irish will look to have a much better outcome than their first meeting, as they’ve found their groove since February.
Everything is on the line today, as Notre Dame looks to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2019 after an upset win over Vanderbilt to make it past the Sweet 16. Connecticut has a different streak they’re on, as they’re trying to repeat after winning the NCAA Tournament last season.
Follow along below for live updates, highlights, score and analysis of Notre Dame’s Elite 8 contest against UConn.
Notre Dame 52, UConn 70 – Final
Moore misses the three and now the game is essentially over. The Huskies empty out their bench. The Notre Dame women’s basketball season is over, thank you for joining us for the ride.
Notre Dame 52, UConn 70 – 0:46 seconds left in the 4th quarter
Strong draws another foul and will shoot two free throws. She misses the first free throw. Hidalgo commits a turnover and shortly follows it up with a personal foul. Fudd makes both free throws. Moore goes to her right hand and draws a foul and will go to the line. Moore splits the free throws. Quinonez cannot make the three and the ball belongs to the Irish. Foul called on Strong and Bransford will shoot free throws. She splits the free throws. Less than a minute remaining and this looks like it will go the way of UConn. Timeout.
Notre Dame 50, UConn 65 – 2:39 left in the 4th quarter
Quinonez cannot convert this time and Dejesus gets the rebound. Moore misses the shot but Hidalgo gets the rebound and draws a foul and will shoot two. Hidalgo makes both free throws. Pass on the block to Strong and she draws the fifth foul on Prosper who has now fouled out. Strong takes it right to the rim and makes it with her left hand. Hidalgo aggressively hits a layup as well to quickly answer. Hidalgo is able to force a jump ball and the Irish will get the ball. Hidalgo cannot make the shot at the rim but her hustle almost creates a turnover. Instead UConn calls a timeout.
Notre Dame 46, UConn 63 – 5:23 left in the 4th quarter
Notre Dame commits a backcourt violation. Fudd makes a jumper from the free throw line. Hannah squeezes through two UConn players and is able to draw the foul. Hidalgo makes one of two. Notre Dame are going to need some defensive stops here. Strong is fouled by Prosper at the rim. Prosper now has four fouls. Strong makes both free throws. Moore is able to hit a basket from a nice pass from Hidalgo. Strong makes a three-pointer. Bransford is able to get the basket and draw the foul. She misses the free throw. Both teams tie up for the rebound, possession arrow points to UConn. Quinonez makes a wide open three point shot. Cowles cannot finish at the rim on the other end. Fudd makes a jumper at the free throw line and gets the foul called. Fudd completes the three-point play and the Huskies are on a 9-2 run. Moore makes a tough leaner. Quinonez makes yet another three point shot, her 4th of the afternoon. Moore makes a tough jumper. Timeout
Notre Dame 36, UConn 47- End of the 3rd quarter
Notre Dame’s appeal is successful and they will get the ball back and not use a timeout. Moore misses the shot and El Alfy is able to score a basket at the rim. UConn again steals the ball. Strong shoots and makes a three. It’s now a 14 point game and UConn may be beginning to pull away. Dejesus goes around a screen and makes a three pointer of her own. Strong misses the three point shot to end the quarter.
Notre Dame 33 , UConn 42 – 2:04 left in the 3rd quarter
UConn gets a bucket at the rim. Notre Dame misses the layup. They’re going to have to make a run at some point to try to put some pressure on UConn. Hidalgo takes it to the rim and makes a difficult shot with getting a foul called. Hidalgo is the only person to score for the Irish in the 3rd quarter as she makes her free throw. Personal foul on Hidalgo and Heckel makes both free throws. Hidalgo shoots a three point shot but it misses, the rebound goes off the Irish out of bounds. The play will be reviewed
Notre Dame 30, UConn 38 – 4:43 left in the 3rd quarter
UConn comes out of the third quarter with a hot start scoring 6 of the quarter’s first 7 points. Hidalgo is able to draw a foul and will shoot free throws. Hannah makes both free throws. Fudd is left alone but misses the open jumper. Hidalgo makes a long jumper of her own. She is up to 14 points now. UConn misses a layup and Hidalgo gets the rebound but UConn steals it. Huskies cannot convert. Cowles takes a fadeaway shot but does not make it. Fudd misses but UConn grabs the rebound and get fouled. Strong shoots a midrange jumper and misses, but UConn grabs the offensive rebound but again, cannot convert the basket. Hannah turns the ball over and UConn is on a fastbreak but the shot is blocked. Bransford makes a steal and Notre Dame has the ball, for a few seconds at least as they commit their own turnover. Now 13 turnovers for Notre Dame. UConn has multiple possesions without scoring. Timeout.
Notre Dame 25, UConn 32- Halftime
Quinonez steals the ball and UConn scores on the other end and it is now a 6-0 Huskies run. Dejesus goes to the rim and is able to draw a foul. She makes the free throws. UConn commits its 9th turnover and Hidalgo cannot take advantage on the other end. The two teams trade turnovers and it is UConn ball. Moore open alone in the corner but isses the three again. Irish grab the rebound and Bransford makes a three point shot. Notre Dame is now 3-8 from three for the game. UConn misses a three point shot, but Notre Dame turns the ball over. Heckel makes a circus shot to end the first half.
Notre Dame 20, UConn 28 – 3:24 left in the second quarter
UConn misses a jumper out of the time out. Hidalgo’s shot gets blocked. Quinonez gets a shot at the rim and converts, she now has 14 points. Hidalgo gets bumped and shoots but no whistle called and UConn immediately scores on the other end. Time out for Notre Dame to try to stop the Huskie momentum.
Notre Dame 20, UConn 24- 4:28 left in the second quarter
Hidalgo commits a foul out of the break and now there’s a TV timeout.
Notre Dame 20, UConn 24- 4:44 left in the second quarter
Quinonez misses a three for the first shot but UConn grabs the rebound. They turn the ball over and it’ll be Irish ball. The Irish answer with a turnover of their own. Strong misses the shot but UConn grabs the rebound, but Notre Dame takes it away. Moore misses the three. Quinonez was so wide open she completely airballs another three point shot. Quinonez picks up a personal foul. Hannah takes a tough shot and she makes it and gets a foul called. A lively reaction and she is trying to get her team pumped up. Hannah unfortunately misses the free throw. Hidalgo misses the short jumper but is able to put her own rebound in. She now has 6 rebounds for the game. Fudd makes a tough jumper going to her right. Strong picks up her first foul. Back to back strong defensive efforts by the Huskies and Notre Dame comes up empty. Moore makes the steal on the other end. Moore pulls up and misses the three. Hannah Hidalgo makes a long two, but I think that will be reviewed. UConn answers on the other end with an easy basket at the rim. Hannah makes another three point shot! Time out.
Notre Dame 11, UConn 20 – End of first quarter
Strong comes out of the time out and steals the ball but draws the foul. She makes both free throws. Strong shoots the ball again and once again draws a foul. The Big East player of the year makes both free throws and UConn is up 10-5. Cowles makes a unique hook shot where the ball just stays on the rim and then Notre Dame forces UConn into a turnover. Hidalgo misses her fourth shot of the game. UConn hits a three. Three second violation on Notre Dame. Fourth turnover for the Irish. UConn’s Strong muscles in for another basket and it is now 15-7 Huskies. Prosper with a nice angle and gets a layup which Notre Dame sorely needed. Quinonez makes another three point shot. Dejesus drives to the rim and sets up Cowles for an easy shot. Hannah is stripped and Quinonez makes an easy basket to end the first.
Notre Dame 5, UConn 6 – 4:27 left in the first quarter
UConn wins the tip but is not able to convert. Prosper finds Cowles back to Prosper for the first points of the game. Sarah Williams makes a layup and draws the foul for UConn. Williams missed the free throw. Hannah Hidalgo misses her first jump shot of the game but Notre Dame steals the ball. Dejesus goes to the rim but misses a tough shot with her left hand. UConn misses a jumper on the other end. Moore takes the long three but misses, UConn ball. Fudd makes a bull up for her first basket of the game. UConn steals the ball but are not able to convert. Notre Dame succumbs under Huskies pressure however and aren’t able to cross the halfcourt line. UConn misses their shot and Hannah grabs the rebound but cannot draw a foul. Dejesus is able to convert a three point shot and the Irish take the lead. UConn throws it out of bounds. Hidalgo takes a high-arching jump shot but cannot convert and UConn makes an easy basket at the other end. UConn forces a jump ball.
Notre Dame and UConn take center stage
Many of the early games don’t have a national audience, but this one will. It will be on the main ABC Channel, and the nation will get an opportunity to see two of the best teams in the country battle it out for a chance to advance.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame vs. UConn: Live updates, highlights and score of Elite 8
Reporting by Sunny Verma, Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
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