UConn and Notre Dame play Saturday at 4 p.m. (CBS) at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. The game, which will be the ninth between the teams in the past three seasons, is sold out.
The Huskies lead the series 29-8. UConn has defeated the Irish in each of the past two Big East tournament finals, but Notre Dame has won the past two NCAA Tournament national semifinal games.
In UConn's fifth consecutive Final Four appearance, Notre Dame won 83-75 in overtime to send the Huskies home a victory shy of another championship game last April. Notre Dame lost the title game to Baylor.
The Irish also beat UConn in the national semifinal in 2011, again losing the title game, this time to Texas A&M. All three of Notre Dame's title appearances since 2001 have come after beating UConn.
In last season's semifinal game the Huskies had five players in double figures, led by Stefanie Dolson, who had 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Bria Hartley had 18 points; Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 13; and Kelly Faris and Tiffany Hayes each had 10. All but Hayes are back this season. Notre Dame, once again, is led by Skylar Diggins, who had 19 in last season's semifinal win.
In the 2011 NCAA Tournament semifinal Notre Dame came back from a six-point deficit to defeat the No. 1 Huskies, 72-63. Maya Moore led UConn with 36 points. After the Huskies trailed 59-47 with 5:39 to play, the ball was in Moore's hands on every possession and she kept on scoring, but it was not enough. Diggins scored 28 for Notre Dame.
Records
Notre Dame: 11-1 (5-1 home, 2-0 road, 4-0 neutral)
UConn: 12-0 (5-0 home, 4-0 road, 3-0 neutral)
Home Attendance
ND: 8,881
UC: 8,439
Points Per Game
ND: 86.2
UC: 86.4
Points Allowed
ND: 56.6
UC: 43.0
FG Percentage
ND: 47.1
UC: 51.8
FG % Allowed
ND: 37.6
UC: 28.5
Free Throw %
ND: 81.3
UC: 74.6
Free Throw % Allowed
ND: 72.1
UC: 65.6
Rebounds Per Game
ND: 44.3
UC: 41.1
Turnovers Per Game
ND: 16.1
UC: 13.2
Winning Streak
ND: 6 (last win Dec. 31, beat St. Francis, 128-55)
UC: 12 (last win Dec. 31, beat Oregon, 95-51)
Scoring By Half
ND: 538, 496 — 1,034
UC: 537, 500 — 1,037
Points Allowed By Half
ND: 340, 339 — 679
UC: 221, 295 — 516
Defeats
ND: Baylor, 73-61
UC: None
Top Scorer
ND: Kayla McBride, 15.3
UC: Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, 16.9
Top Rebounder
ND: Natalie Achonwa, 9.3
UC: Breanna Stewart/Stefanie Dolson, 6.7
Top 3-Point Shooter
ND: Jewell Loyd, 12 of 26, .462
UC: Mosqueda-Lewis, 33 of 62, .532
Assists Leader
ND: Skylar Diggins, 72
UC: Kelly Faris, 47
—SCOTT POWERS | spowers@courant.com
