Spring Break
UConn to fight the Irish at XL Center
Four games remain in regular season
Mike Northup
Issue date: 2/20/09 Section: Sports
|
"This will come back to haunt me, but I think we've got a couple players on our team that live for big games," Auriemma said Sunday. "They want to play in these kinds of games, they look forward to it and they prepare for these kinds of games every day in practice."
One week after their 95-42 romp of the Panthers, the top-ranked Huskies (26-0, 12-0 Big East) will welcome another top-25 team when No. 24 Notre Dame comes to the XL Center for a nationally televised afternoon showdown (2 p.m., ESPNU).
The Huskies most recently earned a dominating 75-39 road win against Providence College Wednesday. Five different players scored in double digits, led by forward Maya Moore (16 points) and guard Tiffany Hayes (15 points).
For Hayes, it was the second straight game she has scored 15 points and her third straight game in double-digits. Since becoming a starter on Jan. 26 against Cincinnati, Hayes has scored double-digits in all but one of her starts.
Because of the blowout, the Huskies were able to rest their starters for much of the second half and get significant playing time for their reserves, an invaluable opportunity with the Big East tournament just over three weeks away. Backups Kaili McLaren, Lorin Dixon and Meghan Gardler all saw significant time throughout the game. Auriemma was even able to include lesser-used players Tahirah Williams and Jacquie Fernandez for the majority of the second half.
The Fighting Irish come into Sunday's game well rested too, having not played since Tuesday, when they needed a second-half surge to rally past South Florida, 86-79. Trailing by eight at halftime, Notre Dame used a man-to-man press to hold the Bulls to just 27 second-half points.
"I think we were embarrassed at halftime," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw after the game. "I thought defensively, rebounding-wise and every which way we just didn't play well. We got our heart and our pride back at halftime and went out and played harder and just worked harder. I don't think it was anything more than that."
Senior guard Lindsay Schrader turned in a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The 6-foot Schrader ranks second on the team with 12 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Schrader is one of four Notre Dame starters to average double figures in scoring this year. As a team, the Fighting Irish are fifth in the Big East in scoring, with 72.6 points per game.
While no team has been able to match the Huskies' pace this year, the Fighting Irish should at least be able to match the size. Much like the Huskies, the Fighting Irish employ a three-guard starting lineup and much like the Huskies, no starter is shorter than 5-foot-7. At 6-foot-4, Notre Dame center Erica Williamson is the same height as UConn center Tina Charles.
UConn has won three straight regular season games against Notre Dame, and last lost to the Fighting Irish Jan. 30, 2005 at Gampel Pavilion, 59-65.
Be the first to comment on this story