FORT WORTH, Texas – After pulling off its second upset of the NCAA Tournament with a 67-64 win over 2-seed Vanderbilt Friday, March 27, 6-seed Notre Dame women’s basketball will face the best team in women’s basketball for the second time this season. This time, the Irish (25-10) will go up against UConn (37-0) in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite Eight at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, March 29 at the Dickies Arena on ABC.
The Huskies are not just the defending national champions; they haven’t lost a game since Feb. 6, 2025. The slimmest margin of victory this season was a three-point win vs. 3-seed Michigan back in November.
UConn is 15-0 against Quad 1 or Quad 2 competition this season, while Notre Dame is 12-10. When the two met head-to-head on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Strorrs earlier this season, the Huskies won 85-47, but the Irish were without senior team captain KK Bransford.
Since that game, Notre Dame has gone 13-4. Can the Irish pull off not just their biggest win of the season but the most unexpected upset in all of March Madness and advance to their first Final Four since 2019?
Here’s what to know about UConn ahead of the Elite Eight.
The top seeded Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight with a 63-42 win vs. 4-seed North Carolina Friday in the Sweet Sixteen. UConn beat 9-seed Syracuse 98-45 in the round of 32 and beat 16-seed UTSA 90-52 in the round of 64.
The first two games were on the Huskies’ home court in Storrs, Connecticut, while the Sweet Sixteen was at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth just a few hours after Notre Dame beat Vanderbilt. UConn won the Big East Championship Tournament by beating Georgetown, Creighton and Villanova all by at least 39 points.
The Huskies have won their conference championship tournament — either Big East or American Athletic Conference (AAC) — every year since 2008.
Sophomore Sarah Strong leads the Huskies in points, rebounds, steals and blocks per game, one of two Naismith College Women’s Basketball Player and Defensive Player of the Year Finalists. Strong averages 18.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game.
She was one of three unanimous USA Today Sports First Team All-Americans, and was named Big East Player and Defensive Player of the Year. UConn’s head coach since 1985, Geno Auriemma was named Big East Coach of the Year and is one of four Naismith College Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year Finalists.
Junior KK Arnold leads UConn with 4.6 assists despite scoring just 7.2 points per game. Senior Naismith College Women’s Basketball Player of the Year finalist Azzi Fudd is second in scoring for the Huskies with 17.6 points per game, while she leads the entire NCAA Power-5 in 3-point percentage at 46% on 252 attempts.
The Huskies are the most decorated women’s basketball team in NCAA history with 12 national championships from 1995-2025. UConn is the defending national champion and has an all-time NCAA Tournament record of 145-24.
Since 2008, it has made the Final Four every year except 2023, with 24 appearances in program history. This will be the 30th Elite Eight appearance for the Huskies.
Notre Dame has played UConn in the NCAA Tournament eight times, all since 2001. The Irish and Huskies clashed in the Final Four or national championship every year from 2011-15. Notre Dame leads the NCAA Tournament series 5-3.
UConn 80, Notre Dame 63: The Huskies are held nearly 10 points under their average points per game but handle the Irish with relative ease to end Notre Dame’s season which surpassed expectations. It’s a better showing for the Irish than its 38-point regular season loss, but Strong and Fudd prove too much for junior Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player and Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo to overcome.
The Irish will play the Huskies at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, March 29 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and the game will be broadcast on ABC. Streaming is available with any subscription or cable package including DirectTV, YouTube TV, ESPN+, Hulu+ Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo and more.
See the link below to purchase tickets for Notre Dame vs UConn in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
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