February 28, 2012 | Kenneth Best - UConn Communications

Huskies Lose to Notre Dame to Finish No. 3 in Big East

The Huskies will have the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament, which begins Friday at the XL Center in Hartford, behind No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 St. John's.

Stefanie Dolson '15 (CLAS) drives past a Notre Dame defender at the XL Center in Hartford. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn.

Stefanie Dolson '15 (CLAS) drives past a Notre Dame defender at the XL Center in Hartford. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn.

Before the 2011-12 basketball season began, women’s head coach Geno Auriemma was clear about the challenge for his Huskies, the need to have a clutch, go-to player when facing diversity, someone who will fight back to win.

After watching the No. 3 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame beat the No. 4 Huskies 72-59 on Monday night to win its first outright Big East regular season title, Auriemma says the challenge is still there.

“When [All-American] Maya (Moore) ’11 (CLAS) left, she took all the fight with her,” Auriemma said. “We’ve been trying to find it.”

Stefanie Dolson '15 (CLAS) drives past a Notre Dame defender at the XL Center in Hartford. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn.
Stefanie Dolson '15 (CLAS) drives past a Notre Dame defender at the XL Center in Hartford. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)

With the loss, the second to Notre Dame this year, the Huskies finish the regular season with a 13-3 Big East Conference record, 26-4 overall. It is the first time since the 2005-2006 season that UConn did not have at least a share of the Big East regular season title.

After their loss last week to St. John’s, the Huskies will have the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament, which begins Friday at the XL Center in Hartford, behind the No. 1 Fighting Irish and No. 2 Red Storm. The Huskies will play on Sunday at 8 p.m. against either No. 6 seed Rutgers or the winner of the first round game between Marquette and Cincinnati. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

“We were fighting an uphill battle the whole game,” Auriemma said. “Every time we tried to make a turn, get in a pretty good place, we would commit a stupid turnover. Every time we did, they scored on it; we couldn’t keep them off the offensive boards. They’re just better than we are right now. That’s the bottom line.”

Notre Dame had a 23-15 advantage in rebounding over UConn, with the Huskies only grabbing three offensive rebounds.

Tiffany Hayes '12 (CLAS) drives to the basket against a Notre Dame defender during last night's game at the XL Center. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)
Tiffany Hayes '12 (CLAS) drives to the basket against a Notre Dame defender during last night's game at the XL Center. (Steve Slade '89 (SFA) for UConn)

The nationally televised game was a back and forth battle from the outset, with nine lead changes and eight ties, until just under 13 minutes remaining in the game with the score tied at 51-51. Three straight baskets by Skylar Diggins, who finished with 20 points, sparked a 21-8 run that led to the final score. With just over three minutes remaining in the game, Natalie Novosel, who led the Irish with 21 points, hit a 3-point shot and there was no other scoring by either team, with the Huskies held scoreless for the last 7:33 of the game.

After Novosel’s shot, Auriemma sat his starting players who had been on the court for most of the game and put in his bench players.

“I was saying we still had three minutes. I think if we would have come together we would have had a chance,” said Tiffany Hayes ’12 (CLAS), who led the Huskies with 18 points. “I guess he wanted to give the other five a chance. We just had to cheer and see what they could do.”

Stefanie Dolson ’14 (CLAS) had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in her best outing in recent weeks.

“I think she looked like she did last year,” Auriemma said. “There was a body language that I haven’t seen at any other time this year. She managed to keep that the entire game, which I think is a great positive, for her and for us going forward.”

Notre Dame, which was picked to finish first in the conference earlier this year, said their first-ever win in Hartford was a point of pride and should earn the Irish a measure of respect.

“We wanted to show we deserved respect,” Novosel said. “That’s the mentality we had. I think a lot of people thought we couldn’t win the championship. We just didn’t feel like we had the respect.”

Added Diggins, “It was a pride thing; we wanted to step out of the shadow of UConn. I think the team did a great job staying focused and getting a great win on the road.”

Irish coach Muffet McGraw said, “I think everybody in the country probably thinks they’re in UConn’s shadow. We have complete respect for Geno and what he’s done here. It’s nice to come and win here, because we haven’t done it before. I think it propels us, makes us a little more anxious to come back to Hartford for the tournament.”

As the Huskies have struggled during the season, Auriemma has talked about his belief since the pre-season that the relatively young Huskies seem to lack focus at times, repeating mistakes.

“This team has not improved since the last time we played Notre Dame,” he said, referring to the seven-point loss in early January in South Bend, Ind. “I would have thought we would have made great strides. This is one of the few years that I can remember that’s been the case.”