WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
No. 2 UCONN vs No. 24 NOTRE DAME
When: Sunday, noon
Where: Gampel Pavilion
Records: UConn (4-1), Notre Dame (7-1) TV: FS1
Radio: UConn Sports Network
KEEP AN EYE ON
Nika back to being Nika: In freshman Azzi Fudd’s absence, Nika Mühl was her normal intensity-driven self on Friday. The sophomore guard was second off the bench after UConn coach Geno Auriemma originally called on freshman Caroline Ducharme.
Mühl, who started 15 games and averaged 24.5 minutes last season, immediately suffocated Seton Hall with her energy and aggression. She snatched up steals, running them back for fast break layups before finishing with two points, four rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes.
“She looked more like an assassin from Croatia,” Auriemma said. “Her game is to get in the lane and create, play defense.”
While her steal-and-score play in the first half’s final minute gave UConn a 16piont halftime lead, the 5-10 Croatian again struggled with foul trouble. Mühl played three minutes in the second quarter and managed to get called for two personal fouls during the period. She got called for two more during her six minutes in the fourth. Mühl was the only player between both teams to finish with four fouls.
“Every time you foul, you’re putting yourself and our team in jeopardy,” Auriemma said. “And now you gotta come to the bench and now that’s one less player that we have available. We need Nika’s minutes. We don’t need Paige playing 40 minutes so that would help a big deal.”
Re-energized bigs: After getting beat on the boards by South Carolina during the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament, UConn’s bigs showed major improvement on Friday.
Aaliyah Edwards dominated the glass, bringing down season-highs of three offensive boards in seven total rebounds. The sophomore forward dropped in put-back buckets one after another for a season-high 12 points (the most she’s had since UConn’s game against Iowa in last year’s Sweet 16).
Ohio State graduate transfer Dorka Juhász had her best game as a Husky. The 6-5 forward drained her first 3-pointer of the season at 3:30 in the second quarter to put UConn ahead by 15 and looked much more in control with a game-high 10 rebounds, including four on offense.
“Dorka lived her life today,” Aureimma said. “Today Dorka was exactly what we needed her to be. And again, that needs to be accentuated a little bit going forward but I like where she is right now.”
Juhász’s and Edwards’ big games are a hopeful sign that UConn has begun to solve its rebounding issue in time for conference play and there is plenty of time to improve before its rematch with South Carolina next month.
“If you’re a big guy, if you’re a post player, if you’re just an aggressive guy, the mindset is every time somebody shots the ball, you have to think to yourself, ‘There is only person that should think the ball is going in and that’s the shooter,’” Auriemma said. “Everybody else should assume that it’s not going in and they should be working their butt off to go get an offensive rebound. That’s like a minimum requirement if you’re a big guy.”
A heated history: UConn has a complicated past with Notre Dame. While the Irish have looked different since Muffet McGraw retired in April 2020 after 33 seasons the helm, the rivalry with the Huskies runs deep and is heated.
Most recently, the Irish spoiled UConn’s NCAA Tournament run in the Final Four in 2019 and 2018.
Since last winning the championship in 2018, Notre Dame has gone 65-33, including 7-1 so far this season with its lone loss coming from Georgia in overtime (71-67).
Olympic reunion: An hour before Sunday’s game, UConn will honor its Olympic athletes in a ceremony along with an unveiling of a new monument on Hillside Road. While the Huskies have had athletes compete in the Olympic Games across a variety of sports outside of basketball (soccer, track and field, field hockey, ice hockey, swimming ...), a handful of former women’s basketball stars will be in attendance. Sue Bird and Stef Dolson (2020 gold medalists) will join Swin Cash (2004, 2012) and Asjha Jones (2012) in attendance outside Gampel Sunday morning.