New looks, old rivalry
STORRS — The team that beat UConn eight months ago doesn’t look anything like the one that will visit Gampel Pavilion Sunday.
Only two players who suited up for Notre Dame in its 8176 victory in last season’s Final Four are still on the roster, and neither will play in the 51st installment of the rivalry (4 p.m.). The Fighting Irish lost all five starters, including Jackie Young, who left a year early and was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA Draft.
“It’s a different team in so many ways,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “It’s our program versus their program, but the teams that have played against each other the last two years don’t exist anymore. But it’s still UConn and Notre Dame, so obviously that has a lot of meaning to it.”
In addition to Young, the Fighting Irish graduated the No. 5 (Arike Ogunbowale), No. 11 (Brianna Turner), No. 16 ( Jessica Shepard) and No. 19 (Marina Mabrey) picks. They also had two players transfer and lost to injury. In all, they’re without 3,384 points — 98 percent — of last year’s offense.
Sophomore guard Katlyn Gilbert, who missed most
of last season with a separated shoulder, leads the team in scoring with 14.9 points per game. Next in line is freshman forward Sam Brunelle, who is averaging 13.9 points and 6.6 rebounds.
The widespread changes have left Muffet McGraw with a considerable rebuilding project. The Fighting Irish were ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press preseason poll, but fell out of the Top 25 for the first time in 12 years following backtoback home losses to Tennessee and Michigan State.
The Fighting Irish are 55, having already lost to a pair of midmajors in Florida Gulf Coast and South Dakota State. A loss on Sunday would drop them under .500 for the first time since Dec. 7, 2003, when they started 34.
“They’re young,” Auriemma said. “They’re finding their new roles. They’re getting a lot of experience playing together. They still shoot the ball well, they still run their stuff really well, they execute. Their philosophy hasn’t changed much, it’s just a completely different cast of characters.”
The Huskies have also had to cope with change. They graduated AllAmericans Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson, the highestscoring teammates (4,743) in program history.
Despite all the changes, the rivalry remains one of the most anticipated games on UConn’s schedule. A sellout crowd is expected Sunday at Gampel.
“Anytime we play them, it’s a big game,” senior point guard Crystal Dangerfield said. “They have a completely different team and we have a completely different team, so it’s going to be a fun matchup.”
The Huskies are 70 and ranked No. 4 in the country.
The fact that Notre Dame has dropped a few pegs isn’t changing Dangerfield’s thoughts on the matchup.
“I never pay attention to the ranking,” she said. “To me, Notre Dame is Notre Dame. They’re going to play hard, harder against us than they do any other
team in the country. We have to be ready for that.”