The Connecticut Huskies are the best team in women's college basketball, but lately Notre Dame seems to have their number.
The No. 1 ranked Huskies had started the season 12-0, but lost 73-72 against fifth-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday night for the fifth time in the past six games. No team has done that to the Huskies since Miami in the early 1990s, according to ESPN.com.
All-American guard Skylar Diggins led the way for the Irish, scoring 19 points and adding six rebounds and five assists.
"This is good for us," Notre Dame senior Skylar Diggins said to ESPN.com. "The history of the [Connecticut] program, how big it's been, how many national championships they've got, how many All-American players that came out of here and been successful at the next level, I think a lot of people are afraid of the name on the front of the jersey."
Notre Dame ended the season or the Huskies in each of the past two Final Fours, but the Irish were supposed to be in a rebuilding year this season after losing three starters to graduation.
Connecticut was in control for most of the game, but Diggins took over in the second half, scoring back-to-back 3-pointers to keep the Irish close. Down by one with less than a minute to go, Diggins was fouled while driving to the basket and put Notre Dame in the lead with two free throws. That was all they would need.
"I think Skylar has changed things for us," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "She believed we can win and has the confidence and that is contagious."
The Huskies had three chances at the end to retake the lead, but fell short, making an undefeated season impossible for Connecticut. Breanna Stewart was rejected after driving in the lane and then missed a jumper following a timeout. Kelly Faris snagged the rebound and passed to Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, but she couldn't knock down the open 3-pointer.
Notre Dame recovered and ran out the clock for the win.
"How many times can we put up our defense," McGraw said. "I thought about our football team getting that goal line stand (against Stanford) three times in a row, if they can do it, we can do it."
The Irish came into the game on a seven game winning streak and were preparing to head to Florida for Tuesday's game against South Florida.
"It's great to win when they are ranked No. 1," she said. "It's great for our team, but it's still January 5. We're just trying to get better."
Notre Dame has gone 12-1 this season, losing only to No. 3-ranked Baylor on Dec 5. The team has looked impressive in wins over UCLA and Purdue and was coming into the UConn game after a 128-55 win on Dec. 31 against St. Francis.
Kayla McBride has a career-high 21 points in the win over the Huskies while adding three rebounds and three assists. She went 10-of-21 from the field to lead the Irish in scoring. Last season McBride was more of a supporting player, but has stepped up since the team graduated some of its stars.
"I think it starts in the summer, her work ethic in the summer," Diggins said. "Getting in the weight room, dropping some pounds, gaining some muscle -- she's just been conditioning, conditioning, conditioning, lifting. She's always in the gym.
Connecticut was unbeaten at home this season and had looked extremely impressive in wins over five ranked teams, including then-No. 1 Stanford 61-35 on Dec. 29 on the road, ended the Cardinal's 82-game home winning streak.
"It's definitely been an up and down week" said Stefanie Dolson. "We were all extremely excited and on a high when we beat Stanford the way we did. We came into this game and we weren't ready. I don't think we were ready for how hard Notre Dame was going to come at us. They out-toughed us."
Dolson led the Huskies in scoring with 17 points in 40 minutes and also added eight rebounds and six assists. The team was down by two points at halftime, but rocketed back into the lead after a layup from Dolson with sixteen minutes left. The team was up three with eight minutes in the game, but couldn't hold on after going cold down the stretch.
"You got the best 3-point shooter in the country with a wide open 3 to win it and it doesn't go in," Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. "I'd be more upset if the wrong guy took the wrong shot at the wrong time. We came out of timeout and got the shot we wanted and it didn't go in."
The Huskies went 36-2 last year and finished undefeated at 39-0 during the previous two seasons, winning back-to-back NCAA championships. Notre Dame has Connecticut's number right now, winning twice in the regular season last year over the Huskies, as well as in both of the past two Final Fours. The two teams will meet again in the final regular-season game of the season in South Bend on March 4.
Connecticut has a game against No. 3-ranked Duke on the horizon, but has already defeated five ranked teams this season. The Huskies were dominant against Stanford, allowing just 35 points, and has been great scoring the ball, with four starters averaging double-digit points.
