Notre Dame–UConn women's basketball rivalry

Connecticut–Notre Dame women's basketball rivalry

Sport	Women's basketball
Teams	Connecticut Huskies Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Connecticut–Notre Dame women's basketball rivalry is a college rivalry series between the UConn Huskies women's basketball team of the University of Connecticut and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team of the University of Notre Dame. The Huskies and Fighting Irish have met 48 times, including seven times in the NCAA Tournament and twice in the NCAA Championship, with the Huskies holding a 36–12 advantage.

Background

The Connecticut Huskies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball teams are two of the more successful teams in women's collegiate basketball. The UConn Huskies have won eleven national championships, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have eight Final Four appearances, with a National Championship in 2001 and 2018. Both teams formerly played in the Big East Conference, and appeared in the title game of the Big East Tournament multiple times, with UConn appearing 23 times between 1989 and 2013, and Notre Dame appearing seven times in the same time period.

From April 2011 to March 2013, Notre Dame won seven out of its eight match-ups with UConn, the best performance of any team against UConn since Tennessee. However, Notre Dame fell to UConn in the 2013 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament despite Notre Dame beating them three times during the regular season that year.

In 2014, UConn and Notre Dame both went into the national championship undefeated. This is the first time two undefeated teams went to the title game in men's and women's NCAA Division I basketball history. This was also their first meeting in a championship game. UConn won that game handily. The next year, both teams made it to the title game again, where UConn won its tenth national championship and third national championship in a row. New York Times reporter Harvey Araton observed that in this "latest showdown between the premier women’s programs" there was an "absence of the mutual hostility" that had characterized the previous year's matchup.

After seven consecutive wins by UConn over Notre Dame, the Irish beat the Huskies in the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament, in a 91-89 overtime contest. From the start of the 2011-2012 season to the end of the 2017-2018 season, UConn has only 12 losses, with 7 of them coming against Notre Dame.

Game results

Connecticut victories

Notre Dame victories

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score	Notes
1	January 18, 1996	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	87–64
2	February 24, 1996	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	86–79
3	March 5, 1996	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	71–54	Big East Tournament
4	February 9, 1997	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	72–49
5	March 4, 1997	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	86–77	Big East Tournament
6	December 6, 1997	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	78–59
7	February 21, 1998	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	73–61
8	March 2, 1998	Piscataway, NJ	Connecticut	73–53	Big East Tournament
9	December 8, 1998	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	106–81
10	March 2, 1999	Piscataway, NJ	Connecticut	96–75	Big East Tournament
11	February 26, 2000	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	77–59
12	January 15, 2001	Notre Dame, IN	Notre Dame	92–76
13	March 6, 2001	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	78–76	Big East Tournament
14	March 30, 2001	St. Louis, MO	Notre Dame	90–75	NCAA Final Four
15	January 21, 2002	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	80–53
16	January 20, 2003	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	72–53
17	February 23, 2003	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	77–59
18	January 13, 2004	Notre Dame, IN	Notre Dame	66–51
19	January 12, 2005	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	67–50
20	January 30, 2005	Storrs, CT	Notre Dame	65–59
21	March 7, 2005	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	67–54	Big East Tournament
22	February 19, 2006	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	79–64
23	March 5, 2006	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	71–60	Big East Tournament
24	January 27, 2007	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	64–47
25	January 27, 2008	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	81–64

No.	Date	Location	Winner	Score	Notes
26	February 22, 2009	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	76–66
27	January 16, 2010	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	70–46
28	March 1, 2010	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	76–51
29	March 8, 2010	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	59–44	Big East Tournament
30	January 8, 2011	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	79–76
31	February 19, 2011	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	78–57
32	March 8, 2011	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	73–64	Big East Tournament
33	April 3, 2011	Indianapolis, IN	Notre Dame	72–63	NCAA Final Four
34	January 7, 2012	Notre Dame, IN	Notre Dame	74–67	OT
35	February 27, 2012	Hartford, CT	Notre Dame	72–59
36	March 6, 2012	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	63–54	Big East Tournament
37	April 1, 2012	Denver, CO	Notre Dame	83–75	NCAA Final Four, OT
38	January 5, 2013	Storrs, CT	Notre Dame	73–72
39	March 4, 2013	Notre Dame, IN	Notre Dame	96–87	3OT
40	March 12, 2013	Hartford, CT	Notre Dame	61–59	Big East Tournament
41	April 7, 2013	New Orleans, LA	Connecticut	83–65	NCAA Final Four
42	April 8, 2014	Nashville, TN	Connecticut	79–58	NCAA Championship Game
43	December 6, 2014	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	76–58
44	April 7, 2015	Tampa, FL	Connecticut	63–53	NCAA Championship Game
45	December 5, 2015	Storrs, CT	Connecticut	91–81	Jimmy V Women's Classic
46	December 7, 2016	Notre Dame, IN	Connecticut	72–61
47	December 3, 2017	Hartford, CT	Connecticut	80–71	Jimmy V Women's Classic
48	March 30, 2018	Columbus, OH	Notre Dame	91–89	NCAA Final Four, OT
Series: Connecticut leads 36–12