No. 7 Notre Dame earned its largest win since 2004 over storied rival UConn, a 74-60 victory on Sunday in South Bend as part of the Jimmy V Classic, while the No. 3 Huskies' superstar Azzi Fudd played just 13 minutes after injuring her knee in the first quarter of the game.
Fudd appeared to injure her right knee when a teammate accidentally fell onto it, and though she briefly exited the court for the locker room, she returned early in the second period to play four minutes. After subbing out toward the end of the frame, she joined the Huskies on the bench but did not reappear on the floor for the second half.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma told reporters postgame that he "think[s] she'll be alright" and decided to keep her out as a precaution, adding he's "guessing" Fudd will be available on Thursday when the Huskies host Princeton.
"She tried to go again, but obviously it didn't look like she could move, so rather than take any chances, I thought we should take some precautions instead," Auriemma said, according to UCTV Sports.
Notre Dame's defense frustrated Fudd -- who entered the contest averaging 24.0 points per game and as an early national player of the year contender -- limiting her to 0-2 shooting from the field; it was her first scoreless game of the season and second of her career after not getting on the board when the Huskies played South Carolina in Nov. 2021.
Fudd has a history of injuries -- tearing her right ACL and MCL in April 2019 and dealing with a foot issue last season that caused her to miss 11 games from December through January.
Despite their undefeated record entering the matchup, the Huskies (6-1) have had a bad bout of injury luck to start the season: 2020-21 national player of the year Paige Bueckers is out for the season with a torn ACL, as is freshman Ice Brady with a dislocated patella. Graduate student Dorka Juhász suffered a broken thumb against Texas and has missed the last five games, though she hasn't been ruled out for the Princeton matchup.
For Niele Ivey, the third-year coach for Notre Dame who took over for legendary figure Muffet McGraw, the win marked her first nonconference victory over a top-3 team since assuming the head role in South Bend; the Irish previously beat then-No. 3 NC State in ACC play in February.
Ivey -- who told reporters postgame that "this is something that I've always dreamt of" -- is hoping to push the Irish back into the conversation for the national title after they nearly upset NC State in the Sweet 16 this past March.
The top-10 win comes after Ivey challenged her team to be better after suffering a heartbreaking loss to No. 20 Maryland on Thursday on Diamond Miller's buzzer beater.
The Irish shot 56% from the floor, holding UConn to just a 37% clip, dominated the paint battle 46-16 and were +13 on the boards. Sophomore Olivia Miles finished with 21 points on 10 for 18 shooting, along with eight rebounds and four assists.