Locked On Women’s Basketball: Takeaways from Notre Dame’s win over UConn

Notre Dame’s guard tandem of sophomore Hannah Hidalgo and graduate student Olivia Miles combined for 45 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and four steals in the win. Hidalgo was especially lethal from the 3-point line, where she shot 6-for-11. Adler shares a hot take about the duo:

“Despite the fact that they had never played together until a month ago, Hidalgo and Miles, their chemistry together is insane. Just based on talent, this is the best pair of teammates that we’ve had at the collegiate level at least since Sabrina [Ionescu] and Satou [Sabally at Oregon], if not since [Breanna Stewart] and [Moriah Jefferson at UConn].”

The IX Basketball, a 24/7/365 women’s basketball newsroom powered by The Next

The IX Basketball: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX Sports. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff and dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.

Later in the episode, Adler, Cruse and Shafer talk about UConn’s offense and suggest some changes. For example, Cruse wants star guard Paige Bueckers to take on a larger, more ball-dominant offensive role:

“I understand that [head coach] Geno [Auriemma] wants Paige to be off the ball and run off screens, but using her as an off-ball guard is just misusing her. We saw it in this game: Whenever they put the ball in the hands of Paige Bueckers the first time on a primary possession with her as a primary ball-handler, they get right to the rim. …

“I know [Auriemma] likes to always have these different steady guards that can make good reads, but we’ll see what happens throughout the season. I think Paige should just have the ball in her hands and take 25 shots a game because, I mean, that’s their best avenue of success, her and [freshman forward] Sarah Strong taking a bunch of shots.”

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to The IX Sports and receive our daily women’s sports newsletter covering soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers. That includes Basketball Wednesday from founder and editor Howard Megdal.

Readers of The IX Basketball now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

Related content:

• Locked On Women’s Basketball: Mark Zanetto on UConn-Notre Dame, the season so far and what’s to come
• Sarah Strong is UConn’s best title hope in nearly a decade
• Locked On Women’s Basketball: Hannah Hidalgo talks sophomore season at Notre Dame

Make sure to subscribe to the Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast to keep learning about the WNBA, women’s college basketball, basketball history and much more!