SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The freshman Christyn Williams scored a career-high 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting and No. 2 Connecticut never lost the lead after the midway point of the first quarter in dominating No. 1 Notre Dame, 89-71, on Sunday.
The UConn All-American Katie Lou Samuelson, who was held scoreless by the Irish in the first half, had 15 points, including a 3-point play that gave Geno Auriemma’s Huskies a 74-64 lead with 6 minutes 8 seconds remaining. The Huskies’ biggest lead was 19 points.
Napheesa Collier added 16 points with 15 rebounds for UConn (7-0). Crystal Dangerfield scored 13 points and Megan Walker added 12 as the Huskies ended Notre Dame’s 28-game winning streak at home. Muffet McGraw’s Irish, who beat UConn, 91-89, in overtime in last season’s N.C.A.A. semifinals on way to their second national championship. In its last 100 games at home, Notre Dame is 97-3 — with all three losses coming against the Huskies.
Jackie Young, who scored 32 against the Huskies last March, led the Irish with 18 points. Arike Ogunbowale had 17 points and 10 rebounds, but only 5 points after halftime. Jessica Shepard scored 13, Marina Mabrey had 11 and Brianna Turner 10 for Notre Dame (7-1).
Williams scored 16 points — one off her career high of 17 against Purdue on Nov. 24 — in the first 10 minutes on 7-of-8 shooting as UConn forged a 27-22 lead. Her basket had given UConn an 8-6 lead with 6:36 left in the quarter, a lead the Huskies would not relinquish.
Turner blocked two shots by Samuelson in the second quarter as the Irish kept the 6-foot-3 senior scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting. But Samuelson contributed in other areas with six assists, three rebounds, a block and a steal as the Huskies maintained their halftime advantage.
Four times, Notre Dame closed within a basket of tying UConn. But a 2:30 span without a field goal allowed the Huskies to pull out to a 43-35 lead.
Mabrey made two free throws to pull the Irish to 44-41 with 1:20 left in the first half, but she missed a tying 3-point attempt and looked winded, perhaps the result of missing the first five games with a quad injury.
The Huskies started the third quarter on an 11-5 run to take a 9-point lead on Walker’s 3-pointer. During the run Samuelson scored her first 4 points, 2 from the free-throw line and 2 more on a driving lay-in. But the Irish chipped away and got to 55-53 on Mabrey’s 3 with 4:20 to play.
Samuelson and Williams then led a 10-6 run for a 65-59 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Auriemma used only six players in the game. The Irish started four players who started in their victory over UConn in last year’s N.C.A.A. semifinals but did not look like the veteran team except for Ogunbowale, who was the only player in double figures at halftime with 12 points.
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