SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Hannah Hidalgo had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and No. 8 Notre Dame handed second-seeded UConn its first loss with a 79-68 win on Thursday night.

Olivia Miles overcame an early ankle injury and scored 16 points Liatu King also had 16 for the Fighting Irish (8-2).

Paige Bueckers led the Huskies (8-1) with 25 points. Sarah Strong scored 14.

Notre Dame forced UConn to make 3 of 16 shots from three-point range while the Fighting Irish were 10 of 18 from behind the arc.

Takeaways

Notre Dame: Lisa Karlena 6-foot-2 forward making his first appearance for the Fighting Irish since spraining his left ankle in Notre Dame’s exhibition game against Davenport. Karlen, who averaged 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds for Marquette last season, missed Notre Dame’s first nine games but now provides the Fighting Irish with much-needed bench strength.

UConn: The Huskies played their first true road game without one Azzi Fudda guard with a 10-point average. The senior sprained her knee during the Huskies’ 85-52 win over Louisville on Saturday.

Key moment

UConn extended Notre Dame’s 11-point halftime lead to 53-52 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter, but Hidalgo hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. Notre Dame scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 62-52. The Huskies didn’t get closer than six after that.

Key statistics

UConn was 0 for 7 from behind the arc in the first half.

Next

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish host Eastern Michigan on Sunday.

UConn: The Huskies host Georgetown in a Big East contest on Sunday.