Has Notre Dame beaten UConn three times this year? Yes. Does it mean the Fighting Irish "own" the Huskies? No it doesn't and here is why: every game has gone to the wire. With one-minute left in every game, the outcome was still up in the air. This doesn't happen if you "own" a team. To win and win a lot it takes talent, but also a little bit of luck, which unfortunately for UConn fans, ND had in spades.
I think the fact that every game has been so close is a testament to how close the teams are. I think the reason Notre Dame has been able to pull it out is because they have a great one-two combo in Diggins and McBride. You know where the ball is going when it matters the most. Defense is swarming Diggins? No problem, just shoot the ball over to McBride and vice versa. Of course, it wasn't just them - the entire team stepped up as well.
With UConn, as talented as it is, there is really no go-to player. You would think it would be Mosquada-Lewis, but who is the back-up? What happens if she is tightly covered or can't get free from a screen? I think that's the problem. Also, I didn't see Mosquada-Lewis demand the ball, which is so unusual because she converts at such a high percentage. Maybe that's the killer instinct everyone is talking about that UConn lacks. I don't know. I actually don't buy that this team doesn't have a killer instinct. Geno recruits winners - plain and simple. Are you telling me that these players had no killer instinct when they were leading their high schools to state championships or putting the US on the gold podium? I don't buy it.
But what I've seen in the past three games is not one team owning another - just another team executing just a tiny bit better than the other one.
