Top seeds Connecticut and Notre Dame will meet Tuesday night in the final of the 2014 Women's NCAA Tournament. Both teams enter undefeated, having run the table in the regular season. The winner will become the eighth undefeated champion in the history of the sport, and UConn prevailing would be the sixth such season for the Huskies.
Women’s NCAA Tournament 2014: Game preview, TV schedule for UConn vs. Notre Dame
The first title game between a pair of unbeaten teams will make college basketball history Tuesday night.
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Notre Dame holds the distinction as the last team to defeat Connecticut, doing so in last season's Big East Tournament championship. But now that the Huskies have joined the American Athletic Conference, the two best teams in college basketball delayed meeting until the tournament title game.
A win for Notre Dame would be the second in the program’s history, having won back in 2001. The Irish have come up short of late, reaching the Final Four each of the last four seasons and failing to capture a second title. Twice the Irish lost in the title game, losing to Texas A&M in 2011 and Baylor in 2012.
A lot is at stake for Geno Auriemma and UConn as well. A ninth title win would break the tie Auriemma currently holds with Pat Summitt, each having won eight NCAA tournament titles.
As for on-court personnel, this game features a clash between two first-team All-Americans. UConn’s Breanna Stewart earned Naismith Award honors while leading the Huskies in scoring her sophomore year, averaging 19.4 points per game while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field. Her Irish counterpart is senior guard Kayla McBride, who led the team in minutes and earned first-team honors for the first time in her career.
Other All-Americans in the game include Connecticut’s Bria Hartley and Stephanie Dolson (second-team), as well as Notre Dame’s Jewell Lloyd (second-team) and Natalie Achonwa (third-team).
TV schedule:
8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN
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