The UConn Huskies were having an impressive season until their ninth game with Notre Dame. That was when the Huskies suffered their first defeat of the season, falling by 11 points on Thursday night. While a win for No. 8 ranked Notre Dame over the in-form No. 2 UConn was significant, head coach Geno Auriemma also pointed out another brilliance of Notre Dame’s remarkable performance despite being short-handed because of injuries.

After the tough defeat, the 70-year-old head coach took the podium and, while concluding his comments, couldn’t help but praise Notre Dame for leading most of the game on the scoreboard despite having fewer players on their roster.

“Having only six players as a real blessing right now for that,” Auriemma said, though Notre Dame had seven players in the game, not six. With just two players coming off the bench in addition to their starting five, they went head-to-head with UConn, who had four extra players available. Despite the numbers, Notre Dame’s performance left a strong impression on the UConn coach.

Auriemma couldn’t help but admire the way Notre Dame played, saying, “So those guys are in there. Do you got to deal with them all the whole game? Like, you’re never looking at ongoing, they’re going to get a breather sometime soon, they don’t. So those guys are attacking you for the entire 40 minutes. And I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody, you know, up close yet that can do that.” 

It was surprising and somewhat overwhelming that even after 40 years of coaching, Auriemma admitted he’d never seen a team with so few players perform with such intensity. Notre Dame entered the game with several key injuries, missing three players: KK Bransford (leg), Kyle Watson (knee), and Maddy Westbeld (foot/ankle). Despite their absence, the Fighting Irish had all seven players on the roster contribute to the scoreboard, including three players with double-digit performances.

While Notre Dame showcased a strong team effort, UConn appeared to lean heavily on Paige Bueckers, prompting Geno Auriemma to comment on the lack of balanced contributions from the rest of the team.

Geno Auriemma calls for more team support to ease Paige Bueckers’ burden

After the game, Auriemma spoke to the media about the challenges Paige Bueckers faces while shouldering the team’s weight alone. You got to take some of the pressure off of Paige, you know? And sometimes, she’s her worst enemy because she over penetrate. It’s the to try to get something in traffic and get to the free-throw line and blah blah blah. And I think she, you know, she makes it a little bit harder on herself,” the head coach told the media.

Paige Bueckers delivered a solid performance, scoring 25 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Auriemma emphasized, “We need a lot of contributions and Paige is gonna try and carry the team by herself when she thinks there aren’t a lot of those contributions. And that’s not good for her. And that’s not good for us.” Sarah Strong followed Paige Bueckers as UConn’s second-highest scorer, putting up 14 points—still a full 11 behind Bueckers. After Strong, only Kaitlyn Chen and KK Arnold managed to hit double figures.

Meanwhile, three UConn players were unable to register a single point. Even Ashlynn Shade, who started and played 21 minutes, couldn’t find the scoreboard. This performance clearly underscores Auriemma’s call for more support from the rest of the team. The pressure on Bueckers is undeniable, and it’s evident that greater contributions across the board are crucial to ease the burden. However, coach Auriemma might take a page from Notre Dame’s playbook, as he was full of praise for their ability to make the most of their roster.