“This is a major win for us,” said Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey after her team took down UConn with a 79-68 victory. Last week, Notre Dame, and especially star guard Hannah Hidalgo, proved too much for the Huskies. The Fighting Irish claimed their third consecutive win over UConn, exposing weaknesses in a team that had looked rock-solid, so far this season. The loss was UConn’s first of the season, but the fallout was immediate.

With the defeat, the Huskies fell two spots to No. 4 in the Week 7 AP Top 25 poll. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish soared up five spots, landing at No. 3. “Obviously, it’s just one win, but I’m really grateful for this group and really proud of our effort and the way we showed up today with such toughness and discipline,” Ivey said. But don’t count the Huskies out yet—they’re already bouncing back.

Since the loss to Notre Dame, UConn has hit the road and responded in a big way. They’ve already taken their first win in Big East play, demolishing Georgetown 79-44 on Sunday. Redshirt senior Paige Bueckers led the charge, dropping 24 points on an efficient 11-for-16 shooting performance. Now, UConn has two more games lined up before taking a holiday break—first against Iowa State on Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena, and then against No. 7 USC on Saturday in Hartford.

While Saturday’s matchup against USC will be a heavyweight clash, the Cyclones might not pose quite as much of a challenge. Ranked No. 18 last week, Iowa State has since fallen out of the rankings after a tough loss to then-No. 21 Iowa. Still, the Cyclones rebounded with a dominant 87-55 win over Eastern Illinois, and they’re led by Audi Crooks, who’s been an offensive powerhouse. Crooks currently ranks 10th in the nation with 21.6 points per game, and she’s backed by Emily Ryan, who leads the country with an impressive 87 assists.

Despite setbacks, UConn is up for rising to the occasion.

The Huskies, meanwhile, will once again be without star guard Azzi Fudd, who is day-to-day with a minor knee sprain. Fudd went down in the third quarter of UConn’s game against Louisville, leaving the Huskies to rely on their 10 available players.

Against Notre Dame, the Huskies managed to pull within two points late in the game, only for Hidalgo to drain a dagger 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the third quarter—a moment that completely deflated UConn’s momentum.

Now, Iowa State poses a fresh challenge for UConn, particularly for their young frontcourt, which will be tested by Crooks, one of the best centers in the country. Then, on Saturday, UConn faces USC in a highly anticipated rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight. The spotlight will shine on two of the nation’s top guards—Bueckers and USC’s rising sophomore star JuJu Watkins as they go head-to-head.

For UConn, these two games carry significant weight. A pair of wins could boost the Huskies’ ranking and reaffirm their status as a title contender. But another loss? That might send them tumbling even further. All eyes are on the Huskies to see how they’ll respond.