It’s been a while since the No. 1 UConn women’s basketball team has been pushed.

And on Monday night, after they took only a rare single-digit lead at halftime against Notre Dame, the Huskies pushed back, using a strong third quarter to defeat the Irish 85-47 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.

The win snapped Notre Dame’s three-game win streak vs. the Huskies, who had not won a game in the series since Dec. 5, 2021. It was UConn’s 35th consecutive win overall.

Of course, it was UConn sophomore Sarah Strong who propelled the Huskies (19-0, 9-0 Big East). She scored a game-high 18 points and added 11 rebounds, and the 3-pointer she drained with 7:31 remaining in the second period gave her 1,000 points for her career.

She reached the milestone in 59 games, four more than school icons Maya Moore and Paige Bueckers. It took them 55 games in their storied careers.

Strong’s historic hoop gave the Huskies a 30-16 lead, but the Irish outscored them 7-2 to close the half trailing 32-23. UConn was just 2-13 from 3-point range in the half, and Notre Dame (12-6, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) star Hannah Hidalgo scored 10 points in the second quarter to keep the Irish in the game.

Whatever adjustments head coach Geno Auriemma made at halftime worked.

"We went into the locker room and talked a little bit about being more aggressive in our attack,” Auriemma told Fox Sports after the game. “I thought in the first half we were looking too much for the perfect play instead of making sure we were getting into our sets before they had a chance to set their defense. Our own defense then really gave us an opportunity to do that."

UConn’s characteristic big run came in the third quarter instead of its typical first half. The teams exchanged baskets to start the period, and UConn then went on an 18-2 stretch to take a 52-27 lead.

The Huskies weren’t done with their barrage of baskets, going on a 14-0 run in the fourth to outscore the Irish 26-12 in the final period.

But UConn also played ferocious defense, especially in the second half. Azzi Fudd, KK Arnold and others harassed Hidalgo, into a 16-point night on 5-of-15 shooting, including 1-of-6 from long range. She entered averaging 25 points per game.

“The first quarter, we did a great job,” Auriemma said of the defense on Hidalgo. “In the second quarter, I thought we let her get to her spots, and she's hard to guard. She's very shifty and very smart and takes advantage of all your mistakes, and I thought we bottled her up a little bit more in the second half.

“We didn't give her as much room to operate, so I think that was the big deal.”

Cassandre Prosper added 12 points for Notre Dame and led the Irish with seven rebounds and four assists.

The Huskies held Notre Dame to 36.5% shooting, including 1 of 16 from long range.

The Huskies had four players join Strong in double figures: Fudd (15), Arnold (12, team-high five assists), Serah Williams (11, eight rebounds) and Ashlynn Shade (10).

It was a bad day overall for Notre Dame, which started Monday ranked No. 23 in the nation in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Irish fell out of the rankings when the new poll was released Monday afternoon

Remember to join our UCONN on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Huskies fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!