UConn women lose to Irish 83-75 in overtime

Denver — Brittany Mallory scored seven of her 11 points in overtime, including a pair of big 3-pointers, as Notre Dame defeated UConn 83-75 on Sunday night in a wild NCAA women's basketball tournament national semifinal game between the two Big East rivals.

It was the second straight year that Notre Dame (35-3) has eliminated the UConn in the national semifinals. The Huskies finish 33-5, three of those losses coming to the Irish, who will play the winner of Sunday's second game between Baylor and Stanford in Tuesday's championship.

UConn, which trailed 65-61 with 1:24 left in regulation, scored six straight points — including four straight free throws by Kelly Faris, to take a 67-65 lead with 11.8 seconds left, but Natalie Novosel banked in an offensive rebound with 4.4 seoonds remaining to force the overtime.

Sophomore center Stefanie Dolson led UConn with 20 points and eight rebounds while point guard Bria Hartley added 18 points. Novosel had 20 points and Skylar Diggins 19 for Notre Dame.