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Walker leads No. 4 UConn in rout of Notre Dame

Andy Lyons / Getty Images Sport / Getty

STORRS, Conn. (AP) Megan Walker scored 26 points and pulled down 13 rebounds Sunday to lead No. 4 UConn to an 81-57 rout of rival Notre Dame.

Walker hit 10 of her 18 shots for the Huskies (8-0) .

Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Christyn Williams had 12 points and Crystal Dangerfield, who returned to the Huskies starting lineup after missing two games with back spasms, chipped in with 10.

Anaya Peoples had 17 points and 11 boards to lead Notre Dame (5-6), which has a losing record for the first time in 16 years. Katlyn Gilbert scored 15 and Marta Sniezek added 14 for the Irish.

UConn never trailed, outrebounded the Irish 48-32 and had 21 second-chance points, while holding Notre Dame to just five.

Kyla Irwin opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the left baseline and the Huskies ran out to a 12-2 lead, capped by a layup from Nelson-Ododa that forced Muffet McGraw to call an early timeout.

Sniezek kept the Irish in the game early, scoring nine of her points in the first quarter. But a putback by Aubrey Griffin just before the buzzer gave the Huskies a 29-13 lead after 10 minutes.

A steal and conventional 3-point play from Walker gave UConn its first 20-point lead at 46-25. The, junior forward had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the first half and UConn led 52-25 at the break.

The Huskies extended their run to 18 in the second half before a layup by Peoples midway through the third quarter.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: Graduation, transfers and injuries have taken their toll on the Irish. No one who appeared for Notre Dame in last year's national semifinal win over UConn played on Sunday. The Irish last had a losing record in December of 2003, when they were 3-4.

UConn: The Huskies improve to 38-13 against Notre Dame. They are 3-5 against the Irish in the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: The Irish host DePaul on Wednesday night.

UConn: The Huskies also have DePaul as their next opponent, but have a week off before facing the Blue Demons in Chicago on Dec. 16.

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