Notre Dame Women's Basketball Opens ACC Tournament Play Against NC State

Notre Dame brings a six-game winning streak into the ACC Tournament. They closed the regular season last Sunday with a gritty 68-64 win at Louisville. With the win, the Irish swept all four of their repeat foes – Louisville, Boston College, Syracuse and Pittsburgh – this season.

Where: Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
When: Friday, March 3– 2:00 PMEST
Network: ESPN – Pam Ward (Play-by-Play), Stephanie White (Analyst)
Radio: ND Radio Network, 99.9 FM WQLQ in South Bend – Sean Stires PBP

Let's take a look at today’s matchup:

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (24-4, 15-3 ACC)

Head Coach: Niele Ivey (58-22 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)

Notre Dame’s win over Louisville last Sunday, combined with Duke’s upset loss to North Carolina just minutes before Notre Dame’s game went final, locked-up the regular season ACC championship and the No. 1 seed at the ACC Tournament for the Irish. It’s Notre Dame’s first ACC title in four years

First team All-ACC point guard Olivia Miles left the Louisville game with 2:25 to play in the first half and never returned after suffering a knee injury. Trialing by nine points at halftime, the Irish went to work in the second half.

Sonia Citron, herself named first team All-ACC this week, propelled the Irish to the victory with her game-high 27 points. She hit three of Notre Dame’s four 3-pointers in the game, including a crucial guarded trey late in the fourth quarter.

Citron and KK Bransford, who earned ACC All-Freshman honors this week, took turns distributing the ball and making clutch plays in the decisive final 10 minutes to help the Irish to their first win in Louisville in seven years. Bransford finished with 14 points, while fellow freshman Cassandre Prosper added 11. Prosper’s defensive efforts helped hold Louisville All-ACC guard Hailey Van Lith to 6 for 21 shooting, including 1 for 6 from behind the 3-point arc.

Projected Irish Starting Lineup

G Olivia Miles- 5-10, Soph. - 14.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 6.9 APG
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 14.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.2 APG
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 6.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 27 BLK
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 10.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 35 BLK
G Lauren Ebo – 6-4, Gr. - 9.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 19 BLK

NC STATE WOLFPACK (20-10, 9-9 ACC)

Head Coach: Wes Moore (242-79 in 10th season at NC State, 800-245 in 34th year overall)

North Carolina State has won three straight ACC Tournament championships but is the No. 8 seed in this year’s tournament. The Wolfpack beat No. 9 seed Syracuse 83-58 in their first game on Thursday. Jakia Brown-Turner and Camille Hobby shared the team lead with 16 points each. 6-5 post player River Baldwin added 14 points on 7 of 7 shooting to help NC State to a season best 54 points in the paint to help head coach Wes Moore earn his 800th career victory.

The Wolfpack shot 61% from the field, including 21 of 31 shooting in the second half, and held Syracuse to just 31% (21 of 64) overall. NC State did it without its top scorer and Second Team All-ACC guard Diamond Johnson, who missed the game due to a leg injury.

Projected Starting Lineup

F Camille Hobby - Stats – 9.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 16 BLK
F Saniyah Rivers - Stats – 8.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 29 BLK
G Aziaha James - Stats – 6.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.2 APG
G Jada Boyd – Stats – 9.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 21 BLK
G Jakia Brown-Turner - Stats – 9.0, 4.0 RPG, 1.8 APG

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Niele Ivey crossed a few “firsts” off her list last week. She received 211 total votes from a combination of coaches and the ACC’s Blue Ribbon Panel to be named ACC Coach of the Year for the first time (runner-up Kara Lawson of Duke received 142 votes). She and her team also won their first ACC regular season title and swept Louisville for the first time in four years.

After receiving the double bye at the ACC Tournament that comes with being a top four seed, Ivey and the Irish now look to put themselves in position to host first and second round NCAA Tournament games for the first time in the Ivey era. The Irish enter the ACC Tournament with the No. 6 spot in the NCAA’s NET rankings. They were also one of three projected No. 3 seeds for the NCAA Tournament in the NCAA’s final NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee top-16 early reveal that was announced on Feb. 23.

NC State beat Notre Dame 69-65 on Jan. 29 in Raleigh, NC. It was the first of five consecutive games Irish forward Lauren Ebo missed due to a lower leg injury. Maddy Westbeld led four Fighting Irish players in double figures with 19 points, while Johnson hit four 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 20 points in the upset.

Olivia Miles’ status is not known going into Friday’s matchup. The sophomore point guard injured her knee in Notre Dame’s win over Louisville last Sunday.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @SeanStires
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter