| GAME 12 | No. 3 Notre Dame (9-2) vs Loyola MD (5-4) |
|---|---|
| WHEN: | Sunday, Dec. 22 | 12 p.m. |
| WHERE | South Bend, Ind. | Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center |
| WATCH: | ACCNX |
| LISTEN: | Notre Dame Radio Network |
| SOCIAL: | @NDWBB | #GOIRISH |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — After a 9-1 start to the 2023-24 college basketball season, No. 13 Notre Dame will end the calendar year with an ACC opener at Syracuse. The Irish enter conference play with the ACC’s top offense (89.7 ppg) and top scoring margin (+32.9). The latter mark ranks fifth nationally. Notre Dame also leads the ACC in assists (19.3), field goal percentage (50.2), rebounding margin (+16.3) and steals (13.3).
But the competition is about to be taken up a notch, as the ACC has six teams ranked in the latest AP Top 25 along with plenty of depth from top to bottom.
Despite injuries to multiple starters, the Irish continue to roll due in large part to the play of Hannah Hidalgo and Maddy Westbeld. In the absence of Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, Hidalgo has taken over the point and, frankly, the college basketball world. The guard from South Jersey leads the ACC with 23.8 points per game and is pacing the nation in steals at 6 per contest. She is the only player in the country averaging at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals every time she steps on the floor.
The awards are piling up, too. Hidalgo was named ACC Player and Rookie of the Week on Dec. 26, her fifth time earning the Rookie honors and second earning Player honors. Hidalgo was also named USBWA Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week and AP National Player of the Week after notching her first career triple-double in a Dec. 21 win over Western Michigan.
For her part, Westbeld is leading a front court upon which Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey has heavily relied with so many guard injuries. The senior forward has been asked to play multiple positions on the court and continues to excel. Westbeld is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game this year, the highest mark of her accomplished career. It ranks third in the ACC. She is also posting 14.3 points per game (13th in ACC) and shooting 50.4 percent from the floor (eighth in the ACC). She has five double-doubles this season. She entered this season with nine total over three years.
On Sunday, Hidalgo, Westbeld and Co., will face several other sharpshooters. ‘Cuse point guard Dyaisha Fair is notching 19 points per game, while Georgia Woolley sits at 16.1. Alyssa Latham — the ACC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 4 — is one to watch as well. The 6-2 forward from outside of Chicago is averaging 10.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, demonstrating she is one of the better defensive freshmen in the conference.
Notre Dame is 39-4 all-time against Syracuse and has won the last four meetings. The last time the Irish visited the Dome, they won 72-56 on Jan. 15. Sunday’s game tips off at 2 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.