| 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 |
MUNCIE, Ind. — Notre Dame isn’t staying home this holiday, but the Irish will remain close.
On Friday, No. 17 Notre Dame (4-1) heads a few hours south to Ball State (5-0) for the second meeting in as many seasons. The Irish took last year’s game, 95-60.
But this is a different year, and Cardinals head coach Brady Sallee has his team rolling. The Cardinals are one of just 49 undefeated teams left in Division I women’s basketball, and they’ve been winning by an average of 18.4 points.
Ball State played its closest game of the year on Wednesday, however. The team traveled to IUPUI and eked out a 67-63 come-from-behind victory. They shot 41.3 percent from the floor, their worst performance this season. Ball State attempted 30 shots from behind the arc, including 10 from Ally Becki. She led the Cardinals with 19 points.
Junior Nyla Hampton has been a bright spot for Sallee this year. Hampton transferred to Ball State this offseason after three years at Bowling Green. She was last year’s MAC Defensive Player of the Year, and she already has 19 total steals this season.
Like Ball State, Notre Dame has been on a roll of its own, scoring at least 104 points in three of its last four games. Most recently, the Irish defeated Chicago State by 78 points, which matches the second-largest margin of victory in program history. Three rotational players posted scoring career-highs: Nat Marshall (20), Cassandre Prosper (19) and Emma Risch (16). Prosper also notched a career-high 6 steals, and KK Bransford added 4 more, a career-high of her own.
All in all, the Irish offense has been firing on all cylinders since suffering an opening day loss to now-No. 1 South Carolina. Notre Dame leads the ACC in total offense (95.4) due in large part to Hannah Hidalgo’s league-leading 25 points per contest.
The Irish have been suffocating opponents on the other end of the floor as well, averaging 14.8 steals per game. That mark ranks seventh in the nation and leads the ACC. Since the South Carolina game, Irish opponents are averaging just 53 points per game.
Friday’s game can be streamed on ESPN+ at 5 p.m. Notre Dame is 2-2 all-time against Ball State, and the Irish have never visited Worthen Arena.