Clemson Poses Weekend Road Test For Third-Ranked Notre Dame

CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 3 Notre Dame (13-2, 4-0) is back on the road for the second weekend in the row, as the Irish face a tough Clemson (10-6, 3-2) squad eager to challenge ranked teams.

Notre Dame is coming off its fourth ACC win of the season, and the Irish now have sole possession of first place in the conference. All-Americans Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles continue to cook in the backcourt. Hidalgo led the Irish with 23 points and 6 steals in a 100-64 win over Wake Forest on Thursday, and Miles had 13 points and 9 assists. She leads the conference and is second in the country with 7.2 assists per game this year. 

Maddy Westbeld is slowly getting more comfortable on the court after missing the first 13 games of the season. She had 14 points and 6 boards against the Demon Deacons. 

Clemson poses a challenge, however, as the Tigers are playing well under first-year head coach Shawn Poppie. The group was the USBWA National Team of the Week last week after a 69-58 win over No. 20 Cal, it’s first ranked win in nearly two years. The Tigers also beat Stanford, 65-61, in overtime. Stanford and Cal are the second and third 3-point shooting teams in the ACC, respectively, and Clemson held them to just 23 percent from downtown. Of note, Notre Dame leads the nation in that category. 

Poppie has 10 newcomers on his roster this year, including Loyal McQueen. The guard came to Clemson from Georgia Tech and Alabama, and is averaging 14 points and 5.3 assists per game. McQueen saw Notre Dame twice while at Georgia Tech, scoring 11 points in the first contest and 9 in the second. She was the 2019-20 South Carolina Gatorade State Player of the Year.

Sunday’s game will air on The CW at 2 p.m. Kylen Mills and Ice Young will be on the call. Notre Dame is 9-3 all-time against Clemson and 4-1 at Littlejohn Coliseum.