Eastern Michigan Visits Purcell For Sunday Matinee

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Before the Irish take a week off for final exams, No. 8 Notre Dame (8-2) will host regional foe Eastern Michigan (1-5) on Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion. 

The Irish are coming off of their third top-five win of the season after defeating No. 2 UConn, 79-68, in front of a sold out arena on Thursday. It is the first time in program history the group has three top-five wins during the regular season.

Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and Liatu King notched her fifth double-double of the young season with 16 points and 12 boards. With her 12 rebounds, King reached the century mark on the season in just nine games. She is the fastest Irish player to do so in the last 25 seasons. 

Notre Dame fans got a welcomed surprise on Thursday before the game, as Irish forward Liza Karlen returned to the floor to warm up following a foot injury during the Oct. 30 exhibition. In her Notre Dame debut, the Marquette transfer and graduate student played nearly 10 minutes and notched 4 points and a pair of rebounds. 

Eastern Michigan’s last game was back on Dec. 1. The Eagles earned their first win of the season by downing Xavier, 72-60, and coming back from down 21 points in the second quarter. In her last two contests, forward Sisi Eleko averaged 27 points and 10.5 rebounds en route to being named the MAC Player of the Week on Dec. 3. She leads the conference in scoring (23.2) and rebounds (11.0) and ranks 10th and third, respectively, in the nation. 

Despite having an offense that has struggled to score at times, the Eagles have a strong air attack. Eastern Michigan leads the MAC with 7.7 buckets made per game from beyond the arc. 

Notre Dame is 4-0 all-time against Eastern Michigan. Sunday’s game can be streamed on ACCNX and tips off at 2 p.m.