| NCAA Bridgeport Regional: | #5 Seed Notre Dame |
|---|---|
| Where: | Bridgeport, CT | Total Mortgage Arena |
| Listen: | 99.9 WQLQ-FM | ND Radio Network |
| Notes: | ND Notes |
| Social: | @NDWBB |
| Sweet 16: | #1 seed NC State |
| When: | Saturday, March 26 | 11:30 am ET |
| Watch: | ESPN |
| Elite 8: | #2 seed UConn or #3 seed Indiana |
| When: | Monday, March 28 | TBD |
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 22 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (7-2) finally return to the state of Indiana for a game, but remain on the road one final time, making the short trip to Valparaiso (0-7). The Fighting Irish tip against the Beacons on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Irish are 27-0 all-time against Valpo.
RING OF HONOR – COACH MCGRAW
A Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer, a two-time national champion, an empowering voice for women, and to several of her former players – simply the G.O.A.T. Former Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Muffet McGraw has earned countless distinctions and accolades over her legendary career; thus, it’s only right that the next women’s basketball Ring of Honor inductee is none other than Coach McGraw.
McGraw becomes the seventh Ring of Honor inductee on the women’s side, joining six of her former proteges: Ruth Riley-Hunter, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Niele Ivey, Beth (Morgan) Cunningham, Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa.
McGraw’s Ring of Honor ceremony will take place before Notre Dame’s home matchup against Purdue-Fort Wayne on Dec. 12. That contest tips off at 2 p.m. ET. The contest will also play host to the program’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, happening at halftime.
ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK X3
For the third time in four weeks, guard Sonia Citron is your ACC Freshman of the Week. Citron is certainly on pace to challenge 2019 alumna Brianna Turner’s record of six ACC freshman weekly awards.
Also important to note – the ACC has ruled fellow freshman Olivia Miles ineligible to win ACC Freshman of the Week/Year due to enrolling early last winter and playing six games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
It was Notre Dame’s two super freshmen who led the way for the Irish in road games at Michigan State and #2 UConn.
Sonia Citron poured in a career high 29 points in the win at MSU, including 21 in the second half (13 in the 4th quarter). Then Citron was the lone Irish player in double figures at UConn, finishing with 19 points. All-in-all, in 60 minutes of play, Citron tallied 48 points on 58.3 percent shooting with 10 rebounds and just one turnover.
Then there was Miles, who notched an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double at MSU – her third of the season. Next, she flirted with a triple-double at UConn, finishing with the stat-line of 8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
SONI STATS – RECORD PERFORMANCE AT MSU
Citron led the Irish to victory at MSU with a career high 29 points – the most off the bench in program history. In addition, she became the 8th different Irish freshman to score 29 or more points in a game:
Bri Turner – 29 on 11/14/14 + 29 vs UNC on 1/15/15 Lindsay Schrader – 29 vs BC on 3/19/06
Marina Mabrey – 29 vs Clemson on 2/16/17
Arike Ogunbowale – 30 vs Central Michigan on 11/11/16 Skylar Diggins-Smith – 31 vs Vermont on 3/23/10
Sam Brunelle — 31 vs Depaul on 12/11/19
Alicia Ratay – 32 vs UNC on 12/4/99
A PAIR OF SUPER FRESHMEN
The future of the program is bright with freshmen Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles and their versatile skill sets.
Citron, a 6-1 guard, has been everywhere on the court for Coach Ivey, ranking in the top-4 on the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Thus, not only is Citron making early waves for ACC Freshman of the Year (possibly National) but 6th Woman as well – she’s averaging an impressive 12.4 points off the bench.
In addition, Citron is 1-of-5 freshmen guards in the entire country averaging at least 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists (Miles as well). She’s also a defensive threat, leading the team in steals with 1.8 per game.
Lastly, she’s been phenomenal from the charity stripe, shooting 89.7 percent, which leads all players in the ACC. She is 26-for-29 on the year. She was 15-for-16 last week in two games vs Michigan State and UConn.
Then there’s Olivia Miles. She averages double-digit points (11.1), ranks 2nd in the country in assists (7.1) and just so happens to reel in 6.3 boards/game at point guard. Miles and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are the only two Division I players averaging at least 10p/6r/7a.
And we are certainly not skipping over Miles’ 7.1 assist/game average which ranks 2nd in the entire country. It’s the highest apg averagte at ND since Lindsay Allen’s 7.6 in the 2016-17 season. Also for reference, the ND single season record is 8.8 apg by Mary Gavin in 87-88 season, while the highest ND freshman average is 4.5 by Gavin as well.
Miles dynamic play is also highlighted by her 3 double-doubles -> 2 via points/rebounds + 1 via points/assists. The 3 are currently the most amongst all Division I freshmen guards.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE DELIGHTS
Notre Dame is the only school in the ACC with three different players with double-double performances. Olivia Miles leads the way with three as mentioned in the above note. Fellow freshman Sonia Citron earned her first double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Fordham on Nov. 18. Lastly, there’s Maddy Westbeld, who notched a 15-point, 18-rebound double-double in game two win over Western Illinois. The 18 rebounds were not only a career high, but also tied the Purcell Pavilion single-game rebounding record.
SHARING THE WEALTH AND EXECUTING
The Irish currently have 5 playes averaging double-figures, showcasing the depth of this year’s team. Notre Dame has done a great job spreading the wealth, leading the ACC and ranking 16th in the nation in assists/game (18.4). They have twice this season dished out 30+.
Notre Dame is also ranked 22nd in the nation in blocks/game (5.6) and 26th in rebounds/game (43.78).
M&Ms
You’ve heard of the Killer B’s in a baseball lineup but the Irish are rolling with Team M&Ms this season.
Maya – averaging 10.7 points and a team high 8.1 rebounds. She ranks in the top-30 in the country in both blocks and offensive-rebounds/game. Her 3.0 blocks/game rank 2nd in the ACC and 9th in the nation, while her 3.9 offensive boards/game rank 3rd in the ACC and 29th in the nation.
Maddy – 7 straight games in double figures to kick off the season before it came to an end at Michigan State. She leads the Irish in scoring (13.7) knocking down 50.0 percent of her shots.
Miles – averages double-digit points (11.1), ranks 2nd in the country in assists (7.1) and just so happens to reel in 6.3 boards as a point guard. Her 3 double-doubles rank 2nd in the ACC.
Mabrey – averaging the third most points (11.3), second most assists (3.4) and second most steals (1.3). She ranks in the top-10 in the ACC in 5 categories – best of any Irish player. Her 2.2 threes/game rank 6th in the ACC while her .408 3PT FG% rank 6th.
— ND —