| 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 |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 18 Notre Dame (10-3, 1-2) has learned very quickly this year that there are no off days in the ACC, the conference with the most teams in the AP Top 25 this week. The Irish, who are coming off of a 61-57 loss to UNC on Sunday, are looking to get back on track with a home date against Boston College (9-7, 1-2) on Thursday.
Despite the loss to the Tar Heels, there was a silver lining for Notre Dame in the return of Sonia Citron, who suffered a knee sprain against Northwestern on Nov. 15 and was sidelined since. After seven weeks off, the shooting guard returned and hit three shots from behind the arc, and was Notre Dame’s leading scorer with 18 points.
Freshman Hannah Hidalgo had 17 points of her own after posting 24 at Pittsburgh, leading to her seventh ACC Rookie of the Week honor on Monday. In doing so, Hidalgo broke the program record for conference weekly rookie honors, passing Jacqueline Batteast, Alicia Ratay, Brianna Turner and Sonia Citron. They each had six.
“She’s such an amazing talent,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said on Wednesday. “She’s beyond her years, and I think that’s why she’s broken the record. She’s not playing like a freshman, she’s playing like an upperclassman.”
As for the Eagles, they’re one of the ACC’s scrappiest teams. They top Notre Dame in the steals per game category (12.9 to 12.6), and Dontavia Waggoner and Teya Sidberry rank second and fifth, respectively, in the conference in individual steals per game. Sidberry is in her first year at Boston College after spending her freshman season at Utah.
On the offensive end of the court, head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee has had one of the ACC’s better offenses to date. Boston College has the sixth-best scoring offense in the conference (76.6 points per game) and the fourth-best field goal percentage (45.5). For reference, Notre Dame leads the ACC at 81.5 and 47.9, respectively.
It’s a balanced offense, too. Four players — Andrea Daley (15.8), Sidberry (13.6), Waggoner (12.3) and T’yana Todd (12.1) — are all averaging double figures. Todd is also shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc.
“They play really hard,” Ivey said. “They know their strengths, and they play to their strengths. They added a really good post player in Sidberry. She’s very versatile and plays fast. And Waggoner is one of the best defenders in the ACC.”
Thursday’s game can be streamed on ACCNX beginning at 7 p.m. Former Notre Dame guard Dara Mabrey will be the analyst for the game alongside Tyler Reidy.