SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The 2024-25 Notre Dame women’s basketball non-conference schedule is here, and it will provide several high-profile tests before the Irish head into ACC play. On Thursday, the program announced a slate that includes three teams that finished in the top 10 of last year’s final NET Rankings: UConn (No. 2), Texas (No. 3) and USC (No. 10). Notre Dame finished No. 8.
Following an October 30 exhibition at home against Davenport, Notre Dame will begin the season at Purcell Pavilion on a Monday night with a Nov. 4 matchup against Mercyhurst. The Lakers finished last season with a record of 18-11, and 2024 will be the Pennsylvania school’s first year in Division I. Notre Dame and Mercyhurst have never played each other.
On Nov. 10, the Irish will head 120 miles south to Purdue to finish out a home-and-home series that started last season. Notre Dame won that matchup, 76-39, and has emerged victorious in the last nine meetings between the in-state foes. Purdue has made one NCAA Tournament under head coach Katie Gearlds (2023).
A second home game follows, as James Madison will travel to South Bend for the first time in program history. Like the Boilermakers, the Dukes last made the NCAA Tournament in 2023. The group went 22-12 last year.
The Irish will then head on the road for the next four games, starting with Lafayette. The game is a homecoming for Irish guard Olivia Miles, who hails from just across the river in Phillipsburg, N.J. Notre Dame and Lafayette played last season, and this matchup is a make-up game from 2022 when the contest was canceled because of health and safety protocols.
Notre Dame starts a tough stretch with its next game, as the Irish will head to Los Angeles for a game against USC. The Trojans were the No. 2 team in the nation in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25, and Lindsay Gottlieb’s group is coming off of a Pac-12 Tournament championship and an appearance in the Elite Eight. It will be a battle between last year’s two freshmen standouts, Hannah Hidalgo and JuJu Watkins, and both teams are loaded from top to bottom.
For the Thanksgiving break, Notre Dame heads to the Cayman Islands Classic for a pair of games on November 29 and November 30. Those opponents have not yet been announced.
Next, the Irish have back-to-back home games against likely top-10 opponents in Texas (Dec. 5) and Connecticut (Dec. 12). The former game will be a part of this year’s SEC-ACC Challenge and will feature reigning Big 12 Co-Player of the Year Madison Booker. The guard is a good friend of Hidalgo’s, as the two have played USA Basketball together.
Notre Dame topped UConn in Storrs in January and has beaten the Huskies in back-to-back seasons. UConn has AP All-America guard Paige Bueckers back for another year and added 2023 Ivy League Player of the Year Kaitlyn Chen to its roster this offseason.
The Irish will close out the non-conference slate with a pair of home games against Eastern Michigan and Loyola Maryland on Dec. 15 and 22, respectively. Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey has not faced either team as a head coach.
Series Records
Mercyhurst — First meeting
Purdue — Series tied 14-14 // Last Meeting: Dec. 17, 2023
James Madison — Dukes lead 2-0 // Last Meeting: Dec. 29, 1988
Lafayette — Irish lead 1-0 // Last Meeting: Dec. 6, 2023
Southern Cal — Irish lead 8-2 // Last Meeting: Nov. 25, 2011
Texas — Series tied 1-1 // Last Meeting: March 17, 1997
Connecticut — Huskies lead 39-15 // Last Meeting: Jan. 27, 2024
Eastern Michigan — Irish lead 4-0 // Last Meeting: Dec. 2, 2009
Loyola Maryland — Irish lead 3-0 // Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2019
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