Notre Dame Women's Basketball Gets Maryland Rematch In Sweet 16

The Fighting Irish look to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2019

Notre Dame is in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season and for the 19th time in program history after picking up a pair of wins to open the NCAA Tournament last weekend at Purcell Pavilion. Saturday’s matchup will be the second meeting between the Fighting Irish and Maryland Terrapins this season.

Where: Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena
When: Saturday, March 25 – 11:30 AM EST
Network: ESPN – Beth Mowins (Play-by-Play), Debbie Antonelli (Analyst), and Angel Gray (Sideline)
Radio: ND Radio Network, 99.9 FM WQLQ in South Bend – Sean Stires (PBP), Karen Keyes (Analyst)

Let's take a look at today’s matchup:

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (27-5, 15-3 ACC)

Head Coach: Niele Ivey (61-24 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)

After thumping Southern Utah 82-56 in their first round NCAA Tournament game, Notre Dame fought off an upset bid to earn a hard fought 53-48 win over No. 11 seed Mississippi State in its second-round game.

Led by an NCAA Tournament game program record 18 rebounds by Lauren Ebo and another 15 boards from Maddy Westbeld, the Irish had a dominating 49-32 rebound advantage over the Bulldogs. In fact, they outrbounded their two opponents 102-57 for the weekend.

Sonia Citron led the Irish with 14 points while Ebo was the only other Irish player in double figures with 10 points. She blocked five shots as well in her second double-double in as many games last weekend. The Irish defense limited MSU to 3 for 20 shooting from 3-point range and 18 for 61 (29%) overall.

Projected Irish Starting Lineup
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 14.7 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.4 APG
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 6.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 28 BLK
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 11.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 38 BLK
G Lauren Ebo – 6-4, Gr. - 9.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 27 BLK
G KK Bransford- 5-11, Fr. - 8.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 APG

MARYLAND TERRAPINS (27-6 15-3 Big Ten)

Head Coach: Brenda Frese (255-44 in 21st season at school, 562-145 in 24th season overall)

Maryland is in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th consecutive season and for the 17th time in the last 18 years. This is also the third straight trip to the Sweet 16 for the program. Brenda Frese led the Terrapins to the 2006 national championship as well as back-to-back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015.

The Terps tied with Iowa for second place in the Big Ten regular season. They lost to eventual Big Ten Tournament champion Iowa in the tournament semifinals.

Maryland is the No. 2 seed in the Greenville 1 Region and hosted first and second round games last weekend, beating Holy Cross 93-61 in their opener and then topping Arizona 77-64 in a game it trailed 33-32 at halftime. The Terps outscored the Wildcats 29-9 in the third quarter to put the game away.

All-American Diamond Miller scored 27 points against the Wildcats and 37 combined points in the two games. She was one of four Terps who scored in double figures in both wins last weekend.

Projected Starting Lineup

G Diamond Miller - Stats – 19.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.9 APG, 41 BLK
F Faith Masonius - Stats – 7.0 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 APG
G Shyanne Sellers - Stats – 13.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.6 APG
G Abby Meyers – Stats – 14.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.3 APG
G Elisa Pinzan - Stats – 3.4, 1.5 RPG, 2.9 APG

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

For the second consecutive season, Notre Dame will face a repeat opponent in the Sweet 16. After beating NC State at home in the regular season last year, the Fighting Irish lost a 66-63 heartbreaker to the Wolfpack in the Sweet 16 in Bridgeport, CT. Maryland topped the Irish 74-72 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge back on Dec. 1 at Purcell Pavilion earlier this season.

The Terps won it on a Diamond Miller fade away shot as time expired. Miller finished that game with 31 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Sonia Citron had a double-double for the Irish with 24 points, 10 rebounds and four 3-pointers.

Notre Dame is looking for its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2019 when the Irish advanced all the way to the national championship game. Maryland’s last Elite Eight appearance came during its 2015 Final Four season when they lost to eventual national champion UConn in the national semifinals.

The other Greenville 1 Regional Semifinal pits No. 1 overall tournament seed and defending national champion South Carolina against No. 4 seed UCLA. That game is slated for a 2:00 pm EST tip-off Saturday afternoon. The winner of that game faces the winner of the Notre Dame – Maryland game next Monday (3/27) night at 7:00 pm. 

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2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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