Notre Dame Women's Basketball Hosts Boston College In ACC Home Opener

After playing its first two ACC games on the road, Notre Dame returns home to open the new year against Boston College

Where: Notre Dame, Ind – Purcell Pavilion
When: Sunday, Jan. 1 – Noon EST
Network: ACC Network – Jenn Hildreth (Play by Play); Debbie Antonelli (Analyst)
Radio: ND Radio Network, 99.9 FM WQLQ in South Bend – Sean Stires PBP

Let's take a look at today’s matchup:

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (11-1, 2-0 ACC)

Head Coach: Niele Ivey (45-20 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)

The Fighting Irish improved to 2-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play with Thursday’s 66-63 win at Miami Thursday night. Notre Dame led the game by as many as 13 points in the first half and held a 41-31 halftime lead only to see the Hurricanes storm to a 20-12 advantage in the third quarter. Miami scored just four points off seven Irish turnovers in the first half but finished with 19 points off 22 total turnovers in the game.

“I thought their defensive energy and intensity really bothered us in the third quarter,” Irish head coach Niele Ivey said after her team’s 11th win of the season.

Maddy Westbeld and Lauren Ebo both finished with double-doubles. Westbeld hit her first four shots and scored nine points in the first quarter and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Ebo had 11 points and 10 boards. It’s the fifth straight game Westbeld has reached double figures and her first double-double of the season. It’s Ebo’s second double-double.

Notre Dame midseason enrollee Cassandre Prosper made her college debut in the game. The Montreal, Canada native just began practicing with the team earlier in the week. She played three minutes in the first half, finishing with one rebound and one blocked shot.

Projected Irish Starting Lineup

G Olivia Miles- 5-10, Soph. - 15.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 7.8 APG
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 14.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.0 APG
G Dara Mabrey - 5-7, 5th – 11.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.6 APG
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 10.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 23 BLK
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 7.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 14 BLK

Boston College Eagles (11-4, 1-1 ACC)

Head Coach: Joanna Bernabei-McNamee (73-56 in 5th Season at school, 198-122 in 11th year overall)

Boston College has two ACC games under its belt, but the Eagles have not played since Dec. 22 when they beat Central Connecticut State 86-35. They lost to then No. 7 Virginia Tech 73-58 back on Dec. 7 and then won their first conference game with a 74-62 win over Georgia Tech 11 days later.

The Eagles’ scoring offense ranks 11th in the ACC at just 70.3 points per game, but they rank No. 3 in the conference with 10.4 steals per game – just one spot behind Miami, which tallied 15 steals Thursday against Notre Dame.

BC is light on upperclassmen. They have five freshmen, three sophomores and three juniors on the team. The Eagles are the only team in the ACC and one of two among Power Five schools (Utah) with zero seniors or fifth-year players on their roster. All-ACC forward Taylor Soule is using her fifth season of eligibility at Virginia Tech after transferring.

Projected Starting Lineup

C Maria Gakdeng - Stats – 11.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 22 BLK
G JoJo Lacey - Stats – 11.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.6 APG
G Taina Mair - Stats – 10.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5 APG
G Andrea Daley – Stats – 10.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG
G Dontavia Waggoner - Stats – 13.3, 7.1 RPG, 3.3 SPG

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

This game is an opportunity for Notre Dame in the national polls this week. The Fighting Irish have been ranked No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches polls for four consecutive weeks and could move up if they beat BC on Sunday, because No. 4 Indiana lost to Michigan State Thursday night for its first defeat of the season.

Irish point guard Olivia Miles leads the ACC and is No. 3 in the nation with 7.8 assists per game, but her BC counterpart, Taina Mair, is right behind her at No. 2 and No. 5 in those respective rankings. Eagles guard Dontavia Waggoner leads the conference and ranks No. 3 nationally with 50 total steals and 3.3 per game.

After seeing Miami grab 15 steals in Thursday’s win, Notre Dame is likely to see Boston College try to do more of the same. BC opponents have committed 292 turnovers this season and nearly 54% of them are due to 157 steals by the Eagle defense.

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Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

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