Notre Dame Women's Basketball Hosts Louisville In Key ACC Showdown

The Fighting Irish conclude their four-game home stand and look to snap a losing streak against the Cardinals Thursday night

Notre Dame Women’s basketball looks to keep its winning ways going when it hosts Louisville on Thursday. The No. 10 Irish beat Syracuse Sunday and now look for a third consecutive win.

Where: Notre Dame, Ind. – Purcell Pavilion
When: Thursday, Feb. 16 – 7:00 PM EST
Network: ESPN – Ryan Ruocco (play by play), Rebecca Lobo (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline)
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 (20-4, 11-3 ACC)

Head Coach: Niele Ivey (54-22 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)

Notre Dame picked up a 73-64 win over Syracuse Sunday afternoon. The Fighting Irish trailed 54-54 going into the fourth quarter of a game that featured 12 ties and four lead changes, but outscored the Orange 21-10 in the game’s final 10 minutes to earn the team’s 20th victory of the season.

“The focus just shifted in the fourth quarter,” Irish head coach Niele Ivey said after the game. “I’m always preaching about finishing out those 10 minutes knowing that is it. It has been extremely important the last several weeks.”

Kylee Watson celebrated her 21st birthday by matching her season-high with a team-high 15 points. It was her first double figure scoring game in nearly two months. She had scored a total of 16 points in her previous five games combined.

Watson was one of four Irish players to score in double digits. Maddy Westbeld registered 14 points, Olivia Miles scored 13 and KK Bransford added 10 points.

Projected Irish Starting Lineup

G Olivia Miles- 5-10, Soph. - 14.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 7.1 APG
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 14.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.1 APG
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 6.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 24 BLK
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 11.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 34 BLK
G KK Bransford – 5-11, Fr. - 8.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (19-8, 10-4 ACC)

Head Coach: Jeff Walz (420-117 in 16th season at Louisville/Overall)

After a slow start to the season that saw Louisville lose games to South Dakota State and Middle Tennessee, the Cardinals find themselves in the thick of the ACC race heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. The Cardinals started the season ranked in the top 10 after last year’s trip to the Final Four, but they fell out of the top 25 after the loss to Middle Tennessee was their third loss in a four-game span.

Louisville’s four ACC losses are to Duke, Virginia Tech, NC State and Wake Forest. The Cardinals changed up their starting lineup before the Jan. 29 matchup against Syracuse and they are 4-0 with since the switch. The four-game winning streak is their second-longest of the season heading into Thursday’s clash with the Fighting Irish.

Projected Starting Lineup

F Nyla Harris - Stats – 4.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 11 BLK
F Olivia Cochran - Stats – 8.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 16 BLK
G Mykasa Robinson - Stats – 5.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.6 APG
G Hailey Van Lith – Stats – 19.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.5 APG
G Norika Konno - Stats – 3.1, 1.3 RPG, 1.3 APG

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Notre Dame has been without Lauren Ebo for the last five games. The 6-4 forward made her first start of the season on Jan. 26 against Florida State in Notre Dame’s first game without Dara Mabrey, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 22 against Virginia. Ebo has been nursing a lower leg injury and has been working out with the team in recent days. She was in a walking boot on the sideline for Notre Dame’s games against NC State, Boston College and Duke, but the boot was off in last week’s wins over Pittsburgh and Syracuse. The Irish remain hopeful that Ebo (9.9 ppg, 7.0 rpg) can return to action soon.

Seeding and the all-important double byes are at stake with four games left in the regular season for both Notre Dame and Louisville. Duke (12-2) currently holds the No. 1 spot, followed by Notre Dame (11-3) and then Virginia Tech and Louisville with 10-4 records. The Hokies hold the tiebreaker over the Cardinals due to their head-to-head win. The Irish and Cardinals will close the regular season against each other in Louisville on Feb. 26.

Notre Dame holds a 16-12 advantage in the all-time series against Louisville, but the Cardinals have won the last six meetings between the two rivals. It is Louisville’s longest winning streak against Notre Dame. The Irish are 6-5 all-time at Purcell Pavilion against the Cardinals but have lost their last three such games. Notre Dame’s last win over Louisville came on March 10, 2019 in the championship game of the ACC Tournament. 

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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