Notre Dame Women's Basketball Returns Home To Face Virginia

The Fighting Irish return home for the first of two consecutive home games and six of their next eight games at Purcell Pavilion

Notre Dame Women’s basketball is back home to host Virginia on Sunday after Thursday’s 57-54 win at Clemson. The Fighting Irish will see a familiar face when former Irish player Sam Brunelle returns to Purcell Pavilion as an opponent for the first time.

Where: Notre Dame, Ind – Purcell Pavilion
When: Sunday, Jan. 22 – 2:00 PM EST
Network: ACC Network – Sam Ravech and Kelly Gramlich
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 (15-2, 6-1 ACC)

Head Coach: Niele Ivey (49-21 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)

Notre Dame earned a 57-54 win at Clemson Thursday night. Clemson went into the game averaging 10.2 steals per game (No. 2 in the ACC) and had 11 against the Irish, but Notre Dame had a season-high 21 steals of its own. It’s the most steals the Fighting Irish have had in a game since 2012. They contributed to 29 total turnovers by the Tigers.

The defensive effort helped the Fighting Irish offset a night that saw them shoot just 31% overall and 19% from behind the 3-point arc.

“If our shots are not going in, we have to rely on our defense,” Irish head coach Niele Ivey said after the victory. “That’s a focus of ours and something we learned against North Carolina. I’m very proud of that stat line. It shows that we are [improving] on that end. It shows our toughness. I felt like we showed it more in the second half.”

Olivia Miles had a game-high 20 points and dished out eight assists. She had four steals as well. Maddy Westbeld tallied 15 points, including the last four points scored by the Irish in the narrow victory. Dara Mabrey led the Irish with a game-high five steals.

Projected Irish Starting Lineup

G Olivia Miles- 5-10, Soph. - 15.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.1 APG
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 13.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.0 APG
G Dara Mabrey - 5-7, 5th – 9.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.5 APG
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 10.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 24 BLK
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 6.5 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 17 BLK

VIRGINIA CAVALIERS (14-5, 3-5 ACC)

Head Coach: Amaka Agugua-Hamilton (14-5 in 1st season at school, 88-20 in 4th year overall)

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton is in her first season as Virginia’s head coach after three seasons leading Missouri State (where former Irish assistant Beth Cunningham is now head coach). She led the Lady Bears to a 74-15 record and two NCAA Tournaments in her time there. She has already made an immediate impact on a Virginia team that was 5-22 overall and 2-14 in the ACC last season. The Cavaliers are currently tied with Illinois-Chicago for the largest increase in total wins last season at +9.

The Cavaliers have the No. 2 field goal percentage defense (.351) and No. 5 scoring defense (58.8 ppg) in the ACC. They rank just 9th in scoring offense (73 ppg) and offensive field goal percentage (.423).

Projected Starting Lineup

F Camryn Taylor - Stats – 13.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 18 BLK
F Taylor Valladay - Stats – 11.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 15 BLK
G Alexia Smith - Stats – 5.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 1.8 APG
G Kaydan Lawson – Stats – 6.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.3 APG
G Carole Miller - Stats – 4.2, 2.7 RPG, 1.0 APG

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Sam Brunelle played her first three seasons at Notre Dame and now returns to Purcell Pavilion as a member of the Virginia Cavaliers. Brunelle earned ACC All-Freshman team honors in 2020 when she averaged 13.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The nation’s No. 1 recruit out of high school saw her numbers decline to 8.7/3.8 as a sophomore and to 6.8/2.5 in her junior year.

The Ruckersville, Va native left Notre Dame with her degree after three seasons and is now a graduate student at UVA. She is averaging 11.4 points and 4.3 rebounds and has started all 19 games for the Hoos, but Brunelle will not be able to play in Sunday’s game, because she was ejected from Virginia’s loss to Florida State on Thursday for fighting.

It has been nearly three years since Notre Dame and Virginia played, when the Cavaliers shocked the Irish with a 90-60 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville. Virginia never trailed in the game. Brunelle led Notre Dame with 21 points in that game.

Notre Dame will see the home floor at Purcell Pavilion more regularly after logging heavy frequent flier miles in recent weeks. The Irish played four of their last six games on the road, but Sunday’s game will be the first of six of their next eight games at home. 

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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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