As 2024 comes to a close, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a chance to end it on a high note as the (8-5) Virginia Cavaliers travel to South Bend.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team has seen plenty of highs and lows through the 2024 calendar year. Since losing to Syracuse on the road on Dec. 31 of last year, the Irish have picked up nine ranked wins, an ACC tournament championship, and a run to the Sweet 16 of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Before turning the page to 2025 however, the Fighting Irish have one final date in Purcell Pavilion against the in-conference Virginia Cavaliers.
The Irish opened conference play back on Dec. 8 against Syracuse on the road, a game that saw them win by 31 points behind Sonia Citron’s 25 points. They are now on a nine-game winning streak in ACC play dating back to Feb. 19, with an average margin of victory of 17.8 points.
Virginia, a team that is coming into Purcell Pavilion with an 8-5 record after a four-game losing streak that trickled into the beginning of December, is led by sophomore guard Kymora Johnson. She’s averaging 18.4 points per game, scoring in double figures in all 13 games this season. Johnson holds a presence all over the floor, grabbing 5.9 rebounds per game, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 steals.
Johnson, a Charlottesville, Virginia native, has taken a leap as a consistent shooter as well. She has seen spikes in both three-point and field goal percentages, shooting 47.2% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. Defensively for the Irish, it’s going to start out front when it comes to slowing down the Cavalier offense that’s averaging just 73.5 PPG.
While the Notre Dame offense has been one of the best in the ACC, averaging 88.8 PPG on 49.3% shooting from the field, this game will be controlled on the defensive side of the ball. The Irish currently leads the conference in rebounds per game with 45.7 per game, giving them an average advantage of 10.8 per game. With 12.83 steals per game and 6.33 blocks per game - both lead the ACC – the Cavaliers ACC worst -1.15 turnover margin is going to be an issue.
Down low, Virginia is anchored by its 6’4” forward Latasha Lattimore who enters averaging 12.8 PPG on 52.7& shooting and 9.3 RPG. Lattimore, a native of Toronto, has been in double figures in five straight games with three double-doubles in that span. In the Cavaliers' most recent game, Lattimore put up 18 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes, while also blocking three shots.
The Irish’s main post presence freshman Kate Koval, who is tied for third in the nation with 35 blocks, missed Notre Dame’s last two games. With Koval expected to play, it will be hard to find areas of success for the Cavaliers. Against Syracuse in the Irish’s first ACC game, Koval played 26 minutes, blocking two shots and scoring 12 points.
Senior guard Olivia Miles, who didn’t play her first game of 2024 until Nov. 4, is coming off her third triple-double of the season and fifth of her career. Against Loyola-Maryland, Miles scored 18 points, grabbed 11 boards, and collected 10 assists in the Irish’s 97-54 victory.
Miles has been impressive in her return to the team after missing all last season. She’s now averaging a career-high 17.2 PPG on 56.8% shooting while picking up 6.5 RPG and 6.7 APG. She’s attempting the most threes in her career with 4.5 per game and knocking down 2.3 of them giving her a 50% clip from three-point land which is tied for fifth in the nation. Even after tearing her ACL on Feb. 26, 2023, Miles has come back and put up unfair numbers.
Regardless of what either team has, Notre Dame has Hannah Hidalgo and that’s enough to give an opposing team no chance. The sophomore guard is averaging 25.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 3.8 APG while collecting an unprecedented 4.3 steals per game.
While she was already one of the best players in the nation during her freshman season, Hidalgo has seen jumps in multiple categories. Her three-point percentage, which has jumped by 10.6%, might be the most important. Despite shooting an average of 1.2 more threes per game in 2024 with 5.4, Hidalgo is knocking down 44.6% of them. It doesn’t matter who is on the floor across from her, Hidalgo is always going to be a mismatch for the opposition with no real answer for how to stop her.
The Irish will not only close out 2024 on Sunday but also set the tone for how 2025 will go. They have a great opportunity at hand to move to 2-0 in conference play as a top-three team in the nation according to the AP Poll.
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