The Notre Dame women’s basketball team (28-5) has an opportunity to redeem its loss to Texas Christian University (33-3) on Saturday. This time, in the NCAA Tournament as heavy favorites.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
Senior guard Olivia Miles hung her head as she walked back to the sideline after missing a three as time expired in the Cayman Islands Classic on November 29. She finished with 16 points on 7-14 shooting just four months ago to the date as the Irish suffered their first loss of the season.
Fast forward to the Sweet 16 in Birmingham, Alabama, the two teams face off once more, only this time TCU is the one ranked higher.
After losing three of its final five games of the season, Notre Dame fell from the number one team in the country to a three seed. Through two games in the NCAA Tournament, the Irish have outscored opponents by a combined 73 points while allowing just 54.5 points per game in the opening weekend.
TCU, on the other hand, enters this matchup riding a 12-game winning streak that dates back to February 8 when it defeated Texas Tech University by 21 points.
The Horned Frogs are a top-heavy team with senior guards Hailey Van Lith and Madison Conner, and senior center Sedona Prince all averaging double figures. However, the next leading scorer on the roster averages just 6.6 PPG in senior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu, who finished with 23 points in TCU’s second-round victory over Louisville on March 23.
Van Lith, a former Louisville Cardinal, leads the Horned Frogs in scoring, averaging 17.7 PPG on 45.9% shooting. When playing her former team this past Sunday, Van Lith collected her third double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and dishing out 10 assists. Against the Fighting Irish in November, Van Lith scored 21 points on 8-15 shooting, while also collecting seven assists. It’ll be one of the toughest matchups sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo will face in her college career.
Down low, Prince is in her second season with TCU after beginning her career with the University of Oregon from 2020-22. She played one of her best games of the season against Notre Dame when she had her only 20-point, 20-rebound game of the season against the Irish. Prince took 17 shots and knocked down nine of them, but also had a season-high eight blocks.
Conner ranks as the best shooter on the roster with a three-point percentage sitting at 44.7%, the highest she has ever seen. Despite taking an average of two fewer threes, Conner knocks down about the same number of shots from outside as she did a season ago with 3.5 per game. She has knocked down two or more threes in seven straight games, connecting on 47% of her threes in that span.
TCU sophomore guard Donovyn Hunter stepped up in round two against the Cardinals due to an off game from Conner. Hunter knocked down all four of her attempted threes in her 39 minutes of play, scoring 18 points on a perfect 6-6 from the field. It was just the ninth time Hunter has scored in double figures this season and eighth game with two or more made threes.
For the Irish, senior guard Sonia Citron has seemed to find her confidence once again after a rough ACC Tournament. She’s averaging 20 PPG through the first two rounds, knocking down 50% of her threes and shooting 15-28 from the field overall. If Notre Dame can get Citron 10 or more shots, they will have a much better chance of finding success on offense.
Senior forward Liatu King will have one of the hardest matchups in the nation against Prince. King has been efficient thus far in the tournament, averaging 14 PPG on 12-14 shooting. She put up 18 points with 15 rebounds against the University of Michigan on Sunday and was a perfect 7-7 from the field. King’s defense, along with senior forward Maddy Westbeld, is what the Irish are going to need should head coach Niele Ivey advance past the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in her career.
Notre Dame has not been to the Elite Eight since 2019, with Muffet McGraw still leading the charge when the Irish lost in the championship game to Baylor University. It will be the fourth straight year the Irish have made it to the second weekend of the tournament, and their chance to keep dancing.
The winner will take on either the University of Texas or the University of Tennessee in the Elite Eight on March 31. Saturday’s game will tip off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ABC.
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