GM 27 Preview: The Final Homestand

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The final homestand awaits for the now 14th nationally-ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team. The Fighting Irish (20-6, 12-4) will first play host to the Clemson Tigers (9-18, 3-13) on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion. The contest will mark Senior Day for the Blue & Gold, in which they will honor its four seniors: Dara Mabrey, Maya Dodson, Kate Gilbert and Abby Prohaska.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

1) A win on Thursday night secures a coveted double-bye spot in the ACC Tournament. The Irish are currently tied with Virginia Tech for third and own the tiebreaker over the Hokies. 

2) Revenge against the Tigers. Last season, Notre Dame was listed as ‘First Four Out’ in the NCAA Tournament, missing the Big Dance for the first time in 25 years. It was Clemson who disrupted those plans with a 68-63 upset in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. 

3) The quest for a perfect home record – The Irish are currently 12-0 at home, with both remaining regular season games taking place inside Purcell Pavilion. First is Clemson, then No. 4 Louisville on Sunday. 

IN THE NET + BRACKETOLOGY

In the updated NCAA committee projections, ND was picked as the 14th best team in the country and a four-seed in the Spokane Regional. The same holds true in the latest ESPN bracketology update, with the Irish in a hosting position as a No. 4 seed. 

In terms of the NET, as of Wednesday morning, ND checked in at No. 18, fifth best in the ACC.

Against the NET top-25, the Irish are 4-3. Against the top-50 they are 6-4 and against the top-100 they are 11-6. Thus no losses outside the NET top-100. 

ACC COACH OF THE YEAR?

Just her 2nd year with the program but her first true full calendar year with the team – Coach Ivey already has the program back on the national scene in one of the biggest turnarounds. Around this time last year, Notre Dame finished 10-10 overall and didn’t make the NCAA tournament for the first time in a quarter of a century. Then Coach Ivey worked her magic. 

Notre Dame is currently 20-6 overall and ranked 14th in the nation after starting the year unranked. They are 12-4 in the ACC and currently sit in 3rd place, after being projected to finish in 6th place.

The Irish are a projected 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament with a NET ranking of No. 18. 

Coach Ivey boasts four ranked wins on the year which include No. 16 Georgia Tech on the road and No. 3 NC State at home. This weekend, she has a chance to make history if the Irish can knock off No. 4 Louisville – it would mark the first time ever the program knocked off two top-fives in the same regular season.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE

It was a season-defining four-game homestand for the Irish around the start of February, as Notre Dame knocked off Syracuse, Boston College, No. 3 NC State and (RV) Virginia Tech. Fast forward to now and the Irish are 12-0 at home this season– its best start since the 2017-18 national championship season (they went 15-0 at home). 

In terms of undefeated ACC teams at home, it’s just Notre Dame and Louisville. In terms of other P5’s: Michigan in the B1G, South Carolina in the SEC and Arizona in the Pac-12.

COACH IVEY’S FIRST SIGNATURE WIN

With a 69-66 win over No. 3 NC State on Feb. 1, Coach Ivey earned her first key signature win as a head coach and her first top-5 ranked victory. It also marked the program’s first top-5 win at home since No. 2 Louisville, 82-68. The last top-five team in general – UConn in the 2019 National Semifinal. 

Notre Dame earned its 24th ever win against a top-5 program, improving to 24-64 all-time.  Versus the top-10, the Irish are now 67-95.

More satisfactorily, the Irish earned the upset by battling the season narrative of fourth quarter adversity. Notre Dame boasted a lead as large as 12 in the fourth before it dwindled to two, but fought on for the three-point win. 

6X ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Guard Sonia Citron claimed ACC Freshman of the Week 4 times in the first 6 weeks of play, and now boasts 6 on the year, making her a favorite for ACC Freshman of the Year. 

Citron tied 2019 alumna Brianna Turner for the program record with six ACC FOTW honors. Going back into the program’s Big East days, both Jacqueline Batteast (01-02) and Alicia Ratay (99-00) were each six-time winners as well.

In addition, her six ACC Freshman of the Week honors are the most by a student-athlete since North Carolina’s Janelle Bailey had seven during the 2017-18 campaign.

ACC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR RACE

When it comes to Freshman-Only ACC rankings — Citron ranks 2nd in scoring (by a point), 1st in rebounding and 4th in assists. In fact, Citron has the highest PTS+REB+AST/Game of any ACC freshman with her 20.0 compared to Day-Wilson’s 18.8. Citron also boasts the most double-doubles of any ACC freshman with four – next highest is one.  

Citron is 1-of-3 freshmen in the entire country averaging at least 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists and 1 steal — the 2 others: Olivia Miles and Harvard’s Harmoni Turner. Thus, reiterating the fact she’s in rare freshman company and the most complete freshman in the ACC. 

DODSON PLAYING HER WAY INTO DPOTY CONVO

Her teammates might joke she’s the grandma of the team but the emphasis was on the first half of the word – Grand. Dodson was the MVP in the win over No. 3 NC State on Feb. 1 – recording a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, all while putting All-American Elissa Cunane in foul trouble for most of the game and at bay with just 13 points. 

Dodson got emotional in post-game presser, “I lead by example, so everytime I go out there, everytime I’m in front of these fans, I want to show how much passion and hard work and appreciation we have for them. Last year I wasn’t able to play. No matter how much I’m hurting, I got to go out there and play. This means so much for me.” 

Then two nights later, Dodson made one of the top-scorers in the ACC and a LIsa Leslie Award finalist, Elizabeth Kitley, a non-factor – holding her to 10 points under her season average. 

WHO’S HOT?!

Maya Dodson has recorded 7 double-doubles on the season and they all have come in the last 11 games. Two of which have been 20-point, 10-rebound double-doubles. In addition, she’s posted 12 double-digit scoring performances in the last 14 games.

Sonia Citron is coming on strong down the stretch – tallying double figures in 15 of her last 19 games or 10 in her last 11. 

Maddy Westbeld has emerged out of her funk with a combined 53 points over the last 4 games, averaging 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. She picked up her second double-double of the season in big road win over No. 16 Georgia Tech on Feb. 17, recording 10 points, 10 rebounds.  

PUSHING PAST LATE-GAME STEREOTYPES

In a must-win game that had major ACC & NCAA Tournament ramifications, the Irish found way to secure an overtime win at No. 16 Georgia Tech. Despite the Yellow Jackets battling down nine to start the fourth, the Irish pushed forward in a hostile environment in a 72-66 victory, marking their first OT win since the 2018 Final Four.

Dara Mabrey played hero. She hit a shot clock buzzer-beater at 2:56 in the 4th then a big and-one at 1:23. She then scored 6 of her 11 points in OT. 

In addition, three Irish recorded double-doubles for the first time since Jessica Shepard (20p/13r), Brianna Turner (15p/15r), Marina Mabrey (12p/12a), vs UConn, 4/5/19 (Tampa). This time around it was Maya Dodson (11p/11r), Maddy Westbeld (10p/10r) and Sonia Citron (10p/11r).

MILES ATTRACTING EYEBALLS AND WATCH LISTS

Miles has played herself onto two prestigious watch lists. First it was the Nancy Lieberman Award top-10, recognizing the best 10 point guards this season. Shortly after, she was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, recognizing the top-25 players in the country, regardless of position. 

Notre Dame’s point guard ranks second in the NATION in assists per game as a FRESHMAN, averaging 7.1/game. However, Miles is more than just stylish assists and great vision, she’s a dynamic playmaker.

Miles leads the 14th ranked Irish in scoring (13.9), she’s 5th in the ACC in steals (1.9) and also reels in 5.8 boards/game.

Miles and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are the only players in the country averaging at least 13 points / 5 rebounds / 7 assists. She simply does it all.

And by the way, she boasts seven double-doubles on the year, which ranks 5th in the ACC. And of those seven, one of them is a triple-double, as Miles became just the 2nd Irish freshman in program history to do so. 

FRESHMEN DUO SENSATION

Therefore, Notre Dame doesn’t just have one, but two super freshmen in Citron and Miles who will be the building blocks for years to come. 

ESPN Women’s Hoops put both Miles and Citron on their midseason top-10 freshman list. Miles was ranked No. 2, while Citron checked in at No. 6. Notre Dame was the only program with two freshmen on the list.  

In fact, Notre Dame is the only Power-Five school with two freshmen averaging double figures. Furthermore, there’s only one other school in Division I with 2 freshmen averaging at least 11 ppg – Pacific – Anaya James and Elizabeth Elliot. 

A 6-1 versatile guard, Citron does it all for Coach Ivey and is arguably the toughest player on the team. She’s averaging an impressive 11.4 points while ranking 2nd on the team in rebounds (6.5), 3rd in assists (2.2) and 2nd in steals (1.5).

Sonia has become ND’s best rebounding guard with 6.5 boards/game, which ranks 2nd on the team and 13th in the ACC. She’s reeling in 7.3 rebounds/game in ACC play, which ranks 9th in the league. Meanwhile, her 5.7 defensive boards/game in ACC play ranks 5th. 

Then there’s Olivia Miles, who has already been detailed above. Ultimately, Miles ranks in the top-15 in the ACC in 6 different stat categories: Scoring, FG%, Assists, Steals, A/TO Ratio and Defensive Rebounds. Best of any Irish player. 

ND’s 2 freshmen are its top two in Defensive-Rebounds/Game — Miles (5.2) & Citron (4.8). Both rank in the ACC in the top-10. The two are also the team’s top two steal getters as Miles averages 1.8 while Citron checks in with 1.5.

THREE-BALLER = TWO POINT SPECIALIST

Three-point sharpshooter Sam Brunelle has expanded her game this year and has become a two-point specialist. She’s been the most efficient from within the arc, converting 42-of-64 (.656) from two over the last 15 games. She’s 61.7 percent from two on the season, which leads all Irish players. 

Overall, Sam’s .475 shooting percentage leads all Irish players. 

— ND —