After a couple of contests away from home, No. 9 Notre Dame (3-0) is back at home on Sunday. For the fourth time in program history, the Irish will face in-state foe Ball State (2-1).
The Cardinals bring an interesting wrinkle to the court: they are a positionless team. Head coach Brady Sallee does not list his players as traditional guards or forwards, and they run a difficult-to-defend motion offense. They lead the MAC with a 21.7 average margin of victory, due heavily to a 105-51 blowout win over Indiana University East on Nov. 14. They also average 43 rebounds per game, which tops the MAC.
Fifth-year senior Anna Clephane has been the team’s leading scorer in two of three matchups and is averaging 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists on the year. A proven reliable asset, the Kentucky native has averaged 12+ points per game since her junior season.
Ball State brings a balanced attack to the court, and everyone is a contributor. All five major statistical categories are currently led by a different player:
- Points: Clephane (16.3)
- Rebounds: Marie Kiefer (8.3)
- Assists: Thelma Dis Agustsdottir (3.3)
- Steals: Sydney Bolden (2.3)
- Blocks: Alex Richard (1.3)
The Irish will look to take advantage of the size matchups, which heavily favor them. Notre Dame has four players, including a pair of starters, who are at least 6-3. The Cardinals have one — senior Annie Rauch.
Through three games, sophomore stars Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron have been forces on the court for Notre Dame. Citron posted her 25th career game with double-digit points on Wednesday against Northwestern, and she is averaging a team-leading 8.0 rebounds on the season. Miles ranks fifth in the ACC with 17.0 points per game and her 6.7 assists per contest is second. She led the conference (and was second nationally) last year in the category.
Texas transfer Lauren Ebo is coming off of a career performance against the Wildcats after scoring 19 points, including 11 in the first quarter. A total of five Irish players are averaging double-digit points, and Notre Dame is tied for first in the ACC with an average of 90 points per contest.
Prior to the start of the Ball State-Notre Dame showdown, the Irish community will take a few moments to honor Katryna Gaither, who will be inducted into the Notre Dame Ring of Honor.
Born in the Bronx and raised in Mount Vernon, N.Y., the 6-3 center arrived at Notre Dame in 1993 and blossomed into one of the premier players to ever don the blue and gold. During her sophomore season, Gaither made 252 field goals, which still ranks ninth in program history. Her name peppers the record books from those initial years in South Bend; Gaither still holds the No. 4 spot in the highest field goal percentage category from her 1995-96 campaign (.633) and the No. 1 spot in single-season field goals (324) from that same year. She was a critical piece of Notre Dame’s first Final Four run.
Sunday’s game will tip off at 4:00 p.m. on the ACC Network. Ball State leads the series all-time by a mark of 2-1.