After an offseason filled with transfers in and out of the program, storylines around a devastating Sweet 16 loss and a dominant exhibition win over Truman State, the No. 9/10 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (0-0) will host Northern Illinois (0-0) on Monday to start its 2022-23 season.
Karen & Kevin Keyes Head Coach Niele Ivey enters her third season with a 34-19 overall record and the aforementioned Sweet 16 appearance in March 2022, one which ended with a 66-63 loss to NC State. The Irish return four of five starters from last year’s squad, with third-round WNBA draft pick Maya Dodson being the only departure.
Core Four Return
Sonia Citron, Dara Mabrey, Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld will take the floor once again for Notre Dame beginning on Monday night. All four women had something to be proud of individually last season.
A 6-1 do-it-all guard out of New York, Citron was named the Rookie of the Year in the ACC in the spring after posting six ACC Freshman of the Week performances. When it came to freshmen-only statistics, Citron was second in the conference in points per game (11.8), first in rebounding (6.6) and third in assists (2.2). She was the only player to crack the top three in each category.
Citron averaged 14 points per contest in Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament run and ended the season as the No. 6 freshman in the country, per ESPN.
She led the team with 17 points and 14 rebounds in Notre Dame’s 92-47 win over Truman State in an Oct. 31 exhibition.
Mabrey, who returns to Notre Dame for her fifth season of college basketball, is Notre Dame’s three-point specialist who is poised to top her sister Marina’s three-point scoring record this year. Undoubtedly the team’s most outspoken leader, Mabrey already has two seasons as a captain under her belt.
Point guard Olivia Miles is the face of the team — it will go as she goes this season. A member of the All-ACC First Team last year (and the only freshman to make that group), Miles earned the same preseason honor heading into her sophomore year. The team leader in both points (13.8) and assists (7.4) per game last year is on numerous watch lists, including for the Naismith Trophy and Nancy Lieberman Award.
The final returning starter is junior Maddy Westbeld, who exploded during March after struggling early in the year. She shot 60.6 percent during the Big Dance, which was fourth in the nation amongst players who played at least two NCAA Tournament games.
Three Transfers, Two Down Low
To mitigate the loss of Dodson, Ivey went to the transfer portal and picked up two 6-4 players in Oregon’s Kylee Watson and Texas’ Lauren Ebo. Ivey describes the two as a combination of the skill set Dodson brought to Notre Dame — Watson is a quick-in-transition forward, while Ebo is more of a traditional center. Obviously, both talents have their benefits, and Ivey and Co. will rely on both of them heavily. Watson is set to be the fifth starter, but it was Ebo who dominated off the bench in the exhibition with 14 points.
Notre Dame picked up Jenna Brown from Stanford in the transfer portal as well. Brown brings national championship experience and an extremely high IQ to this team. While her career thus far has been plagued by injuries, Brown is currently healthy and set to be a leader on and off the court.
Huskies bring glass-crashing experience
Lisa Carlsen enters her eighth season as the head coach at Northern Illinois, and the Huskies are coming off of a 14-14 record in 2021-22. The team topped Loras 88-61 in its exhibition game on Oct. 29.
While the team often failed to finish possessions last year — NIU ranked 10th in the MAC with 66.7 points per game — the Huskies had no shortage of opportunities thanks to top-notch rebounding numbers. NIU averaged 41.7 rebounds per game last year, which was 25th nationally.
That number was made possible largely with the help of returning senior forward A’Jah Davis, who posted 24 doubles-doubles last year (fourth in the country and an NIU single-season record). Davis averaged 16.6 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior.
Both Davis and guard Chelby Koker earned preseason All-MAC honors, checking in on the First Team and Second Team, respectively. Koker missed the final 13 games last year due to injury, but she is healthy once again and looks to build upon her team-leading 17.8 points per game in 2021-22.
There are four newcomers on Carlsen’s team. Franklin Pierce transfer Emma Carter is expected to start for NIU after averaging more than 17 points per game last season en route to being an all-conference selection.
Notre Dame is 8-5 all-time against NIU and 4-1 at home. The teams last played in 2004, and the Irish brought home a victory after a 73-49 win as the away squad. This will be the first ranked opponent the Huskies have faced since 2011.
Tip off is Monday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. The game can be streamed on ACCNX.