No. 5 Irish host Merrimack, McAdams to be honored

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — After a brief disruption that postponed a trip to Lafayette, No. 5 Notre Dame (7-1) will be back on its home court on Saturday for the fifth time this season.

For the first time in the history of the programs, Merrimack (1-7) and Notre Dame are set to take the court opposite each other. Notre Dame is riding the high of a season-defining 74-60 win over then-No. 3 UConn last Sunday. The Irish shot 65.4 percent in the first half and finished strong. They’d like to do just that on Saturday against Merrimack. 

ACC Player of the Week Olivia Miles leads Notre Dame with 16.4 points per game, and she’s the only Irish player to have scored in double figures in all eight contests thus far. She’s also posting 7.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists every time the Irish play, and she is one of just two Division I players to be averaging 15+ points per game and have both 50 assists and rebounds on the year. The other is Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark.

While Miles has shined early, nearly everyone has played a large role in Notre Dame’s early success. Four Irish players are averaging double-digit points, including center Lauren Ebo who is not a starter for Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey. Both Ebo and forward Kylee Watson have been productive under the rim, but it is guard Sonia Citron who leads Notre Dame with 7.8 rebounds per game thus far.

It truly is an all-hands-on-deck effort.

The Warriors, however, have had a rough start to their 2022-23 campaign and have yet to earn a victory away from home. The group is averaging 52.1 points per game while allowing 72.4. 

Buffalo transfer Marissa Hamilton has been the bright spot for Merrimack this season, averaging 18 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She’s shooting 31.8 percent from three-point range, an area the Irish have struggled to defend thus far. Notre Dame ranks 237th nationally in three-point defense. 

At halftime of Saturday’s game, Notre Dame will take time to honor the late Patricia McAdams, who served as the Lead Volunteer for women’s basketball (and No. 1 fan) for three decades. 

Always interested in technology, McAdams received a master’s degree in mathematics from Notre Dame in 1967 and in 1977 became the first woman to receive a PhD from the University of Missouri. A longtime friend of Father Ted Hesburgh, with whom she became friends while in South Bend, McAdams began working in Notre Dame’s Office of Information Technology in 1992. 

In addition to her day job, McAdams devoted her spare time to a lifelong hobby — basketball. Eventually, McAdams worked her way up to being the main fan engagement representative. She helped sell tickets, coordinate volunteers and assisted with promoting anything and everything related to the Irish women’s team. Notre Dame’s first sellout women’s basketball game, which occurred against UConn in 2001, was due in part to the efforts of McAdams.

For more information on the life and impact of McAdams, click here.