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Notre Dame seeks revenge against Maryland in Greenville

GAME 33 NO. 3 NOTRE DAME VS NO. 2 MARYLAND
WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 25 | 11:30 AM ET
WHERE: GREENVILLE, SC | BON SECOURS WELLNESS ARENA
WATCH: ESPN
LISTEN: NOTRE DAME RADIO NETWORK | CLICK HERE
NOTES: ND NOTES
SOCIAL: @NDWBB | #GOIRISH

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey knew the goal for the 2022-23 season the moment the buzzer sounded at the 2022 Bridgeport Regional. Notre Dame had just suffered a narrow 3-point defeat at the hands of NC State, the ACC champion and a team that Notre Dame had topped in South Bend earlier that winter. 

Hungry for more. 

It wasn’t that Ivey was disappointed in her team’s path ending in the Sweet 16. After all, it was her first appearance at that level as a head coach and Notre Dame’s first since 2019. The rebuild was underway, perhaps even quicker than many imagined. Instead, it was the fashion in which the Irish lost, turning the ball over in the waning seconds of the contest. They were so close. They’d be back.

The slogan has since become all too familiar for those around the program. Ivey used it when talking with her team and in various media appearances prior to the start of this year. Season ticket holders donned it across their chests all year, as the famed season ticket-holder shirts were Kelly Green with navy block font saying “Hungry For More.”

As promised, the Irish are back, and the hump over which they are trying to get is now on the calendar.

Notre Dame will see a familiar opponent when it takes the court in Greenville on Saturday for the Sweet 16: a second-seeded Maryland team that came into Purcell Pavilion on Dec. 1 and beat Notre Dame at the buzzer, 74-72. That was with starters Olivia Miles and Dara Mabrey, prior to their respective season-ending injuries. 

Diamond Miller and Sonia Citron were the stars of the show that night. Miller, a 6-3 senior guard for the Terrapins and AP Second-Team All-American, put up 31 points via an 11-for-21 performance from the floor and a 9-for-11 showing at the free throw line. Citron had 24 points and 10 rebounds of her own, leading Notre Dame in both categories. 

“Maryland is playing with a ton of confidence,” Ivey said this week. “Their offensive efficiency is amazing. They’ve really figured it out this season. You can tell they’ve grown and matured.”

For the Irish, it is critical that Citron break out of a recent shooting slump. She has put up 14 points in each of Notre Dame’s two NCAA Tournament games, but she has been 8-for-27 from the floor and just 1-for-9 from behind the arc. That mark is well below her average from deep this year, which still sits above 43 percent. 

Ivey will also be heavily reliant on her two freshmen, KK Bransford and Cassandre Prosper. Bransford has now made 11 starts thanks to the aforementioned injuries, and Prosper is just 17 years old but playing defense like a veteran. She has 17 blocks this season, which ranks third amongst ACC freshmen. She did not play in a game until after Christmas.

“They’re not nervous at all,” Ivey said of the rookies. “They’ve embraced this moment. They get a chance to play through things that maybe they wouldn’t have [without the injuries]. There’s always a silver lining in things, and I know that this experience and these opportunities they’re getting right now will expand their game and help them down the road.”

Notre Dame-Maryland tips off at 11:30 a.m. on ESPN. The Irish are 5-5 all-time against the Terrapins, but they are 2-0 when seeing them in the NCAA Tournament.