Aug. 25, 2017
Gulf Coast Showcase Central | Tournament Bracket
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A piece of the 2017-18 Notre Dame women’s basketball non-conference schedule was put into place on Friday morning, when the Gulf Coast Showcase announced its Thanksgiving Tournament line-up for the Nov. 24-26 weekend at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida.
The Irish will compete in three games in three days in an eight-team bracket that features both a consolation and winner’s side. If Notre Dame were to remain in the winner’s bracket and reach the championship game, all three of its contests would take place at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Notre Dame will clash with ETSU in the opening round on Friday, Nov. 24, in a first-ever meeting between the two. If successful, Notre Dame will meet the winner between Washington State and former Big East foe South Florida on Saturday, Nov. 25.
The Irish last met USF in the 2013 Big East Conference Tournament Quarterfinals, as the 75-66 victory eventually propelled Notre Dame to its first ever Big East tournament title.
Sunday’s Gulf Coast Showcase Championship bout on Nov. 26 could witness Notre Dame square off against the defending 2017 national champion in South Carolina. The two programs have only met four times in program history, with the last showdown occurring at the 2015 Final Four in Tampa when Notre Dame earned a thrilling 66-65 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to their fourth NCAA title game in five years.
Last but certainly not least, St. John’s, Western Michigan and Rutgers round out the deep eight-team field which consists of two hall of fame coaches in Muffet McGraw and Vivian Stringer. The Gulf Coast Showcase began in 2013 with past winners including Middle Tennessee, UConn, Stanford and most recently Baylor.
Tickets for the 2017 Gulf Coast Showcase will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 28, at GermainArena.com or through Ticketmaster. For travel information, including preferred hotel rates at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Pointe, fans can visit GulfCoastShowcase.com
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Josh Bates joined Fighting Irish Media as associate athletics communications director in July of 2017, serving as the women’s basketball and men’s golf contact. Bates earned both his bachelor’s (2011) and master’s (2014) degree in sports management from the University of Illinois. He also worked as a grad assistant at Illinois from 2012-14 and worked full-time at Tulane University from 2014-17.