Notre Dame Women Host Wake Forest In Early Tip-Off
No. 3 Notre Dame looks to continue its seven-game winning streak on Thursday against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Here is all the information to know for the matchup:
Where: Notre Dame, Ind. - Purcell Pavilion
When: Sunday, Jan. 9 – 5:00 PM EST
Network: ACCX – Tyler Reidy (Play-by-Play), Luke Zeller (Analyst)
Radio: ND Radio Network, 96.1 FM WSBT in South Bend all games also stream on the Audacy App/Audacy.com – Sean Stires (PBP)
Let's take a look at today’s matchup:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (12-2, 3-0 ACC)
Head Coach: Niele Ivey (101-34– 5th season at Notre Dame)
Notre Dame is coming off a 76-66 win at No. 17 North Carolina Sunday afternoon. The Hannah Hidalgo/Olivia Miles duo was at it again for the Fighting Irish. Hidalgo led all scorers with 24 points and Miles was next with 19 as each of the star guards hit five 3-pointers against the Tar Heels. They combined for: 43 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds as Notre Dame’s only double figure scorers.
The 76 points scored by the Irish is the second-most scored against the ACC’s top defensive team. Liatu King just missed a double-double but matched her season-high with 15 rebounds. Maddy Westbeld also made her long-awaited season debut. After missing the first 13 games with a foot injury, the grad student forward played 13 minutes off the bench. It was the first time in 121 career games that she had not started. Westbeld didn’t take any shots but gave the Irish good defensive presence in the paint.
Projected Irish Starting Lineup
G Olivia Miles - 5-10, Grad– 16.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 7.0 APG
G Hannah Hidalgo – 5-6, Soph – 25.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 4.0 SPG
F Liatu King - 6-0, Grad – 12.5 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 2.4 SPG
G Sonia Citron – 6-1, Jr – 13.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 2.0 SPG
G Liza Karlen – 6-2, Grad– 6.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 2.4 APG
WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS (13-2, 1-1 ACC)
Head Coach: Megan Gebbia (31-49 in 3rd season at Wake/191-155 in 12th season overall)
Wake Forest brings a 7-7 overall record, including an 0-3 ACC mark into Thursday’s game against the Irish. Rylie Theuerkauf is The Deac’s lone double-digit scorer at 10.2 points per game, but Elise Williams and Malaya Cowles are each averaging 9.9 points. Theuerkauf and Williams have combined for 31 of the team’s 83 3-pointers this season. Raegyn Conley is their best long-range shooter (20 of 56) at a 35% clip.
Wake Forest’s three ACC losses are to Clemson, Virginia and most recently Louisville. The Demon Deacons took the Cardinals to overtime on Sunday before falling 81-76. Theuerkauf led Wake with 17 points while making five 3-pointers as Wake lost for the fourth time in its last five games.
Projected Starting Lineup
F Malaya Cowles - Stats – 9.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 10 BLK
F Demeara Hinds - Stats – 8.6 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.1 APG
G Tamia Jones - Stats – 8.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.2 SPG
G Raegyn Conley – Stats – 6.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG
G Rylie Theuerkauf - Stats – 10.2 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 1.4 APG
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
The Fighting Irish are 12-0 all-time against Wake Forest, including last year’s 86-47 win in Winston-Salem. Notre Dame is Wake’s first ranked opponent of the season to date. Louisville (10-5, 3-1) is the best team they have faced so far.
The Demon Deacons rank No. 3 in the ACC and No. 50 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 57.0 points per game. They are last (No. 18) in the conference scoring just 61.9 PPG, while Notre Dame has the No. 2 scoring offense at 88.4 PPG as well as the No. 7 scoring defense in the ACC, allowing just 61.4 PPG. The Irish are also the only team in the nation with three wins over top 5 nationally ranked teams this season. Notre Dame’s .441 3-point percentage tops the nation. No other team in the ACC is shooting better than a 39% clip.
Thursday’s game was originally scheduled for a later tip-off time, but it was moved up to 5:00 pm EST due to Notre Dame football’s 7:30 kickoff against Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
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