Notre Dame Women's Basketball Travels To Boston College For First Rematch Of Season
The Fighting Irish will face the Eagles for the second time this season
Notre Dame Women’s basketball plays its second straight road game when the Irish travel to Boston College Thursday night. The Fighting Irish dropped a 69-65 decision at North Carolina State on Sunday.
Where: Chestnut Hill, MA – Conte Forum
When: Thursday, Feb. 2 – 7:00 PM EST
Network: ACC Network Extra – Eric Gallanty and Josh Maurer
Radio: ND Radio Network, 99.9 FM WQLQ in South Bend – Sean Stires PBP
Let's take a look at today’s matchup:
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (17-3, 8-2 ACC)
Head Coach: Niele Ivey (51-21 – 3rd season at Notre Dame)
Notre Dame suffered its second ACC loss of the season on Sunday, falling 69-65 at North Carolina State. The Fighting Irish were shorthanded for a second straight game. They lost 3-point ace Dara Mabrey to a season-ending knee injury two games ago and faced the Wolfpack without Lauren Ebo, who had replaced Mabrey in the starting lineup.
The Irish led by five at the end of the first quarter but saw NC State outscore them 43-26 in the second and third quarters combined and trailed by 16 points early in the fourth quarter. They cut the deficit to two points in the closing minutes, but ultimately fell short.
Maddy Westbeld led the Irish with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Olivia Miles scored 13 points on her 20th birthday, while Sonia Citron and Cassandre Prosper each had 11 points. Prosper hit back-to-back 3s in the fourth quarter to help her reach double figures for the second time in her nine career games.
Projected Irish Starting Lineup
G Olivia Miles- 5-10, Soph. - 15.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 7.1 APG
G Sonia Citron - 6-1, Soph – 13.8 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.1 APG
F Kylee Watson - 6-4, Jr – 6.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 19 BLK
F Maddy Westbeld - 6-3, Jr. – 10.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 30 BLK
G KK Bransford – 5-11, Fr. - 8.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (14-10, 4-7 ACC)
Head Coach: Joanna Bernabei-McNamee (76-62 in 5th season at school, 202-128 in 11th year overall)
The Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak with a 74-60 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. Ally Van Timmerman led six Eagles in double figures with 17 points off the bench. Andrea Daley turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Maria Gakdeng just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine boards.
BC was 1-2 in ACC play after losing 85-48 to Notre Dame on New Year’s Day at Purcell Pavilion. They picked up their biggest win of the season four days later when they upset No. 10 NC State 79-71 in Raleigh and then followed that with a 77-71 win over Florida State to move to 3-2 in conference games. But the Eagles dropped their next five games to Syracuse, Virginia, Louisville, Clemson, and Miami by an average of 13 points.
Leading scorer Dontavia Waggoner (13.8 ppg) has been in and out of the lineup this season due to injury and has missed BC’s last two games after playing just eight minutes in a Jan. 22 loss to Clemson.
Projected Starting Lineup
C Maria Gakdeng - Stats – 10.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 35 BLK
G JoJo Lacey - Stats – 11.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.9 APG
G Taina Mair - Stats – 11.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 6.9 APG
G Andrea Daley – Stats – 10.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 15 BLK
G T’Yana Todd- Stats – 9.4, 2.6 RPG
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Notre Dame had its way with Boston College when the two teams met a month ago at Purcell Pavilion. The Fighting Irish led 25-8 after the first quarter and were up 49-16 at halftime en route to the 85-48 victory. The Irish out rebounded the Eagles 46-28 and had a 56-36 scoring advantage in the paint. BC has been one of the top teams in the ACC forcing steals all season (currently No. 4 at 9.5 per game), but Notre Dame had 15 steals to BC’s eight in the lopsided victory.
That was when both teams were at full strength.
Mabrey and Ebo combined for just 10 points and nine rebounds in that game, but they also combined for more than 43 minutes on the floor. Mabrey will definitely be out for the rematch and Ebo may not play, either. BC’s Waggoner only scored seven points in that game. She is one of five Eagles who currently average in double figures and the Eagles have played more games without her than Notre Dame has played without the Ebo/Mabrey combo. The Eagles were also 0 for 9 from 3-point range in the game. It marked the first time since 2012 that the Irish held an opponent without a 3 in a game.
The Irish hold a 27-9 all-time advantage against Boston College, but the Eagles have won the last three meetings between the two at Conte Forum, including last year’s 73-71 upset of the Irish. Notre Dame's last win in the building was on Feb. 13, 2019.
Boston College is one of four repeat opponents for Notre Dame. The Irish have a rematch coming with Syracuse on Feb. 12 and still have home and homes to come with Louisville and Pittsburgh.
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