South Carolina-Notre Dame to open women’s basketball season in Paris

Associated PressApr 12, 2023, 1:02 PM EDT

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina and Notre Dame will open the next women’s college basketball season in Paris, the schools announced.

The Nov. 6 matchup will mark the first time an NCAA regular-season game has been played in the French capital.

Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said she didn’t hesitate when invited to take part. “Playing Notre Dame in Paris is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our student-athletes,” she said.

South Carolina reached its third straight Final Four this past season and was undefeated until losing to Iowa 77-73 in the national semifinals.

Notre Dame advanced to the Sweet 16, where it lost to Maryland 76-59.

Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey said the women’s college game is on the rise and “having this exposure will help grow the game on an international level.”

Report: Notre Dame closing deal with Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:15 AM EDT

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame is finalizing a deal to make Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry its new men’s basketball coach, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because contract details were still being completed and needed school approval.

Shrewsberry, in his second season at Penn State (23-14), led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and a tournament victory for the first time since 2001.

The Nittany Lions beat Texas A&M and were eliminated by Texas in the second round.

Notre Dame has been searching for a replacement for Mike Brey, who spent the last 23 season as coach of the Fighting Irish. He announced in January that this would be his last season with Notre Dame

The Irish finished 11-21.

Shrewsberry grew up in Indianapolis and went to school at Division III Hanover College in Indiana.

He was the head coach at Indiana University South Bend, an NAIA school located in the same city as Notre Dame, from 2005-07.

He later worked as an assistant coach at Butler and Purdue, with a stint as an assistant with the Boston Celtics in between.

ESPN first reported Notre Dame was close to a deal with Shrewsberry.

Notre Dame women beat Southern Utah 82-56 in March Madness

Associated PressMar 17, 2023, 11:30 PM EDT

John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Forward Maddy Westbeld scored 20 points and led No. 3 seed Notre Dame to an 82-56 win over No. 14 seed Southern Utah in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

“I’m just ecstatic about this win,” coach Niele Ivey said. “It was such a dominant performance.”

Guard Sonia Citron chipped in 14 points and a season-high six assists. The team’s leading scorer, she transitioned into the team’s primary facilitator with second-team Associated Press All-American guard Olivia Miles out the remainder of the season with an undisclosed knee injury.

“The fact that (Citron) turned into that position – something that she’s never done before – it’s just remarkable and just shows you who she is as a player,” Ivey said. “She can receive information, and she translates it right away. She did an incredible job of pushing the pace.”

Lauren Ebo had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Megan Jensen led Southern Utah (23-10) with 11 points.

“Notre Dame is a great team,” coach Tracy Sanders said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game. We knew they were big. I’m proud of our fight.”

Notre Dame (26-5) faces No. 11 Mississippi State, which beat sixth-seeded Creighton.

NEVER IN DOUBT

Notre Dame jumped out to a 16-0 lead and kept its foot on the gas.

“I thought it was imperative that we came out that way,” Ivey said. “We hadn’t played in two weeks.”

The Irish held a 27-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, making 13 of 16 field goal attempts with 20 points in the paint. Westbeld led the way with eight points, while Ebo and Watson each scored six.

DOMINANT DOWN LOW

After a slow start, the Thunderbirds pivoted to a zone defense but still struggled to keep the Fighting Irish off the glass.

“We had to finish it with boxouts and they got a couple of offensive rebounds,” Sanders said. “I thought they adjusted to it. I felt like it was better than us player-to-player trying to match up with them.”

Notre Dame outrebounded undersized Southern Utah by a 53-25 margin, which included 21 offensive boards. The Fighting Irish scored 50 points in the paint to the Thunderbird’s 18.

BIG PICTURE

Southern Utah: Saw its magical 2022-23 season end. The Thunderbirds won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title and earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

“We made history over at Southern Utah and they’ve set the standard and left a legacy,” Sanders said.” I’m just really proud of this group.”

Notre Dame: The ACC regular season champs look to make their second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Notre Dame women beat Southern Utah 82-56 in March Madness

Associated PressMar 17, 2023, 7:20 PM EDT

Syndication: Notre Dame Insider

SOUTH BEND – Forward Maddy Westbeld scored 20 points and led No. 3 seed Notre Dame to an 82-56 win over No. 14 seed Southern Utah in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Lauren Ebo had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Megan Jensen led Southern Utah (23-10) with 11 points.

Notre Dame (26-5) awaits the winner of the first-round matchup on Friday evening between No. 6 Creighton and No. 11 Mississippi State.

NEVER IN DOUBT

Notre Dame jumped out to a 16-0 lead and kept its foot on the gas.

BIG PICTURE

Southern Utah: Saw its magical 2022-23 season end. The Thunderbirds won the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title and earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.

Notre Dame: The ACC regular season champs look to make their second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Notre Dame wins coach Mike Brey’s home finale, upsets Pitt

Associated PressMar 1, 2023, 11:44 PM EST

Getty Images

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame won longtime coach Mike Brey’s final home game with an 88-81 victory over No. 25 Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.

Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz each added 14 points as the Fighting Irish (11-19, 3-16 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Brey, who is stepping down at season’s end and received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game, improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame coach.

“What an unbelievable night,” Brey said over the public address. “We defended pretty much the whole game. I thought we were good defensively. … It was neat for our seniors to finish like that.”

Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 points, and Blake Hinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds, for the Panthers (21-9, 14-5), who entered with wins in eight of their last nine games. Pitt was playing its first game since moving into the AP Top 25 for the first time in seven years.

“First and foremost, congrats to Notre Dame,” Panther coach Jeff Capel said. “They were terrific. I knew they would come out and be really inspired and emotional (with five grad players in their starting lineup), and obviously being the last game here for Coach Brey.”

Pitt, the conference leader going in, had a chance to clinch at least a tie for its first ACC title across its 10 years in the league, but struggled with its shooting.

The Panthers finished 7 of 22 on 3-pointers and 20 of 36 at the line, while the Irish closed 10 of 27 and 26 of 31. “There’s a lot of things we didn’t do well,” Capel said, “but I love the fight that we had.”

Notre Dame led by a high of 61-41 at 11:49 remaining, after scoring the final 11 points of the first half for a 42-28 advantage at the break. Late-rallying Pitt got no closer than 84-79 at 38 seconds remaining.

BIG PICTURE Pittsburgh: While the Panthers appear safely into the NCAA Tournament field, their 2-2 mark over their last four games while facing entirely sub-.500 ACC teams won’t help their seeding. They can still trend back up with a win at Miami or an extended league tourney run.

Notre Dame: While the win was sweet for the Irish, barring a miracle title in next week’s ACC Tournament and thus the league’s automatic NCAA Tourney bid, they’ll be turning their full attention toward hiring Brey’s successor.

BREY-KING AWAY Brey had declared Tuesday that he would be heading over to the Linebacker, an iconic bar just off the Notre Dame campus, immediately after Wednesday’s game and that all others were welcome as well. “I gotta get over to the Linebacker,” Brey said to start his postgame radio interview over the PA while doubling down on his Tuesday intentions. Brey said he had never been in the bar in all his 23 years at Notre Dame and thought this would be a fitting time. The PA interview lasted just three minutes and he did not conduct a postgame press conference.

CAPEL CIRCLES BACK Capel was asked if this was an emotional night for him as well. The first two years of his playing career at Duke, beginning in 1993, were also the final two years of Brey’s time as an assistant with the Blue Devils. Brey has described Capel as “like a son.” “Certainly I love Coach Brey, Capel said. “He’s been a big part of my life since I was about 17 years old.” Added Capel, “We were excited about the opportunity to play them in Coach Brey’s final home game here (given) how much he’s put into this program.”

UP NEXT Pittsburgh: At least a share of the ACC regular-season title goes to the winner when the Panthers visit No. 16 Miami (23-6, 14-5) in Saturday night’s league finale. No. 13 Virginia (22-6, 14-5) remains in the mix as well and hosts last-place Louisville (4-26, 2-17) Saturday.

Notre Dame: The Irish conclude their regular season Saturday at Clemson (21-9, 13-6), where the Tigers may need a win to assure a top-four finish in the ACC and a double bye in next week’s league tourney.

No. 16 Duke tops No. 9 Notre Dame 57-52 for 1st place in ACC

Associated PressFeb 5, 2023, 10:05 PM EST

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Celeste Taylor scored 14 points and No. 16 Duke came from behind for a 57-52 victory at No. 9 Notre Dame on Sunday to move into first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Trailing for most of the game’s first 28 minutes, the Blue Devils (20-3, 10-2 ACC) took the lead for good in the final minutes of the third quarter to knock off the Fighting Irish (18-4, 9-3) before a sellout crowd of 9,149 at Purcell Pavilion.

A jumper by Jordyn Oliver put Duke ahead 45-44 with 1:20 left in the third quarter and the visitors never trailed after that.

“I’m proud of my players for finishing the game,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said.

Duke led 48-46 going into the fourth quarter after trailing Notre Dame by as many as five points in the third quarter. A steal by Elizabeth Balogun in the final 15 seconds helped seal the win.

A 13-4 run helped Notre Dame take its biggest lead of the first half for either team at 31-23. The Irish led 31-25 at halftime.

“We fell short, but you know it’s a part of our growth,” Irish coach Niele Ivey said. “It’s part of our journey.”

Taylor scored 10 points for Duke in the second half. Balogun and Shayeann Day-Wilson finished with 9 points apiece and Taya Corosdale and Oliver had 8 each.

Maddy Westbeld, playing all 40 minutes, led Notre Dame with 15 points, Sonia Citron scored 14 and Olivia Miles added 11.

“She’s one of the best players in the country,” Lawson said of Miles, who logged just over 31 minutes. “We didn’t have to go against her for a quarter of the game.”

COLD SHOOTING

Neither team shot well in the fourth quarter. Notre Dame made just 2 of 13 shots from the floor and Duke was 3 of 13.

“We just talked about staying disciplined defensively and making it hard,” Lawson said. “I though we challenged shots.”

Ivey also addressed that stretch of the game.

“Some of those opportunities were in transition and we didn’t get a chance to capitalize,” she said. “We did a good job of finding the open person, we just didn’t nail the shots.”

SUPERB SUBS

Led by Corosdale and Oliver, Duke enjoyed a 21-4 edge in reserve scoring.

“I’m really proud of my players off the bench,” Lawson said. “Jordyn Oliver was really good.

“We needed to have that depth in scoring. Not only did they score but they were efficient from the field.”

The Blue Devils’ bench shot 9 of 15.

SHORT-HANDED IRISH

Notre Dame graduate student Dara Mabrey was lost for the season in the Jan. 22 game against Virginia.

Lauren Ebo, a 6-foot-4 graduate student, has missed the last three games with a lower-body injury.

“Ebo does a great job of being a precence on the block with her size and ability to rebound and play post defense,” Ivey said. “She’s been working really hard (at rehabilitation).

“It’s kind of day to day.”

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: The Irish fell out of a first-place tie with Duke in the ACC standings.

Duke: The Blue Devils are now alone atop the conference standings.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: The Irish meet Pitt in two of the next four contests – on Thursday in South Bend and on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Pittsburgh.

Duke: The only regular-season meeting between the Blue Devils and Boston College is Thursday at Boston.