It's the final game on the regular season for the Louisville Cardinals WBB (and all the ACC squads) today, and the #4 Cards visit # 14 Notre Dame for a noon tipoff on ESPN II.
Notre Dame comes into today's game with a 21-6 overall record. They are 13-4 in conference play. They are 13-0 at Purcell Pavilion, including 8-0 in ACC home games. The Fighting Irish are good for 74.1 points per game, which ranks second in the league, while giving up 62.4 points per game, which ranks ninth.
Notre Dame leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the NCAA with 17.7 assists per game and leads the league and ranks ninth in the country with 5.6 blocks per game. They commit just 12.9 fouls per game, which is the fewest in the ACC and 11th fewest in the country.
There is balance in the Irish's scoring attack. They feature five scorers averaging more than 9.7 points per game - Olivia Miles (13.8 ppg), Maya Dodson (12.8 ppg), Sonia Citron (11.7 ppg), Maddy Westbeld (11.5 ppg) and Dara Mabrey (9.7 ppg). Miles sits atop the the conference and ranks fourth in the NCAA with 7.1 assists per game and her 1.9 steals per game rank fourth in the league. Dodson leads the league with 2.8 blocks per game and ranks fifth with 8.0 rebounds per game.
Mabrey is shooting 35.4 percent from deep and connects on 2.1 3-pointers per game, which rank fifth and seventh in the league, respectively.
Let's go back to Feb. 13th, when Kianna Smith scored 17 points, Hailey Van Lith added 16 and then #3 Louisville outscored then #18 Notre Dame 29-6 over parts of the middle two quarters for a 73-47 rout. Chelsie Hall’s six consecutive points keyed Louisville’s 11-0 spurt coming out of the break and eventual 18-4 run that broke the game open at 52-25. The Cardinals easily maintained a 20-point cushion to earn their fifth straight win and seventh of the last nine meetings against Notre Dame. Hall finished with 13 points, while Emily Engstler had nine with 12 rebounds for Louisville, which dominated the boards 50-32
What are the stakes for each team, then? For Louisville, honestly, they aren't huge. A loss probably drops the Cards off the #1 seed line for the NCAA tournament, but nothing that happens today will change UofL's seeding in the ACC tournament. Notre Dame might be playing to hold on to the double-bye for the ACC tournament. They're currently listed in the 3rd place in the standings tied in record with Virginia Tech, and North Carolina only one game behind. Notre Dame does hold the head to head wins over both of those teams, having played each of them only once, which I believe guarantees them a 4th seed at worst
Overall, in the series history, Louisville is 11-16 all-time against Notre Dame. The Cardinals are on a five-game winning streak and have won seven out of the last nine in the series. UofL’s scoring margin during the five-game winning streak is +22.6. Louisville is 4-6 all-time in South Bend and has won two straight. Last year, on Feb. 28, 2021 at Purcell Pavilion, Louisville won 78-61 to clinch its fourth straight ACC regular season title.
Keys to a UofL win today?
-- Shut down Mabrey like UofL did on the 13th. No points and just one assist for her in that meeting.
-- Stop Dodson. She only had eight points in 36 minutes against the Cards in the previous meeting.
-- Keep Engstler in the game and out of foul trouble. Just nine points in 28 minutes for Emily in the previous meeting. Louisville needs 30+ minutes and a double-double out of her today in South Bend.
--Improved production from Cochran and Dixon. The two combined for just six points and 10 rebounds in the KFC YUM Center on the day before Valentine's Day.
--Ramp up the defense again. Notre Dame shot just 31.7% against the Cards last time out, had 16 turnovers and the Cards got nine steals. Van Lith and the guards needs to curtail Citron, Miles and Mabrey.
--Avoid a final quarter collapse . Louisville won the fourth quarter 15-10 last time out in a game that was pretty much over. The Cards led 58-37 after three in the previous meeting.
I see a much closer game today in the Purcell Pavilion. Expect a packed arena and the Irish fan base can get loud and rowdy. Notre Dame motivation is, quite frankly, avoid slipping to a #4 seed for the ACC Tournament . Honestly, no one wants to be on the NC State side of the bracket and a #4 seed would put Notre Dame there. A win for Niele Ivey over Jeff Walz would also add some justification to her replacing Muffet McGraw. Ivey went 10-10 in her first season and, among some ND faithful, there has been discussion if the Irish should have gone after a more high profile coach.
It should be a good one today in South Bend.
--sonja--
Notre Dame comes into today's game with a 21-6 overall record. They are 13-4 in conference play. They are 13-0 at Purcell Pavilion, including 8-0 in ACC home games. The Fighting Irish are good for 74.1 points per game, which ranks second in the league, while giving up 62.4 points per game, which ranks ninth.
Notre Dame leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the NCAA with 17.7 assists per game and leads the league and ranks ninth in the country with 5.6 blocks per game. They commit just 12.9 fouls per game, which is the fewest in the ACC and 11th fewest in the country.
There is balance in the Irish's scoring attack. They feature five scorers averaging more than 9.7 points per game - Olivia Miles (13.8 ppg), Maya Dodson (12.8 ppg), Sonia Citron (11.7 ppg), Maddy Westbeld (11.5 ppg) and Dara Mabrey (9.7 ppg). Miles sits atop the the conference and ranks fourth in the NCAA with 7.1 assists per game and her 1.9 steals per game rank fourth in the league. Dodson leads the league with 2.8 blocks per game and ranks fifth with 8.0 rebounds per game.
Mabrey is shooting 35.4 percent from deep and connects on 2.1 3-pointers per game, which rank fifth and seventh in the league, respectively.
Let's go back to Feb. 13th, when Kianna Smith scored 17 points, Hailey Van Lith added 16 and then #3 Louisville outscored then #18 Notre Dame 29-6 over parts of the middle two quarters for a 73-47 rout. Chelsie Hall’s six consecutive points keyed Louisville’s 11-0 spurt coming out of the break and eventual 18-4 run that broke the game open at 52-25. The Cardinals easily maintained a 20-point cushion to earn their fifth straight win and seventh of the last nine meetings against Notre Dame. Hall finished with 13 points, while Emily Engstler had nine with 12 rebounds for Louisville, which dominated the boards 50-32
What are the stakes for each team, then? For Louisville, honestly, they aren't huge. A loss probably drops the Cards off the #1 seed line for the NCAA tournament, but nothing that happens today will change UofL's seeding in the ACC tournament. Notre Dame might be playing to hold on to the double-bye for the ACC tournament. They're currently listed in the 3rd place in the standings tied in record with Virginia Tech, and North Carolina only one game behind. Notre Dame does hold the head to head wins over both of those teams, having played each of them only once, which I believe guarantees them a 4th seed at worst
Overall, in the series history, Louisville is 11-16 all-time against Notre Dame. The Cardinals are on a five-game winning streak and have won seven out of the last nine in the series. UofL’s scoring margin during the five-game winning streak is +22.6. Louisville is 4-6 all-time in South Bend and has won two straight. Last year, on Feb. 28, 2021 at Purcell Pavilion, Louisville won 78-61 to clinch its fourth straight ACC regular season title.
Keys to a UofL win today?
-- Shut down Mabrey like UofL did on the 13th. No points and just one assist for her in that meeting.
-- Stop Dodson. She only had eight points in 36 minutes against the Cards in the previous meeting.
-- Keep Engstler in the game and out of foul trouble. Just nine points in 28 minutes for Emily in the previous meeting. Louisville needs 30+ minutes and a double-double out of her today in South Bend.
--Improved production from Cochran and Dixon. The two combined for just six points and 10 rebounds in the KFC YUM Center on the day before Valentine's Day.
--Ramp up the defense again. Notre Dame shot just 31.7% against the Cards last time out, had 16 turnovers and the Cards got nine steals. Van Lith and the guards needs to curtail Citron, Miles and Mabrey.
--Avoid a final quarter collapse . Louisville won the fourth quarter 15-10 last time out in a game that was pretty much over. The Cards led 58-37 after three in the previous meeting.
I see a much closer game today in the Purcell Pavilion. Expect a packed arena and the Irish fan base can get loud and rowdy. Notre Dame motivation is, quite frankly, avoid slipping to a #4 seed for the ACC Tournament . Honestly, no one wants to be on the NC State side of the bracket and a #4 seed would put Notre Dame there. A win for Niele Ivey over Jeff Walz would also add some justification to her replacing Muffet McGraw. Ivey went 10-10 in her first season and, among some ND faithful, there has been discussion if the Irish should have gone after a more high profile coach.
It should be a good one today in South Bend.
--sonja--
