Women's basketball: After second postponement, ND confident games can be made up

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame believes “very strongly” that it will be able to reschedule its two women’s basketball games that have now been postponed due to COVID-related protocols.

Josh Bates, team spokesperson and ND associate athletics communications director, said late Friday night that the Irish and Atlantic Coast Conference are exploring new dates after Sunday’s home game against No. 5 North Carolina State was postponed.

The game was scratched due to the Irish adhering to COVID protocols. N.C. State was rerouted to a matchup at Miami.

Bates confirmed that the Irish did not have at least seven scholarship players available to play against the Wolfpack, the number necessary under ACC guidelines for a game to be staged, but did not say exactly how many players were unavailable.

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Notre Dame has 10 scholarship players, meaning at least four were affected.

The Irish previously had their Dec. 30 game at Virginia postponed as well, when the Cavaliers were adhering to COVID protocols.

Across the ACC, a swelling list of games have been halted, making new dates more challenging for all involved.

League contests are typically slotted for Thursdays and Sundays, but Bates said the Irish could wind up making up their postponed games on a Tuesday.

Tickets for ND’s contest against N.C. State will be honored on the new date, with other information expected soon from the Notre Dame ticket office.

If games can’t be made up, they go down as no contest as opposed to a forfeit.