Women's basketball: How Notre Dame matches up with Ball State
WHO: Ball State (2-1) vs. No. 9 Notre Dame (3-0).
WHEN: Sunday, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Purcell Pavilion (9,149), Notre Dame.
TICKETS: Available.
WATCH: ACC Network.
LISTEN: WGLQ (99.9 FM; link at UND.com).
Last game:Sonia Citron, Olivia Miles lead No. 9 Notre Dame to easy win over Northwestern ... sort of
Recruiting: Notre Dame women add another 5-star guard to recruiting class in Hannah Hidalgo
ABOUT BALL STATE: The Cardinals will be playing their third straight in-state opponent after drilling IU East 105-51, then following up Thursday with an 84-68 comeback win over Butler. In that one, the Cards outscored the Bulldogs 52-35 in the second half, committing just one turnover over the first 16 minutes of the half while taking a 20-point lead. … BSU has three of its top four scorers back from last winter’s 20-13 club, including 5-10 senior Anna Clephane, who averaged 16.2 points through 13 games before missing the rest of the season due to injury. … Clephane’s at 16.3 points this season on a net field goal percentage of 55.0 and 16-of-20 at the line. Eight other players are averaging 5.3 to 9.7 points each, including 6-1 sophomore Alex Richard (9.7 ppg, 7.7 rebounds), 6-2 sophomore Marie Kiefer (9.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg), 5-8 sophomore Ally Becki (8.7 ppg, 3.3 assists) and 5-9 sophomore Madelyn Bischoff (8.7). … Besides featuring three players from the Indianapolis area in Richard, Becki and Bischoff, the Cards are highly represented internationally with individuals from Croatia, Iceland, Spain and Portugal. …BSU’s just 15-of-78 on 3-pointers this season, but is averaging 10.3 more rebounds per game than its opponents. … Coach Brady Sallee is in his 11th season in Muncie with a 185-133 record.
ABOUT NOTRE DAME: The Irish take on in-state Ball State for the first time in over 40 years. Host ND narrowly escaped in the last meeting, 60-57 in January 1982, and the Cardinals won the only two matchups before that, occurring 23 days apart in February and March of 1981, the second an AIAW State Tourney contest. … The Irish, averaging 90.0 points, are paced by sophomore Olivia Miles (17.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.7 assists, 4.0 steals), sophomore Sonia Citron (15.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 64.2 net FG%, 10-of-11 at the line), Dara Mabrey (13.0 ppg, 8-of-21 on 3s), Lauren Ebo (12.3 ppg in 16.3 minutes per game, 68.4% from the field, 11-of-12 at the line), Kylee Watson (10.7 ppg, 56.0% from the field) and Maddy Westbeld (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.3 blocks, 4-of-4 on 3s). … ND will induct Katryna Gaither into its Ring of Honor prior to tip-off. Gaither set a program single-season record when she averaged 20.4 points while helping lead the Irish to their first-ever Final Four as a senior in 1997. That scoring standard stood until Arike Ogunbowale averaged 20.8 in 2017-18 and 21.8 the following year. Gaither finished her career as the No. 2 scorer and No. 2 rebounder in ND history and is still fourth on both charts. She’ll become the eighth Ring of Honor recipient on the women’s side, joining Ruth Riley-Hunter, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Niele Ivey, Beth (Morgan) Cunningham, Kayla McBride, Natalie Achonwa and Hall of Fame ex-coach Muffet McGraw. … The Irish are aiming for their 28th consecutive win over in-state opponents, their last loss coming against Indiana in December 2006. They’ll be facing their fourth different in-state foe in Ivey’s three regular seasons as head coach (IUPUI in 2020-21, then both Fort Wayne and at Valparaiso last winter) after not facing any during the three years prior.
QUOTING: “I try to make sure we get a chance to stay local. Getting an opportunity to play in state is great. You never know with everyone’s schedules, so I’m happy that it’s worked out. I think it’s great to stay regional for the in-state crowd to get a chance to see both programs.” — Niele Ivey, ND coach, on scheduling in-state opponents.
— By Anthony Anderson