2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish were led by fourth year head coach Niele Ivey and played their home games at Purcell Pavilion as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball
ACC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 11
Record28–7 (13–5 ACC)
Head coach
Associate head coachCarol Owens (24th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Michaela Mabrey (5th season)
  • Charel Allen (2nd season)
Home arenaPurcell Pavilion
Seasons
2023–24 ACC women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 18 Virginia Tech 14 4   .778 25 8   .758
No. 4 NC State 13 5   .722 31 7   .816
No. 20 Syracuse 13 5   .722 24 8   .750
No. 11 Notre Dame 13 5   .722 28 7   .800
Louisville 12 6   .667 24 10   .706
Florida State 12 6   .667 23 11   .676
No. 17 Duke 11 7   .611 22 12   .647
North Carolina 11 7   .611 20 13   .606
Miami (FL) 8 10   .444 19 12   .613
Georgia Tech 7 11   .389 17 16   .515
Virginia 7 11   .389 16 16   .500
Clemson 5 13   .278 12 19   .387
Boston College 5 13   .278 14 19   .424
Wake Forest 2 16   .111 7 25   .219
Pittsburgh 2 16   .111 8 24   .250
2024 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The Fighting Irish started their season ranked tenth in the nation, and opened against sixth-ranked South Carolina in Paris, France. They would lose that game 71–100, but would then go on a nine-game winning streak before conference play began. The winning streak included an eleven point win over Illinois, a defeat of twentieth-ranked Tennessee in the ACC–SEC Challenge and a thirty-seven point win over Purdue. The Fighting Irish lost two of their first three conference games to Syracuse and North Carolina, but rebounded by winning their next four in a row. They would lose to Syracuse again, this time when Syracuse was ranked twenty-second, before a break in conference play to face rival UConn. Notre Dame prevailed against the eighth-ranked Huskies 82–67. They took that momenum back into conference play, winning three of their next five. The losses were to fifteenth-ranked Louisville and sixth-ranked NC State. From there, Notre Dame closed out conference play with five straight wins, including victories over fifth-ranked Virginia Tech and twenty-second ranked Louisville to end the season.

The Fighting Irish finished the season 28–7 overall and 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a three way tie for second place. As the fourth seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye into the Quarterfinals where they defeated fifth seed Louisville. They defeated first seed Virginia Tech in the Semifinals and second seed NC State to win the title. It was their sixth overall title and first since 2019. They received the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the third straight time the Fighting Irish qualified for the tournament. As the second seed in the Albany 1 region they defeated fifteenth seed Kent State in the First Round and seventh seed Ole Miss in the Second Round before losing to third seed Oregon State in the Sweet Sixteen to end their season.

Previous season

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The Fighting Irish finished the season 27–6 overall and 15–3 in ACC play, to finish as conference champions. This was their seventh regular season championship, and first since 2018–19. As the first seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated eighth seed NC State in the Quarterfinals before they would lose to fourth seed Louisville in the Semifinals. They received and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the third seed in the Greenville 1 Region. They defeated fourteenth seed Southern Utah in the First Round and eleventh seed Mississippi State in the Second Round before losing to second seed Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen to end their season.[1] Their postseason performance was heavily impacted by an injury to Olivia Miles, who was an All-ACC First Team selection.[2]

Offseason

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Departures

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Dara Mabrey 1 G 5'7" Graduate Student Belmar, New Jersey Graduated
Trinity Cha 2 G 5'5" Junior Irvine, California
Lauren Zwetzig 20 G 5'9" Junior Fort Collins, Colorado
Lauren Ebo 33 C 6'4" Graduate Student Washington, D.C. Graduated

Incoming Transfers

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Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Becky Obinma 10 F 6'2" Graduate Student Menifee, California Pepperdine[3]
Anna DeWolfe 13 G 5'8" Graduate Student Cumberland, Maine Fordham[4]

2023 recruiting class

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Source:[5]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Hannah Hidalgo
PG
Haddonfield, New Jersey Paul VI 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 97
Cassandre Prosper
F
Montreal, Canada Cairine Wilson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 96
Emma Risch
G
Melbourne, Florida Palm Bay Magnet 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jenna Brown   5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Sr The Lovett School
Stanford
Atlanta, GA
G 2 Emma Risch   6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Palm Bay Magnet Melbourne, FL
G 3 Hannah Hidalgo 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Paul VI Haddonfield, NJ
G 4 Cassandre Prosper   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Cairine Wilson Montreal, QC
G 5 Olivia Miles     5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Blair Academy Phillipsburg, NJ
F 10 Becky Obinma 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Sr Rosary Academy
TCU
Pepperdine
Menifee, CA
G 11 Sonia Citron 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr The Ursuline School Eastchester, NY
G 13 Anna DeWolfe 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Sr Greely
Fordham
Cumberland, ME
G 14 KK Bransford 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Mount Notre Dame Cincinnati, OH
F 15 Natalija Marshall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) RS Jr Christ the King Queens, NY
F 21 Maddy Westbeld 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS Jr Fairmont Kettering, OH
F 22 Kylee Watson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Jr Mainland
Oregon
Linwood, NJ
G 25 Sarah Cernugel 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) RS Jr Hinsdale Central Westmont, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 16, 2023

Schedule and results

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Source:[6]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2023*
7:00 p.m.
No. 10 Purdue Northwest W 110–48 
Purcell Pavilion (4,573)
Notre Dame, IN
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 10 vs. No. 6 South Carolina
Aflac Oui-Play
L 71–100  0–1
Halle Georges Carpentier (3,203)
Paris, France
November 12, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 10 at NJIT W 104–57  1–1
Wellness and Events Center (1,631)
Newark, NJ
November 15, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 16 Northwestern W 110–52  2–1
Purcell Pavilion (7,065)
Notre Dame, IN
November 18, 2023*
1:00 p.m., NBC
No. 16 vs. Illinois
Citi Shamrock Classic
W 79–68  3–1
Entertainment and Sports Arena (N/A)
Washington, D.C.
November 21, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 17 Chicago State W 113–35  4–1
Purcell Pavilion (4,987)
Notre Dame, IN
November 24, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 17 at Ball State W 90–59  5–1
Worthen Arena (5,442)
Muncie, IN
November 29, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 18 at No. 20 Tennessee
ACC–SEC Challenge
W 74–69  6–1
Thompson–Boling Arena (8,211)
Knoxville, TN
December 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 14 Lafayette W 96–42  7–1
Purcell Pavilion (4,745)
Notre Dame, IN
December 17, 2023*
12:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 14 Purdue W 76–39  8–1
Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
Notre Dame, IN
December 21, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 14 Western Michigan W 84–47  9–1
Purcell Pavilion (5,367)
Notre Dame, IN
December 31, 2023
2:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 13 at Syracuse L 81–86  9–2
(0–1)
JMA Wireless Dome (2,755)
Syracuse, NY
January 4, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 16 at Pittsburgh W 71–66  10–2
(1–1)
Peterson Events Center (1,285)
Pittsburgh, PA
January 7, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 16 North Carolina L 57–61  10–3
(1–2)
Purcell Pavilion (6,418)
Notre Dame, IN
January 11, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 18 Boston College W 98–48  11–3
(2–2)
Purcell Pavilion (4,657)
Notre Dame, IN
January 14, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
No. 18 Miami (FL) W 70–59  12–3
(3–2)
Purcell Pavilion (5,905)
Notre Dame, IN
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 19 at Virginia W 86–76  13–3
(4–2)
John Paul Jones Arena (4,152)
Charlottesville, VA
January 21, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 19 at Wake Forest W 75–56  14–3
(5–2)
LJVM Coliseum (1,566)
Winston-Salem, NC
January 25, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 15 No. 22 Syracuse L 65–79  14–4
(5–3)
Purcell Pavilion (5,512)
Notre Dame, IN
January 27, 2024*
8:00 p.m., FOX
No. 15 at No. 8 UConn
Rivalry
W 82–67  15–4
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299)
Storrs, CT
February 1, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 14 at Georgia Tech W 85–48  16–4
(6–3)
McCamish Pavilion (1,989)
Atlanta, GA
February 4, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 14 Pittsburgh W 78–53  17–4
(7–3)
Purcell Pavilion (7,170)
Notre Dame, IN
February 8, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 12 at No. 15 Louisville L 66–73  17–5
(7–4)
KFC Yum! Center (9,417)
Louisville, KY
February 11, 2024
12:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 12 at Florida State W 98–94 2OT 18–5
(8–4)
Donald L. Tucker Center (2,643)
Tallahassee, FL
February 15, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 16 No. 6 NC State L 43–59  18–6
(8–5)
Purcell Pavilion (7,134)
Notre Dame, IN
February 19, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 19 at Duke W 70–62  19–6
(9–5)
Cameron Indoor Stadium (2,485)
Durham, NC
February 22, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 19 Clemson W 80–62  20–6
(10–5)
Purcell Pavilion (1,554)
Notre Dame, IN
February 25, 2024
12:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 19 at Boston College W 79–55  21–6
(11–5)
Conte Forum (3,612)
Chestnut Hill, MA
February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 17 No. 5 Virginia Tech W 71–58  22–6
(12–5)
Purcell Pavilion (6,416)
Notre Dame, IN
March 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 17 No. 22 Louisville W 74–58  23–6
(13–5)
Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
Notre Dame, IN
ACC Women's Tournament
March 8, 2024
11:00 a.m., ACCN
(4) No. 14 vs. (5) No. 24 Louisville
Quarterfinals
W 77–68  24–6
Greensboro Coliseum (15,202)
Greensboro, NC
March 9, 2024
12:00 p.m., ACCN
(4) No. 14 vs. (1) No. 11 Virginia Tech
Semifinals
W 82–53  25–6
Greensboro Coliseum (10,488)
Greensboro, NC
March 10, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN
(4) No. 14 vs. (2) No. 10 NC State
Finals
W 55–51  26–6
Greensboro Coliseum (9,102)
Greensboro, NC
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 23, 2024*
2:15 p.m., ESPN
(2 A1) No. 9 (15 A1) Kent State
First Round
W 81–67  27–6
Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
Notre Dame, IN
March 25, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN
(2 A1) No. 9 (7 A1) Ole Miss
Second Round
W 71–56  28–6
Purcell Pavilion (7,882)
Notre Dame, IN
March 29, 2024*
2:30 p.m., ESPN
(2 A1) No. 9 vs. (7 A1) No. 12 Oregon State
Sweet Sixteen
L 65–70  28–7
MVP Arena (13,597)
Albany, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
A1=Albany 1.
All times are in Eastern.

Rankings

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Regular Season Polls
Poll Pre-
Season
Week
2
Week
3
Week
4
Week
5
Week
6
Week
7
Week
8
Week
9
Week
10
Week
11
Week
12
Week
13
Week
14
Week
15
Week
16
Week
17
Week
18
Week
19
Week
20
Final
AP 10 16 17 18 14 14 14 13 16 18 19 15 14 12 16 19 17 14 9 9 11
Coaches 10 14 14 14 12 12 12 12 17 19 19 18 16 14 17 18 17 14 10 10 11
Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
(RV)   Received Votes

References

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  1. ^ "2022-23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Women's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ^ Philippou, Alexa (March 16, 2023). "Notre Dame star Olivia Miles out for season with knee injury". ESPN. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ Stires, Sean (May 4, 2023). "Notre Dame Women's Basketball Adds Grad Transfer Becky Obinma". si.com. FanSided. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Bonifant, Drew (April 18, 2023). "Women's basketball: Anna DeWolfe transfers to Notre Dame for final season". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023 High School Girls' Basketball Recruits – Notre Dame – ESPN". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
  6. ^ "2023–24 Women's Basketball schedule". und.com. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved October 31, 2022.