Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Quick Preview: Irish VS Virginia Cavaliers

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish return to the friendly confines of Purcell Pavilion to continue their quest to return to the top of the ACC and college basketball as a whole. The Irish are currently ranked #7 in the country with a 15-2 record and tied with the Duke Blue Devils for the top spot in the conference.

Olivia Miles put the team on her back in Notre Dame’s last game — a win over the Clemson Tigers. It was kind of a sloppy effort overall, but getting conference wins on the road while not playing the best basketball of the season is indicative of just how talented Niele Ivey’s team really is.

Next up for the Irish is a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Virginia Cavaliers — a team Notre Dame hasn’t played since the 2021-2022 season. Former Irish forward Sam Brunelle won’t be on the court Sunday as she is serving a one game suspension after being ejected against Florida State. Brunelle is averaging 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Virginia Cavaliers

Head Coach: Amaka Agugua-Hamilton (2nd season)
Season Record: 14-5 (3-5 ACC)
Key Players: F Camryn Taylor (13 ppg), F Taylor Valladay (9.2 ppg)
Quick Overview: After starting the season 12-0, Virginia has lost 5 of its last 7 games — all in conference play. Besides Brunelle, The Cavs will also be without guard Mir McLean who suffered a season-ending knee injury a couple of weeks ago.

WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH

When: Sunday, January 22, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Purcell Pavilion, South Bend, Indiana
How to Watch: ACC Network

GAME THREAD

The game thread is open below. I know many of us are on Twitter for most of the game, but I encourage you to vent and do other things that require more than 280 characters here.