Notre Dame Discussion

[yhun89]

Drop your thoughts. Who wins, matchups, what you want the gameplay to be.

Personally:

We're better equipped to win if Azzi's there, else the ND guards can feel free to double Paige and render her unable to do anything offensively. With Azzi, they have to spread out, or risk Azzi dropping 20 on them. Although with Ash starting to get back into the midrange rhythm, that could change things.

Sarah must have a good game. There is nobody on ND right now that looks like they can contain her. Koval is too foul prone to try and take her on, and King isn't big enough.

Getting Koval in foul trouble first thing should be the goal. They have zero depth in the front court.

Force HH and Miles left. Make them uncomfortable, make them work for their points.

Guard the PnR better. Last year, it was embarrassing how badly we left lanes open for HH to drive on. Hopefully with more depth at the front court, we can help. Last year, I think AE was a bit passive on guarding the roll due to the little depth we had, and the fact she couldn't afford to get in foul trouble.

I would rather Paige take the ball up the court than Chen, Chen has been oddly shaky when playing ranked teams and we really can't have that with Hannah around. Chen can receive the ball after it's safely past half court.

Matchup Wise: Man to Man defense likely

Paige-Citron
Chen-Hidalgo
Ice-Koval
Sarah-King/Prosper
Azzi (depends)-Miles

Bench:
KK-Hidalgo
Ash-Miles
Jana-Koval
Morgan-King/Prosper
Q-Her defense is a bit lackluster right now, so I'm not even sure if she'll get in.
Allie-Also a bit questionable on defense.

I don't think we'll be able to contain HH no matter what, she's just too fast. Doubling her is too risky because Miles and Citron are both capable shooters. But I think we can contain Miles to a degree, and neutralize the front court with foul trouble, Sarah, Jana, and Ice.

We have what we need to win, 100%. But it's a matter of whether we can execute it right and not buckle under pressure.

Just pray there's no UCONN alums there.

 

[ScottCT]

We have to much talent to say we only win if Azzi plays. You are vastly overrating Notre Dame.

 

[yhun89]

We have to much talent to say we only win if Azzi plays. You are vastly overrating Notre Dame.

I misspoke there. Rather than that, I'll rephrase and say we're better equipped to win for sure if Azzi is there. Because then, for sure, they can't risk a double team on Paige. We saw how that worked out for LV, Azzi and Sarah could do whatever they wanted, and were wide open. Notre Dame has for sure seen the results of the LV game and are likely smart enough not to make the same mistake.

 

[Zarathustra]

Good ideas from yhun89 (thread #1).
I based some of my Prognostication on the scores of
the three most significant IRISH games; UTAH, a loss
78 - 67, TCU, a loss 76 -68, and a loss to TEXAS, which was
tied at 68 - 68 at the end of regulation. Notice a theme here??
67 ... 68 ... 68. The two big wild cards here for me are:
Will Azzi play and be at 100% and will Maddy Westbeld play
for N.D. and be at 100%. Westbeld is a 6' 4" "Graduate/senior"
and her presence or absence will be a major factor (like Azzi)
I totally agree that FOULS will be the other major issue. Kate
Koval's foul status (6'5", major rebounder and shot blocker) and the foul
status of Jana and Ice. I am just assuming that Hannah
Hildalgo and Oliva Miles will have BIG GAMES. But whether
their scoring, along with the always reliable Sonia Citron will
be the MAJOR factor is debatable point for all Boneyards.
No Aubrey Griffin is also in my reasoning. GO HUSKIES.
UCONN HUSKIE basketball with a long bench should
prevail!!

 

[Rb335]

I’d say effective defense without fouling has to be towards the top of the list. ND averages 13 free throw makes per game, Uconn only averages 10 free throw attempts per game. If we let them March to the free throw line it negates our ability to shoot a higher percentage. Defend without fouling and put more pressure on ND shot making ability.

 

[yhun89]

Good ideas from yhun89 (thread #1).
I based some of my Prognostication on the scores of
the three most significant IRISH games; UTAH, a loss
78 - 67, TCU, a loss 76 -68, and a loss to TEXAS, which was
tied at 68 - 68 at the end of regulation. Notice a theme here??
67 ... 68 ... 68. The two big wild cards here for me are:
Will Azzi play and be at 100% and will Maddy Westbeld play
for N.D. and be at 100%. Westbeld is a 6' 4" "Graduate/senior"
and her presence or absence will be a major factor (like Azzi)
I totally agree that FOULS will be the other major issue. Kate
Koval's foul status (6'5", major rebounder and shot blocker) and the foul
status of Jana and Ice. I am just assuming that Hannah
Hildalgo and Oliva Miles will have BIG GAMES. But whether
their scoring, along with the always reliable Sonia Citron will
be the MAJOR factor is debatable point for all Boneyards.
No Aubrey Griffin is also in my reasoning. GO HUSKIES.
UCONN HUSKIE basketball with a long bench should
prevail!!

I've been hearing Westbeld is a January return. Anyone know if she's been warming up for ND?

 

[yhun89]

I’d say effective defense without fouling has to be towards the top of the list. ND averages 13 free throw makes per game, Uconn only averages 10 free throw attempts per game. If we let them March to the free throw line it negates our ability to shoot a higher percentage. Defend without fouling and put more pressure on ND shot making ability.

Luckily, Paige is great at that. Aren't we also stat wise, one of the teams that averages the least amount of fouls? Or have I remembered that wrong?

 

[Zarathustra]

Correction to my thread # 4 above. I know it was A WIN by THE IRISH over TEXAS in OVERTIME. (Note: I dream of NOTRE DAME losing, so certainly unconscious
motivation in that miscue!). However,
the 68 - 68 score at the end of regulation of the N.D./Texas game was my point
of emphasis i.e. the repeating pattern of 67, 68, and 68 I just hope that the fouls and the home crowd is not too much of a burden to overcome. I was going to
lower my expectations of the IRISH offense (i.e. lower than 68) due to the skill and tenacity of the HUSKIE DEFENSE. HOWEVER, due to my respect of the home court effect and large crowd at the home court I waivered. Anyhow: UCONN WINS!! The score is not important.

 

[Zonepress]

Drop your thoughts. Who wins, matchups, what you want the gameplay to be.

Personally:

We're better equipped to win if Azzi's there, else the ND guards can feel free to double Paige and render her unable to do anything offensively. With Azzi, they have to spread out, or risk Azzi dropping 20 on them. Although with Ash starting to get back into the midrange rhythm, that could change things.

Sarah must have a good game. There is nobody on ND right now that looks like they can contain her. Koval is too foul prone to try and take her on, and King isn't big enough.

Getting Koval in foul trouble first thing should be the goal. They have zero depth in the front court.

Force HH and Miles left. Make them uncomfortable, make them work for their points.

Guard the PnR better. Last year, it was embarrassing how badly we left lanes open for HH to drive on. Hopefully with more depth at the front court, we can help. Last year, I think AE was a bit passive on guarding the roll due to the little depth we had, and the fact she couldn't afford to get in foul trouble.

I would rather Paige take the ball up the court than Chen, Chen has been oddly shaky when playing ranked teams and we really can't have that with Hannah around. Chen can receive the ball after it's safely past half court.

Matchup Wise: Man to Man defense likely

Paige-Citron
Chen-Hidalgo
Ice-Koval
Sarah-King/Prosper
Azzi (depends)-Miles

Bench:
KK-Hidalgo
Ash-Miles
Jana-Koval
Morgan-King/Prosper
Q-Her defense is a bit lackluster right now, so I'm not even sure if she'll get in.
Allie-Also a bit questionable on defense.

I don't think we'll be able to contain HH no matter what, she's just too fast. Doubling her is too risky because Miles and Citron are both capable shooters. But I think we can contain Miles to a degree, and neutralize the front court with foul trouble, Sarah, Jana, and Ice.

We have what we need to win, 100%. But it's a matter of whether we can execute it right and not buckle under pressure.

Just pray there's no UCONN alums there.

Doubt u will see the man to man matchups u listed
Nd played zone the whole game against texas
Likely to see that on thursday

 

[Zarathustra]

I've been hearing Westbeld is a January return. Anyone know if she's been warming up for ND?

I heard nothing.... I just worry about things!!! All the better if she is
not in the mix. Note: We will have Aubrey in just a matter of time, but
this game will be for bragging rights and NCAA seeding enhancement.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Here are some stats for each team:

Statistic	UConn	Notre Dame
Points scored	80.4	85.8
Points allowed	49.5	63.0
FG%	51.8	46.8
Opponent FG%	34.3	35.4
3FG%	34.7	38.2
FT%	66.3	75.9
FT made per game	6.6	13.3
Rebounds	38.8	46.7
Assists	22.3	16.7
Turnovers	11.0	16.2
Steals	10.6	12.6
Blocks	3.8	6.9

Sources:
UConn: 2024-2025 University of Connecticut Women's Basketball (PDF) - University of Connecticut Athletics
Notre Dame: https://fightingirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-WBB-Stats-.pdf

 

[VaConnFan11]

Luckily, Paige is great at that. Aren't we also stat wise, one of the teams that averages the least amount of fouls? Or have I remembered that wrong?

According to Torvicks's ratings UConn is 360/362 is Free Throw Attempts and 5th in Opponent Free Throw Attempts, so UConn doesn't get fouled and doesn't commit fouls.

 

[Zarathustra]

Doubt u will see the man to man matchups u listed
Nd played zone the whole game against texas
Likely to see that on thursday

In the TEXAS / Notre Dame game, as we mostly all know,
Kate Koval, Liatu King (6'0" forward transfer from Pittsburgh
and a major rebounder along with Kate Koval), and Olivia Miles all ended up with 4
fouls apiece even with the above noted ZONE!. If the IRISH
are forced to defend the perimeter (as well they must!! IMHO) the
whole issue of fouls comes around again! Interesting stuff!!
FYI: Cassandre Prosper, the junior at 6'3", has not be a major rebounder for
the IRISH so far.

 

[Topsail]

If we have no Azzi then other players need to make shots. Paige needs to have a better shooting nite than last year 5/17. Sarah needs to have a big game . HH will have her 30 plus points as we can not stop her. The Irish not having Westbeld will be huge in our favor as she scored 20 plus last year. We need to be able to score a lot while playing in front of a hostile crowd. This game will come down to the last shot.

 

[Zarathustra]

Here are some stats for each team:

Statistic	UConn	Notre Dame
Points scored	80.4	85.8
Points allowed	49.5	63.0
FG%	51.8	46.8
Opponent FG%	34.3	35.4
3FG%	34.7	38.2
FT%	66.3	75.9
FT made per game	6.6	13.3
Rebounds	38.8	46.7
Assists	22.3	16.7
Turnovers	11.0	16.2
Steals	10.6	12.6
Blocks	3.8	6.9

Sources:
UConn: 2024-2025 University of Connecticut Women's Basketball (PDF) - University of Connecticut Athletics
Notre Dame: https://fightingirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-WBB-Stats-.pdf

Another reason to get K.Koval in foul trouble early. She is the major shot
blocker for the IRISH.

 

[Bone Dog]

I misspoke there. Rather than that, I'll rephrase and say we're better equipped to win for sure if Azzi is there. Because then, for sure, they can't risk a double team on Paige. We saw how that worked out for LV, Azzi and Sarah could do whatever they wanted, and were wide open. Notre Dame has for sure seen the results of the LV game and are likely smart enough not to make the same mistake.

Without Azzi:

• Paige can't have a bad shooting night, Ash has to play like she did against L'Ville, and Kaitlyn and KK have to somehow contain Hannah. KK and Nika failed to contain her last time.
• Sarah poses a problem for ND, no doubt. But without Azzi, Hannah will be free to cheat off her defensive assignment and go for steals against the other ball handlers. Sarah is vulnerable to guards looking to cherry pick against her in the low post, Ice and Jana, too.
• The pressure on Ice and Jana to avoid foul trouble will be much higher.
• Finally, Kaitlyn and KK have to follow the scout: Hannah and Olivia are very dominant righties. Guard them that way.

With Azzi:

• Olivia will have her hands full and will require defensive help from Sonia, which will free up Paige.
• King will need help guarding Sarah, which will also tax Sonia's attention to Paige.
• Even if Hannah scores 25-30 pts, ND loses unless Sonia and Olivia chip in another 30 between them.
• ND likes to run, but so do we, and we may be better at it.
• Also, our defense may be slightly better than theirs. They depend on Hannah to create chaos on defense, and she's very good at this. But their team defense does not seem to have settled into mid-season form so far, and ours is closer to midseason form.
• If Azzi and Ash can keep Hannah honest with quick midrange shots the rest of ND's defense will struggle. Hannah thrives when opposing guards dribble too much. Hannah can't cheat off her assignment if the other guards shoot too quickly.
• Finally, we may win the rebounding battle if Ice Jana and Sarah can hold their own against Koval King and Sonia, and I think they can. Hannah gets a lot of long rebounds and 50-50 balls from pure hustle, so KK and Kaitlyn have to watch out for this.

One interesting postscript: last year, Morgan played against Koval and LuHi and won. Koval played a great game as did Heckel. But Morgan and Woliczko played a better one. Morgan knows how to win against bigs like Koval. I hope she gets a few minutes to try.

 

[Bone Dog]

Doubt u will see the man to man matchups u listed
Nd played zone the whole game against texas
Likely to see that on thursday

Texas is not a great perimeter shooting team. Still the zone was an interesting choice. I wonder if it was to protect Hannah from being exposed against Rori. Hannah was great on offense and rebounded really well, but she only got 3 steals -- which is low for her.

 

[Rowdy831]

Matchup Wise: Man to Man defense likely

Paige-Citron
Chen-Hidalgo
Ice-Koval
Sarah-King/Prosper
Azzi (depends)-Miles

ND has two players UConn will struggle to guard. Hidalgo will score anytime she wants if UConn tries to guard her with Chen and Miles is one of the top 5 players in this years guard class. Over the years it seems Geno picks out one player he favors and this year that player is Chen and she simply isn't capable of containing HH. They will need KK to step in and step up in this game for reasonable matchup.

Miles is also capable of going off and she really played memorable games against UConn at least in my head. I expect her to be ready and to play and excellent game too. So to me the question is how do you keep Citron from contributing on the offensive side of the ball? She isn't great on offense but if you play so soft on defense that she gets open looks she certainly could hurt you. I would love to see Sarah play her straight up and completely shut her down.

Paige will bounce back with a big game, Azzi looked great in the last game and Sarah is getting better every time out on the court. UConn is loaded, again, and should win this game but it might take some different looks than we have seen so far this season. I also think they will need Jana to show up a little inside.

 

[yhun89]

ND has two players UConn will struggle to guard. Hidalgo will score anytime she wants if UConn tries to guard her with Chen and Miles is one of the top 5 players in this years guard class. Over the years it seems Geno picks out one player he favors and this year that player is Chen and she simply isn't capable of containing HH. They will need KK to step in and step up in this game for reasonable matchup.

Miles is also capable of going off and she really played memorable games against UConn at least in my head. I expect her to be ready and to play and excellent game too. So to me the question is how do you keep Citron from contributing on the offensive side of the ball? She isn't great on offense but if you play so soft on defense that she gets open looks she certainly could hurt you. I would love to see Sarah play her straight up and completely shut her down.

Paige will bounce back with a big game, Azzi looked great in the last game and Sarah is getting better every time out on the court. UConn is loaded, again, and should win this game but it might take some different looks than we have seen so far this season. I also think they will need Jana to show up a little inside.

I've noted HH is a near impossible person to shut down. I think she will do most of the work for ND.

Citron is someone who also isn't easily shut down since she's scrappy, but its more possible than HH.

 

[yhun89]

Without Azzi:

• Paige can't have a bad shooting night, Ash has to play like she did against L'Ville, and Kaitlyn and KK have to somehow contain Hannah. KK and Nika failed to contain her last time.
• Sarah poses a problem for ND, no doubt. But without Azzi, Hannah will be free to cheat off her defensive assignment and go for steals against the other ball handlers. Sarah is vulnerable to guards looking to cherry pick against her in the low post, Ice and Jana, too.
• The pressure on Ice and Jana to avoid foul trouble will be much higher.
• Finally, Kaitlyn and KK have to follow the scout: Hannah and Olivia are very dominant righties. Guard them that way.

With Azzi:

• Olivia will have her hands full and will require defensive help from Sonia, which will free up Paige.
• King will need help guarding Sarah, which will also tax Sonia's attention to Paige.
• Even if Hannah scores 25-30 pts, ND loses unless Sonia and Olivia chip in another 30 between them.
• ND likes to run, but so do we, and we may be better at it.
• Also, our defense may be slightly better than theirs. They depend on Hannah to create chaos on defense, and she's very good at this. But their team defense does not seem to have settled into mid-season form so far, and ours is closer to midseason form.
• If Azzi and Ash can keep Hannah honest with quick midrange shots the rest of ND's defense will struggle. Hannah thrives when opposing guards dribble too much. Hannah can't cheat off her assignment if the other guards shoot too quickly.
• Finally, we may win the rebounding battle if Ice Jana and Sarah can hold their own against Koval King and Sonia, and I think they can. Hannah gets a lot of long rebounds and 50-50 balls from pure hustle, so KK and Kaitlyn have to watch out for this.

One interesting postscript: last year, Morgan played against Koval and LuHi and won. Koval played a great game as did Heckel. But Morgan and Woliczko played a better one. Morgan knows how to win against bigs like Koval. I hope she gets a few minutes to try.

My point exactly. No Azzi means the entire ND defensive scheme can collapse on our stars.

 

[Cuango]

Last time we played this team, HH single-handedly destroyed us! Yes, we were shorthanded but she was basically unstoppable and sliced and diced us like coleslaw! Now, the teams are completely different, we now have depth, some decent post play (and depth) and we have at least one, perhaps two major difference makers in Sarah and (hopefully) Azzi. It is possible of course, that even if Azzi is OK they may decide to hold her out for precautionary reasons! Even so, we now have the best freshman in the country, and a player they have no answer for!

Unfortunately, they too have a “new” player that was not available last year in Olivia Miles. She is not a freshman! She came back with a triple double in her first game and is playing exceptionally well! She is also shooting 46.2%on threes, Hidalgo is shooting 39.5%, and Citron is at 34.9! This is where imo our greatest danger lies. We have not been good at defending the three. We are ranked 161 in three point defense while ND is at 81! Make no mistake, this is going to be very tough! How well we are able to defend the three, will imo likely determine the outcome of this game!

Apparently, Maddy Westbeld could possibly play in this game as well. She has been injured and could be either a complete non factor or the straw that broke the camel’s back! She is a good player and is 6’3” to boot.

Geno will have this team ready to play. I have no doubt about that. Even so however, I believe we’re going to need an exceptional game from Paige (and probably Sarah and/or Azzi) in order to win what I believe is the second toughest game on our schedule! Go Huskies!

 

[Jumper33]

Doubt u will see the man to man matchups u listed
Nd played zone the whole game against texas
Likely to see that on thursday

I don’t think ND will be playing zone. They usually play man to man but zone worked against Texas because Texas doesn’t have as many good shooters as UConn does.

I really think UConn’s depth should prevail here. Koval is literally the only big they have and she is foul prone. I would prefer both teams be at full strength but Westbeld being out makes this matchup very favorable for UConn and her absence will be the difference maker in my opinion. To be fair, ND managed to defeat Texas who had much more post depth than them, but they were able to pack in the paint because of the lack of shooting I mentioned above. The whole team are aggressive rebounders.

I don’t think this iteration of ND is “dirty” as maybe some of their past teams, but they are more physical than UConn. Also I kinda think Hidalgo might be too difficult for anyone on UConn to fully stop. However, on the other hand, they have no answer for Strong at all. I except UConn to win by about 5-10 points.

 

[yhun89]

Doubt u will see the man to man matchups u listed
Nd played zone the whole game against texas
Likely to see that on thursday

They were zone because Texas is pretty terrible from the perimeter. They could just collapse on the paint and render them incapable of any post play, forcing the guards to brick 3’s. Can’t do that with us, Azzi, Paige, Ash, Sarah, and Chen are all capable 3 point shooters.

 

[Stagnant]

i think we are catching them at the right time. They are a bit short handed. They are playing basically 7. And one of them, I don’t think they really want to play in this game (Risch).

Their big 3 scored 66 and 69 in the last two games. What happens if we hold them in the 40’s? That’s the question I want to see answered. We should be able to corral them better than Syracuse did. That’s for sure.

 

[Jumper33]

ND has two players UConn will struggle to guard. Hidalgo will score anytime she wants if UConn tries to guard her with Chen and Miles is one of the top 5 players in this years guard class. Over the years it seems Geno picks out one player he favors and this year that player is Chen and she simply isn't capable of containing HH. They will need KK to step in and step up in this game for reasonable matchup.

Miles is also capable of going off and she really played memorable games against UConn at least in my head. I expect her to be ready and to play and excellent game too. So to me the question is how do you keep Citron from contributing on the offensive side of the ball? She isn't great on offense but if you play so soft on defense that she gets open looks she certainly could hurt you. I would love to see Sarah play her straight up and completely shut her down.

Paige will bounce back with a big game, Azzi looked great in the last game and Sarah is getting better every time out on the court. UConn is loaded, again, and should win this game but it might take some different looks than we have seen so far this season. I also think they will need Jana to show up a little inside.

I would certainly not go as far as to say Citron “isn’t great” on offense. Obviously she is not as automatic as Hidalgo or crafty as Miles but she is smart and can score in a variety of ways.

She started out slow this season but seems to have rounded into form. She had 25 points on 10-15 shooting two days ago and 22 on 9-14 when they lost to Utah.

King is also capable of scoring. But there is no scoring threat from their bench whatsoever. It’s only Prosper, who seems to not be able to shoot, and Risch, who looks to not be getting many minutes in close games. ND is going to live and die by those starting 5 every time.