Slap the Sign
Fansided

Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Who is Cal State Northridge?

By J.P. Scott

DENVER, CO - MARCH 31: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish directs her team during practice prior to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four at Pepsi Center on March 31, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 31: Head coach Muffet McGraw of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish directs her team during practice prior to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Final Four at Pepsi Center on March 31, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will take on the Cal State Northridge Matadors in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The NCAA Tournament is set and the Notre Dame women’s basketball team got one of the four coveted No. 1 seeds in the bracket. The Irish will open tournament play against CS-Northridge out of the Big West Conference.

Let’s take a look at the Matadors.

How did they get here?

After finishing the season 15-15, Cal State Northridge won four-straight games in their conference tournament –culminating with an upset win over top-seeded UC Davis.

Who coaches the Matadors?

Jason Flowers is the head coach at CS-Northridge. He is in his 8th season at the helm of the program. Flowers is CS-Northridge’s all-time leader in coaching wins, a two-time Big West coach of the year and has sent eight of his players to play professional basketball around the world.

More from Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2017-2018 Statistical Leaders

Scoring: Channon Fluker, 18.8 ppg

Rebounding: Channon Fluker, 12.1 rpg

Assists: Hayley Tanabe, 3.8 apg

Steals: Meghann Henderson, 35 total steals

Blocks: Channon Fluker, 85 total blocks

What should scare Notre Dame?

Fluker. She’s nearly a one-woman show for the Matadors, capable of taking over a game and excelling against any level of competition she faces. Her size and power will challenge the Irish on the inside.

Why shouldn’t Notre Dame be worried?

Outside of Fluker, the Matadors don’t have another player who can consistently put offensive or defensive pressure on a talented Irish squad. Coach Muffet McGraw’s gameplan will likely be to suffocate the four other players on the floor in an effort to deny Fluker her opportunities.

Next: Irish Women get No. 1 Seed in NCAA Tourney

The Irish will face Cal-State Northridge live at 5 pm EST on Friday on ESPN at Purcell Pavilion on the Notre Dame campus.

Home/Notre Dame Fighting Irish