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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish open up ACC play vs Pitt

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attempts a shot against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the fourth quarter in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attempts a shot against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the fourth quarter in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Non-conference play is over, and the real season begins on Thursday night for the Notre Dame women’s basketball team. They will face off against Pittsburgh in the ACC opener.

The Irish return to action on Thursday night when they open up ACC play by hosting Pittsburgh. This game comes after head coach Muffet McGraw picked up her 900th career win on Sunday against Lehigh. She became the 4th fastest division one coach to reach that milestone. Notre Dame comes in on a five game winning streak after losing to UConn to start December.

The Irish

Notre Dame continued their hot shooting on Sunday when they hit over 55 percent from the field for the fourth straight game. They raised their average shooting percentage to .524, which ranks third in the country. Against Lehigh, the Irish had all five starters in double-digits scoring, with Arike Ogunbowale leading the way with 23. Ogunbowale now sits just 280 points off the all-time scoring record at Notre Dame, currently owned by Skylar Diggins.

Jackie Young could become the 40th member of the 1,000 point club at Notre Dame on Thursday night. The junior sits just six points away from the 1k mark and should hit that against Pittsburgh. She also sits in sixth for shooting percentage among guards in the NCAA this season with 55.6 percent.

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh enters ACC play at 9-5. They have two starters who are currently averaging just over 10 points per game. Forward Danielle Garven and guard Cassidy Walsh are averaging 10.2 and 10.9 points respectively. The last time out, the Panthers beat Duquesne 66-58 on Dec. 29th. Pittsburgh is 2-1 on the road this season.

McGraw Hits 900 Wins. dark. Next

How to watch

Tip-off for the matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on the ACC Network Extra.