Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish continue road trip in Chapel Hill

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will continue the road trip on Sunday afternoon as they travel to the University of North Carolina.

On Thursday night, the Irish traveled to Knoxville to take on the University of Tennessee. Notre Dame defeated the Lady Vols by a score of 77-62. Arike Ogunbowale once again led all scorers with 28 points. The Irish now travel to North Carolina to continue their conference play. UNC comes into the game having dropped three of their last five.

The Irish

Against the Lady Vols on Thursday night, Jackie Young became just the seventh player in Notre Dame history to record a triple-double. The junior has 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Young has been vital for the Irish on both ends of the floor. On the defensive side, she provides great 1-on-1 defending while also being a force on the glass. When it comes to the offense, Young assists with bringing the ball up the floor, since Notre Dame still lacks a true point guard. Well according to Anthony Anderson of the South Bend Tribune, Young hurt her ankle towards the end of practice on Saturday and is questionable for Sunday’s game.

If Young is unable to suit up, Abby Prohaska will get the start in her place. While Prohaska does not bring the same attributes on the offensive side of the ball, her ability to defend will make Young’s absence a little less noticeable. One thing Prohaska will have to be aware of is her foul situation. She is very aggressive on defense and that is something that makes her so difficult to score against. However, that sometimes makes her too aggressive, which often means she picks up quick fouls. Whether Young is able to go or not, it is too early to tell. But one thing is for sure, Prohaska will have to be ready to play an increased amount of minutes.

North Carolina

North Carolina comes into Sunday’s matchup at 11-9. They are just 2-4 in conference play, have lost three of their last five but are coming off a win at Virginia Tech. At home this season, they are 6-2. One player to keep an eye out for is sophomore center Janelle Bailey. She is currently averaging a team high 16.5 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting. Bailey also leads North Carolina in rebounds per game with 8.9. At 6’4”, Jessica Shepard and Brianna Turner will both have their hands full with Bailey defensively.

How to watch

Tip-off for the matchup is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.