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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish fall out of AP top-25

By Brad Weiss

SOUTH BEND, IN - MARCH 04: Notre Dame Fighting Irish assistant coach Niele Ivey seen on the sidelines during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Purcel Pavilion on March 4, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Connecticut 96-87 in triple overtime to win the Big East regular season title. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - MARCH 04: Notre Dame Fighting Irish assistant coach Niele Ivey seen on the sidelines during the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Purcel Pavilion on March 4, 2013 in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame defeated Connecticut 96-87 in triple overtime to win the Big East regular season title. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Despite their win against Miami (OH), the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team fell out of the latest Associated Press top-25.

The Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team won their first game of the season on Sunday, beating Miami (OH) convincingly, 88-68. The win was the first for new head coach Niele Ivey, who took over for legendary coach Muffett McGraw to start the 2020-21 college basketball season.

After losing a close one in the opener despite 34 points from Dara Mabrey, the Irish were able to come back strong against Miami (OH) thanks to 24 points from Destinee Walker. Despite the win on Sunday, the Irish, who were ranked No. 22 at the time, fell out of the recent Associated Press top-25 rankings. 

Freshman Maddy Westbeld, a preseason Newcomer of the Year nominee, has played extremely well to open her college career, as she has scored in double-figures in both of the team’s games this season. She will be counted on to carry the load with multiple starters out, and she has shown she can do just that.

Playing without three starters

The Irish have opened the season short-handed, due to the fact that returning starters Sam Brunelle, Katlyn Gilbert, and Mikki Vaughn all have yet to make their season debut. Brunelle is widely regarded as not only one of the best players in the ACC, but also in the country, and was a preseason favorite for conference Player of the Year.

Notre Dame will not play another ranked team until January, when they go on the road to take on the Syracuse Orange. That would give the team more than enough time to not only gel as a team, but also get healthy, as they look to make it back to the NCAA tournament after missing last year for the first time in 24 years.

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The team can make a big statement in their next game, a Thursday matchup against No. 23 Michigan on the road. Michigan has gotten off to a 2-0 start to the 2020-21 campaign, and the hope is that the Irish can start getting their full rotation back as they look to get back into the top-25.