Notre Dame basketball: Can Irish WBB punch their ticket to the Elite Eight?
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame WBB team is taking on NC State in Sweet 16 action this morning, and they have a legitimate chance to punch their ticket to the Elite Eight.
The time has come for the Notre Dame basketball team to hit the floor, taking on No. 1 seed NC State in Sweet 16 action. This Irish WBB team has come on as of late and is in prime position to make it to the Elite Eight for the first time since the 2018-19 college basketball season.
That year, they made it to the NCAA Tournament title game in what would prove to be the last winning season for legendary head coach Muffet McGraw. Since handing the program over to Niele Ivey, the Irish have steadily improved, and this could end up being a special season in South Bend.
This season, the Irish went 24-8 during the regular season, including a 13-5 mark in ACC play, and will be taking on an NC State team that lost only one conference game all year. Fortunately for the Irish, that loss came at the hands of this Notre Dame basketball team, a feat they will try and repeat this morning inside Total Mortgage Arena.
Notre Dame basketball fresh off dominating win against Oklahoma
Playing in the Round of 32, the Irish took on the No. 4 seed in the Bridgeport Region, Oklahoma, and dominated throughout. They were led by Dara Mabrey, who scored 29 points and was lights out from the outside, as she joined three more of her teammates in double-figures in scoring.
Today, the Irish will hope to put the clamp on Elissa Cunane, the Player of the Year in the ACC this season, and someone who can be downright dominant in the paint. Notre Dame did a good job getting her into foul trouble in the first matchup, something that proved huge down the stretch, so expect them to be aggressive and going at her early and often in this one.
If they can win, they would take on the winner of the Indiana/UConn matchup that is scheduled for later today.