# 2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

The 2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish were led by fourth year head coach Niele Ivey and played their home games at Purcell Pavilion as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Fighting Irish started their season ranked tenth in the nation, and opened against sixth-ranked South Carolina in Paris, France. They would lose that game 71–100, but would then go on a nine-game winning streak before conference play began. The winning streak included an eleven point win over Illinois, a defeat of twentieth-ranked Tennessee in the ACC–SEC Challenge and a thirty-seven point win over Purdue. The Fighting Irish lost two of their first three conference games to Syracuse and North Carolina, but rebounded by winning their next four in a row. They would lose to Syracuse again, this time when Syracuse was ranked twenty-second, before a break in conference play to face rival UConn. Notre Dame prevailed against the eighth-ranked Huskies 82–67. They took that momenum back into conference play, winning three of their next five. The losses were to fifteenth-ranked Louisville and sixth-ranked NC State. From there, Notre Dame closed out conference play with five straight wins, including victories over fifth-ranked Virginia Tech and twenty-second ranked Louisville to end the season.
The Fighting Irish finished the season 28–7 overall and 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a three way tie for second place. As the fourth seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye into the Quarterfinals where they defeated fifth seed Louisville. They defeated first seed Virginia Tech in the Semifinals and second seed NC State to win the title. It was their sixth overall title and first since 2019. They received the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking the third straight time the Fighting Irish qualified for the tournament. As the second seed in the Albany 1 region they defeated fifteenth seed Kent State in the First Round and seventh seed Ole Miss in the Second Round before losing to third seed Oregon State in the Sweet Sixteen to end their season.

## Previous season

The Fighting Irish finished the season 27–6 overall and 15–3 in ACC play, to finish as conference champions. This was their seventh regular season championship, and first since 2018–19. As the first seed in the ACC tournament, they defeated eighth seed NC State in the Quarterfinals before they would lose to fourth seed Louisville in the Semifinals. They received and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the third seed in the Greenville 1 Region. They defeated fourteenth seed Southern Utah in the First Round and eleventh seed Mississippi State in the Second Round before losing to second seed Maryland in the Sweet Sixteen to end their season. Their postseason performance was heavily impacted by an injury to Olivia Miles, who was an All-ACC First Team selection.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Dara Mabrey | 1 | G | 5'7" | Graduate Student | Belmar, New Jersey | Graduated |
| Trinity Cha | 2 | G | 5'5" | Junior | Irvine, California | — |
| Lauren Zwetzig | 20 | G | 5'9" | Junior | Fort Collins, Colorado | — |
| Lauren Ebo | 33 | C | 6'4" | Graduate Student | Washington, D.C. | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Becky Obinma | 10 | F | 6'2" | Graduate Student | Menifee, California | Pepperdine |
| Anna DeWolfe | 13 | G | 5'8" | Graduate Student | Cumberland, Maine | Fordham |

### 2023 recruiting class

Source:
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Hannah Hidalgo PG | Haddonfield, New Jersey | Paul VI | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Cassandre Prosper F | Montreal, Canada | Cairine Wilson | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Emma Risch G | Melbourne, Florida | Palm Bay Magnet | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 96 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | No. 10 | Purdue Northwest | W 110–48 | – | Purcell Pavilion (4,573) Notre Dame, IN |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 10 | vs. No. 6 South Carolina Aflac Oui-Play | L 71–100 | 0–1 | Halle Georges Carpentier (3,203) Paris, France |
| November 12, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 10 | at NJIT | W 104–57 | 1–1 | Wellness and Events Center (1,631) Newark, NJ |
| November 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 16 | Northwestern | W 110–52 | 2–1 | Purcell Pavilion (7,065) Notre Dame, IN |
| November 18, 2023* 1:00 p.m., NBC | No. 16 | vs. Illinois Citi Shamrock Classic | W 79–68 | 3–1 | Entertainment and Sports Arena (N/A) Washington, D.C. |
| November 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 17 | Chicago State | W 113–35 | 4–1 | Purcell Pavilion (4,987) Notre Dame, IN |
| November 24, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 17 | at Ball State | W 90–59 | 5–1 | Worthen Arena (5,442) Muncie, IN |
| November 29, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 18 | at No. 20 Tennessee ACC–SEC Challenge | W 74–69 | 6–1 | Thompson–Boling Arena (8,211) Knoxville, TN |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | Lafayette | W 96–42 | 7–1 | Purcell Pavilion (4,745) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 17, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | Purdue | W 76–39 | 8–1 | Purcell Pavilion (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 21, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | Western Michigan | W 84–47 | 9–1 | Purcell Pavilion (5,367) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 31, 2023 2:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 13 | at Syracuse | L 81–86 | 9–2 (0–1) | JMA Wireless Dome (2,755) Syracuse, NY |
| January 4, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | at Pittsburgh | W 71–66 | 10–2 (1–1) | Peterson Events Center (1,285) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 7, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 16 | North Carolina | L 57–61 | 10–3 (1–2) | Purcell Pavilion (6,418) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 18 | Boston College | W 98–48 | 11–3 (2–2) | Purcell Pavilion (4,657) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 14, 2024 12:00 p.m., The CW | No. 18 | Miami (FL) | W 70–59 | 12–3 (3–2) | Purcell Pavilion (5,905) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 18, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 19 | at Virginia | W 86–76 | 13–3 (4–2) | John Paul Jones Arena (4,152) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 21, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 19 | at Wake Forest | W 75–56 | 14–3 (5–2) | LJVM Coliseum (1,566) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | No. 22 Syracuse | L 65–79 | 14–4 (5–3) | Purcell Pavilion (5,512) Notre Dame, IN |
| January 27, 2024* 8:00 p.m., FOX | No. 15 | at No. 8 UConn Rivalry | W 82–67 | 15–4 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,299) Storrs, CT |
| February 1, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | at Georgia Tech | W 85–48 | 16–4 (6–3) | McCamish Pavilion (1,989) Atlanta, GA |
| February 4, 2024 2:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | Pittsburgh | W 78–53 | 17–4 (7–3) | Purcell Pavilion (7,170) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 15 Louisville | L 66–73 | 17–5 (7–4) | KFC Yum! Center (9,417) Louisville, KY |
| February 11, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 12 | at Florida State | W 98–94 $^{2OT}$ | 18–5 (8–4) | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,643) Tallahassee, FL |
| February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 16 | No. 6 NC State | L 43–59 | 18–6 (8–5) | Purcell Pavilion (7,134) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 19 | at Duke | W 70–62 | 19–6 (9–5) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (2,485) Durham, NC |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 19 | Clemson | W 80–62 | 20–6 (10–5) | Purcell Pavilion (1,554) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 25, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 19 | at Boston College | W 79–55 | 21–6 (11–5) | Conte Forum (3,612) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 17 | No. 5 Virginia Tech | W 71–58 | 22–6 (12–5) | Purcell Pavilion (6,416) Notre Dame, IN |
| March 3, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 17 | No. 22 Louisville | W 74–58 | 23–6 (13–5) | Purcell Pavilion (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| ACC Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2024 11:00 a.m., ACCN | (4) No. 14 | vs. (5) No. 24 Louisville Quarterfinals | W 77–68 | 24–6 | Greensboro Coliseum (15,202) Greensboro, NC |
| March 9, 2024 12:00 p.m., ACCN | (4) No. 14 | vs. (1) No. 11 Virginia Tech Semifinals | W 82–53 | 25–6 | Greensboro Coliseum (10,488) Greensboro, NC |
| March 10, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN | (4) No. 14 | vs. (2) No. 10 NC State Finals | W 55–51 | 26–6 | Greensboro Coliseum (9,102) Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| March 23, 2024* 2:15 p.m., ESPN | (2 A1) No. 9 | (15 A1) Kent State First Round | W 81–67 | 27–6 | Purcell Pavilion (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| March 25, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN | (2 A1) No. 9 | (7 A1) Ole Miss Second Round | W 71–56 | 28–6 | Purcell Pavilion (7,882) Notre Dame, IN |
| March 29, 2024* 2:30 p.m., ESPN | (2 A1) No. 9 | vs. (3 A1) No. 12 Oregon State Sweet Sixteen | L 65–70 | 28–7 | MVP Arena (13,597) Albany, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. A1=Albany 1. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |