Duke women's basketball opponent preview: No. 2 Notre Dame
No. 13 Duke women’s basketball faces another ranked matchup Monday, this time on the road at No. 2 Notre Dame. The Blue Zone is here with an overview of the Fighting Irish and three keys for the Blue Devils:
28-7, 13-5 in the ACC
22-2, 13-0 in the ACC
Niele Ivey
Notre Dame leads 18-4
70-62, Notre Dame, Feb. 19, 2024
Duke is continuing a gauntlet of an ACC slate, which peaks Monday as Kara Lawson’s squad takes a trip to South Bend, Ind., to face the conference’s top team. With just two losses and a scoring margin of 26.8 points, Notre Dame has been on a tear this season. The Fighting Irish are powered by sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year who now averages 25.2 points off 49.0% shooting, and redshirt junior guard Olivia Miles, who averages 17 points in her own right. Miles cashed in from the 3-point line eight times on her way to 28 points in a 88-57 thumping of Pitt Thursday, and was joined in pacing the scoring by senior guard Sonia Citron, who posted 22 points. As a team, the Fighting Irish lead the conference in field goal shooting (50.4%), 3-point shooting (42.3%), assists and steals. Needless to say, the Blue Devils will have their hands full Monday evening.
However, Duke is just one of the few teams left who has a realistic chance to spoil Notre Dame's quest for perfection in conference play. The Blue Devils are second in the conference in total defense and third in team field goal percentage. With a very balanced offensive attack, Duke will need to stretch the floor and take advantage of any open looks — especially from behind the arc, as Notre Dame is the best at defending the three in the conference. The Blue Devils will also look to play their style of game of forcing turnovers and bad shots, in attempts to limit the talent of Hidalgo and Miles when possible. While the Fighting Irish will be a tough outing, if Duke plays to its strengths with confidence, a huge upset win on the road is not entirely out of the question.
On the road against one of the best squads in the country, the Blue Devils will face nerves like no other. It will be in their best interest to take deep breaths, ignore the crowd and focus on their game without getting sucked into a frenzy by Notre Dame, who will look to come out firing early. This will help Duke protect the ball from the conference’s best steal-forcing team while creating pressure of its own. The ability to stay focused and hang tough will likely determine the game’s outcome, and success in this area will create a window of opportunity for Duke to snag the upset.
The Blue Devils themselves force the most turnovers per game in the ACC at 21.5, and a performance Monday of a similar level would do wonders for the team. The best way to achieve this will be through pressing high on the ball, likely on Hidalgo, Miles, Citron and other guards who look to capitalize on scoring from the outside. With tenacious defense — like that often shown by sophomore Oluchi Okananwa — Duke can force Notre Dame’s key players to hit difficult shots, generating misses and opportunities for easy defensive rebounds. The Blue Devils are also second to Notre Dame in steals per game within the conference. Pressing the ball will likely generate even more possession chances than normal, which will be crucial in what will likely be an all-out battle.
The Fighting Irish lead the conference in rebounds per game, and Duke is the best at limiting rebounds. With the conference’s best in this metric going head-to-head, whoever emerges victorious in this area will likely prevail overall. The Blue Devils are led on the glass by Okananwa, freshman Toby Fournier and sophomore Jadyn Donovan, each averaging more than five rebounds per game. They will be tasked with boxing out Notre Dame’s Miles and senior Liatu King, the second-best individual rebounder in the ACC. Beating the Fighting Irish at their own game is vital for Duke, especially on the defensive end, and will best be achieved by keeping Notre Dame’s stars uncomfortable for all 40 minutes.
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