The Notre Dame women’s basketball team got ACC play off on the right foot with a 93-62 road victory over Syracuse. Conference play won’t begin properly for a bit yet, but you still don’t want to drop your first game that truly matters. The Irish also needed momentum going into Thursday game against UConn.
Here are five thing we learned from a game the Irish needed:
Never overlook Sonia Citron
Sonia Citron took a backseat to Kate Koval as the Irish’s third star to begin the season, but she seems intent on reclaiming that title. She had her first double-double of the season to the tune of 25 points and 11 rebounds. While she won’t come close to one in every game, the potential for her to get one always will be there.
Hannah Hidalgo truly is special
We only are in the second week of December during Hannah Hidalgo’s sophomore season. But in this game, she already scored the 1,000th point of her collegiate career. She has a lot of accolades already, and she’ll collect many more before she’s done with the Irish.
The Irish can clean up turnover issues
The Irish had nine turnovers in the first quarter but miraculously held a one-point lead. But they won the turnover battle the rest of the way, 15-11. While they lost the overall battle, 20-18, the slowed pace in that regard showed they can remember how to take care of the basketball when they absolutely need to.
Niele Ivey won’t let her team get complacent
The Irish were ahead by 23 points entering the fourth quarter, but the Orange cut that lead to 19 off a turnover, signaling a shift in momentum. Niele Ivey sensed this and called a timeout, making sure her team would stay hungry for a victory. She also probably did it stamp out any panic her players felt at that time, but the important thing is she reminded them that victory wasn’t yet assured.
Kate Koval still can’t stay out of foul trouble
Koval had a hot start to her collegiate career, but she’s tailed off a bit since then. This was the fourth time in the past five games she has picked up at least four fouls, and the Irish can’t afford to lose her height when they don’t have much else available right now. She did score 12 points though, her most during this particular stretch.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Five things we learned in Notre Dame women’s hoops’ win over Syracuse
