On Friday, Purcell Pavilion will host two first round games in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. First, at 11:30 a.m., No. 6 seed Michigan (22-10, 11-7 Big Ten) will oppose No. 11 Iowa State (23-11, 12-6 Big 12) after the Cyclones’ defeat of Princeton in Wednesday night’s First Four. Then, at 2 p.m., No. 3 seed Notre Dame (26-5, 16-2 ACC) will face No. 14 Stephen F. Austin (29-5, 16-4 Southland Conference).
Somewhat surprisingly, Notre Dame enters this year’s tournament with a lower seed than the one it had last year, when it made the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed. The Irish had a No. 3 seed the season prior when it produced the same pre-tournament results as this year’s (winning the ACC regular season title and losing in the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament). Notre Dame also reached the Sweet 16 in that scenario.
The difference between those recent tournament runs and this one is that Notre Dame is now healthy. In 2023, the Irish lost current graduate guard Olivia Miles to a torn ACL in late February, forcing then-freshman guard KK Bransford to play all 40 minutes of the team’s final game against Maryland. Last season, head coach Niele Ivey could deploy only six players in the Sweet 16 loss to Oregon State, as Miles was still out with the same injury and senior forward Kylee Watson went down during the ACC Tournament.
A team ranked in the nation’s top three for nearly the entire season, Notre Dame has the talent and depth to reach its first Final Four since 2019 and perhaps win it all for the third time in program history. However, it’ll have a tough path to get there. The two teams seeded higher than Notre Dame in the Birmingham 3 Region played the Irish very well in the regular season, No. 1 Texas taking them to overtime in South Bend and No. 2 TCU beating them outright in the Cayman Islands. Additionally, Notre Dame’s potential round of 32 opponent, Michigan, annihilated No. 4 seed Maryland just two weeks ago during the Big Ten Tournament.
In the days leading up to the big dance, Notre Dame’s entire starting backcourt trio received All-American recognition from either the Associated Press or the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo landed on the first team for both publications, as she sits fourth in the nation in points per game (24.2) and steals per game (3.7). Olivia Miles earned second-team honors from both, as she remains top-15 nationally in assists per game (5.8) and the only player in the country averaging 15 points, five rebounds and five assists per contest while shooting 40 percent or better from 3-point range.
Senior guard Sonia Citron, a top producer during last year’s tournament run, was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the AP. Doing a little bit of everything for the Irish, Citron is running up 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.
While those three players – along with graduate forward Maddy Westbeld – will be returning to the NCAA Tournament, other key Irish contributors have never been. Graduate forward Liatu King, Notre Dame’s leader in rebounds at 10.4 per game, never saw the big stage during her four years at Pittsburgh. Freshman forward Kate Koval, who plays 18.6 minutes per game and paces the Irish in blocks, hasn’t yet gone dancing either. Graduate forward Liza Karlen went in 2021, 2023 and 2024 with Marquette but never advanced to the Round of 32, although she double-doubled in South Bend during the first round last year.
Ladyjacks enter on 15-game win streak
After spending three seasons in the Western Athletic Conference, Stephen F. Austin thrived in its return to the Southland this year. The Ladyjacks won their final 12 regular-season games before defeating Nicholls, Lamar and No. 1 seed Southeastern Louisiana in the conference tournament. In their only game against a power-conference team, the Ladyjacks lost 78-68 at Texas Tech on Dec. 3.
Stephen F. Austin has historically had some NCAA Tournament success, although it hasn’t reached the Round of 32 since 2000. The Ladyjacks went to the Sweet 16 five times between 1989 and 1996, at one point winning both their conference regular season and tournament titles in seven consecutive years. They didn’t make the NCAA Tournament between 2006 and 2021 but have now been back three times in the past five seasons.
The Ladyjacks pose a considerable offensive threat, ranking 24th in the country with 77.9 points scored per game. They’ve tallied those points efficiently from all areas of the floor, ranking 27th in field goal percentage (46.1) and 3-point percentage (36.0). For comparison, Notre Dame ranks fifth, fifth and first in those three categories respectively.
All five of Stephen F. Austin’s regular starters average at least 11 points per game and a steal per contest. Graduate guard Faith Blackstone, a First Team All-Southland selection, leads the way with 14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per night. Junior guard Ashlyn Traylor-Walker ended up on the Second Team, the Indiana native and Radford transfer pacing the Ladyjacks in assists (4.7) and steals (2.3) per game while averaging 13.4 points. Senior forward Trinity Moore made the All-Defensive Team thanks to her averages of 6.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks to go with 11.9 points per contest.
The winners of the Michigan-Iowa State and Notre Dame-Stephen F. Austin games will square off in the Round of 32 on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion.
