ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge

Kellie Harper recaps Lady Vols’ loss to Notre Dame

Kellie Harper recaps the Lady Vols’ loss to Notre Dame.

No. 14 Notre Dame (6-1) defeated No. 22 Tennessee (4-3), 74-69, in the ACC/SEC Challenge Tuesday at Food City Center.

Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper met with media after the game.

“Obviously, this is a tough one,”Harper said. “I think everyone here in our locker room feels like we should have walked out with a win, so it’s a hard pill to swallow when you don’t get it. Obviously, the other team had a lot to do with that, they did a great job of grabbing the momentum and holding onto it and finishing the game out strong. They had great balance, and great toughness from the game. Obviously, we are disappointed, and hopefully, we will learn from it.”

PHOTOS: Kellie Harper through the years

How to watch Lady Vols-Notre Dame basketball game

How to watch the Lady Vols-Notre Dame basketball game.

No. 22 Tennessee (4-2) will host No. 14 Notre Dame (5-1) on Wednesday at Food City Center.

Rankings reflect the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.

Wednesday’s contest is part of the inaugural ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge.

Tipoff between the Lady Vols and Fighting Irish is slated for 5 p.m. EST. ESPN2 will televise the non-conference matchup. Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) will be on the call.

The Lady Vols lead the all time series versus Notre Dame, 22-8, dating to 1983.

Tennessee (1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2007, 2008) and Notre Dame (2001, 2018) have combined for 10 NCAA national championships. Both schools have been runners-up five times in the NCAA Tournament.

PHOTOS: Kellie Harper through the years

Matchups for 2023 ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge unveiled

The Irish will get a historic opponent.

With the Big Ten no longer broadcasting on ESPN, the ACC’s annual battle with that conference came to an end. However, ESPN wasn’t willing to let the idea of teams in two major conferences playing each other die. So the SEC was called in to fill the gap left by the Big Ten after ending its annual series with the Big 12. We now know who will be playing who in both the men’s and women’s challenges.

This opens up a world of possibilities for new rivalries to form or old rivalries, perhaps from the NCAA Tournament or notable past nonconference meetings, to reignite. We know the SEC is king in college football, but we’ll see how strong it is in college basketball. The ACC has provided some quality teams recently, and there are a couple of historic and contending teams in the SEC, so in at least some challenge games, that quality should shine through.

Here the matchups for the women’s challenge: