Tag: Emma Risch

Notre Dame women’s basketball cruises to record-setting win against Eastern Michigan

Notre Dame flew by the Eagles with ease.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team had a bit of a slow start on offense against the Easter Michigan Eagles.

Fortunately for the Fighting Irish (9-2, 1-0), so did the Eagles (1-6). Notre Dame did finally settle in with its second basket with 7:18 left in the first quarter — and once the shots started falling, they never stopped. The Irish would have a 15-0 run before EMU finally got a point. Notre Dame would go on to win 118-49.

The Irish rocketed out to a 33-9 lead and essentially had the game in hand once the buzzer sounded to mark the end of the first quarter. Notre Dame would lead 61-20 at halftime.

Not that there was any real doubt, even in the first few minutes when the score was 2-0 in favor of the Irish. Even as the Irish’s first few shots didn’t fall, it was clear Notre Dame was in command of the game — unless the Eagles got on an early run, the Irish would be fine.

Of course, it was Notre Dame that then had the early run. And the mid-game run. And the late run.

The Irish crossed the century mark with more than six minutes remaining in the game. Eastern Michigan had yet to reach 40 points, and the Eagles of course finished with just 49.

Notre Dame set a team record with 17 made three-point shots during the contest — breaking the old record of 15. The Irish scored the fifth-most points in team history.

Fighting Irish guard [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] led all scorers with 27 points while fellow guard [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] had 17 and forward [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] had 15. Guard [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] was also in double figures with 11.

King also had 15 rebounds for a double-double.

[autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] was a huge story for the Irish — the guard came off the bench and had 23 points, including 7-of-9 from three-point land. Guard [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] had 20 off the bench.

Next up for Notre Dame, after a brief break for final exams, will be a visit from Loyola Maryland at noon EST on Dec. 22.

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Notre Dame women’s basketball remains perfect with win over Lafayette

Another day, another victory.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team is hurting right now. That’s evidenced by the fact that it had only six rotational players available against Lafayette. But the Irish are so talented that they barely had to break a sweat in a 91-55 victory.

The Irish (4-0) never trailed the Leopards (1-3) and did just about everything to keep their perfect record intact. Their offense was in sync as it typically is, which led to a program-record 15 3-pointer. Their defense also was smothering as usual. There was nothing to indicate that the Irish would slip up in this game.

All the Leopards could do was try and give a respectable showing to their home crowd, which they said they did on their postgame TV interviews. They should say that though after only scoring one less point than the Irish in the fourth quarter.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] led everybody with 29 points and five steals. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] was equally lethal with 20 points and seven assists. [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] scored all 12 of her points off the bench on four 3-pointers.

[autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag] flirted with a triple-double with 11 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] nearly achieved a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds while also accumulating six assists, three steals and three blocks.

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Injury updates provided at Notre Dame women’s basketball media day

A mixed bag of news.

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team held its local media day Thursday. Irish fans undoubtedly were anxious to hear updates about injuries to numerous players ahead of the team’s open practice Friday. While the updates were in fact there, not all of them were positive.

[autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag], who tore her ACL during last season’s ACC Tournament, has undergone knee surgery, and there is no timetable for her return. It’s a tough break for someone who started every game until her injury.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] already had announced that a foot issue would sideline her for the start of the season, and we now know she likely won’t return until early in conference play, which translates into her missing the first two months of game action.

In much better news, [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag], who had their own seasons cut short by injuries, are fully healthy. And we already knew that [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] will be back to team with [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] in the backcourt.

The Irish open play with an exhibition game Oct. 30 against Davenport, and their regular-season opener will be Nov. 4 against Mercyhurst.

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Former five-star recruit Emma Risch arrives at Notre Dame

The Irish are excited about this one.

Even with [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] having put pen to paper, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] and her staff surely still couldn’t believe it had happened. One of the country’s top recruits, Risch officially signed with Notre Dame in November. However, they can put all their disbelief away now. Risch is all moved into her home for the next few years, and the Irish’s Twitter account took full advantage in making a fuss about it:

Risch averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 24 games in her final season at the high school level. When her signing was announced, Ivey said the following:

“Emma is one of the best shooters I’ve seen in a very long time. She has an incredible IQ, deep shooting range and elite vision. Her size and ability to score in all three levels separates her and will translate to college basketball immediately. I’m looking forward to the positive impact she will make on our team on and off the court. We can’t wait to welcome her to South Bend!”

Well, the welcome has happened, and it will be exciting to watch what she can do.

Notre Dame 2024 signee named Naismith Second Team All-American

Another top talent on the way to Notre Dame is honored.

Hannah Hidalgo has set a high bar for future Notre Dame freshmen. That doesn’t mean future first-year players won’t try to top her though. One player who could do it during the 2024-25 season is [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag].

Koval is a five-star player at Long Island Lutheran in Brookeville, New York who signed with the Irish in December. Now, she’s been named to the Naismith Trophy Girls’ High School All America Second Team.

Hidalgo made the Second Team in 2023, and [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] was an honorable mention. [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] was a Third Team honoree in 2022 and an honorable mention in 2021. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] made the Third Team in 2020, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] were senior honorable mentions.

It’s evidence that even in the post-[autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] era, Notre Dame continues to attract top talent for women’s basketball, and there’s no reason to think that will stop anytime soon. Even so, a strong postseason showing would do wonders to show just how attractive the program still is.

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Notre Dame’s Risch out for season; still no updates on Miles, Citron

Tough break for the freshman.

There’s a lot of excitement surrounding [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], who just won her sixth ACC Rookie of the Week award. That means it’s easy to forget that Notre Dame has another freshman guard. However, [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag]’s season already is over.

Risch, who hasn’t played since Nov. 29 at Tennessee, has been sidelined for the season because of upcoming hip surgery according to [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]. However, she is expected to retain her entire college eligibility:

Between Risch’s news and no updates on [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] or [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] either, it really raises the question on how much longer the Irish can survive having a shorthanded roster. The New Year’s Eve loss at Syracuse that began ACC play had to be a sobering experience for everybody, and one has to wonder if that game would have played out differently with a healthier group.

Risch’s season ends having averaged 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds over seven games. Her best game was a 16-point, five-rebound outing Nov. 21 against Chicago State. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for her.

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Niele Ivey, Hannah Hidalgo, Kylee Watson speak after Notre Dame win

Here how the Irish felt after their latest win.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sometimes, the calendar dictates that you play a solid game. Notre Dame has final exams next week, and the women’s basketball team won’t play again until those exams are finished. That meant it was time to show Lafayette what it could do, even with injuries shortening the number of healthy bodies to eight. A 96-42 victory meant mission accomplished.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] understandably was in an upbeat mood after the win, and she brought in two of her stars to share in her postgame news conference, although there were a few more players who would have been just as worthy of meeting the media afterwards. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had what’s become a typical night for her of 26 points and six steals. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] scored 14 points (eight in the third quarter) and had five rebounds.

Numerous topics were discussed in the news conference. In fact, Fighting Irish Wire got to ask the first question after Ivey’s opening statement. Here the answers to that and many of the rest of the questions that were asked:

Notre Dame dominates throughout against Chicago State

Not even close to being a contest.

One never wants to say any one opponent serves as a training ground for a better program. But there really is no other way to describe Notre Dame’s game against Chicago State. It never was close in a 113-35 victory.

The Irish (4-1) didn’t surrender a field goal to the Cougars (0-6) until midway through the first quarter. By then, the lead already was become insurmountable, and it officially became that before halftime.

The Irish never allowed more than 10 points a quarter, and they scored 45 points off 32 Cougars turnovers. That only is the tip of the iceberg of how dominant this game was. While the Irish only made five of 20 3-point attempts, the long ball wasn’t needed on this night.

Every Irish player on the floor made it into the scoring column, and that effort was led by [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag]’s 23 points in only 18 minutes. [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] had 20 points off the bench, and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] scored 19 while also recording six steals (five other players had at least two steals, and three of those had at least three).

[autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] and [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] also contributed mightily off the bench with 16 and 10 points respectively. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] pulled down 16 rebounds.

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Notre Dame commit among finalists for national player of the year

Quite the honor for the future Irish star.

The Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year has ended up at Notre Dame a few times. [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] won it in 2014 and [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] in 2009. Two other winners, Erin Boley in 2016 and Michelle Marciniak in 1991, began their collegiate careers at Notre Dame but transferred elsewhere after one season. Another player could soon be joining those ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey, committed to the Irish on Nov. 15. This came a few months after winning gold with the U.S. in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Now, she is one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year.

When Hidalgo announced her decision to commit to the Irish, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] said the following:

“Irish eyes are smiling! We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family!  Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program. She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ.  Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better.  The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”

Here are some profiles of Hidalgo and the other two finalists for this award: