Tag: Liza Karlen

Notre Dame beats North Carolina for fourth win over ranked opponent

The Irish simply have more talent than the Tar Heels.

Typically, ACC play signifies tougher competition for Notre Dame. But the Irish have played so many quality teams already that they might be on the easy part of their schedule now.

That said, the Irish had to fight hard against North Carolina to earn their fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season, 76-66. Then again, that should be expected in such a game.

The Irish (12-2, 3-0) never trailed after the Tar Heels (13-3, 1-2) scored the first four points of the game, but even their biggest lead of 14 never truly felt safe. Perhaps energized by playing on their home court, the Heels went on a few second-half runs that prompted [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to call timeouts.

This game ultimately came down to talent, and the Irish have women’s basketball’s best backcourt in [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] and [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], who scored 24 and 19 points respectively with five 3-pointers apiece. Miles’ five 3s represented a career high for her.

[autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] scored nine points apiece, and [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] tied her season high with 15 rebounds while also collecting eight points:

The Irish also got a boost from the return of [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who made her season debut after recovering from a foot injury. She had one rebound, one steal and one block in 13 minutes off the bench.

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Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld makes season debut

Welcome back, Maddy!

As impressive as Notre Dame has been during the first two months of the season, it has been without a key contributor. In fact, the injury bug hit the Irish early and often. By Sunday’s game at North Carolina, only one player not already ruled out for the season had yet to debut. That no longer is the case.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag], who announced in September that she would miss the start of the season to deal with a lingering foot injury, entered as a substitute with 3:02 left in the first quarter against the Tar Heels. She now will try to make up for lost time coming off a 2023-24 season in which she averaged 14.4 points, 1.1 blocks and a career-high 8.7 rebounds.

Although the Irish have been able to offset Westbeld’s loss with the additions of transfers [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] as well as freshman [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag], they will be welcome to have this addition to their frontcourt. Irish fans undoubtedly will be, too.

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Olivia Miles has fifth career triple-double in Notre Dame win

This is routine for her now, or so it seems.

Even though Notre Dame is better known for [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] now, [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] frequently reminds us that she was the face of the Irish first. The latest example of that came in the Irish’s 97-54 win over Loyola (Maryland), which accounted for the final game of their nonconference schedule.

Miles recorded the fifth triple-double of her collegiate career to the tune of 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. That’s the most for any Notre Dame basketball player, men or women. There’s a reason she’s projected to be a lottery pick in the next WNBA draft.

Miles wasn’t the only impressive Irish player in this game though. Hidalgo set a season scoring high with 33 points and also had five steals. [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] achieved a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards, and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] scored 15 points.

Irish fans will want to get out to Purcell Pavilion and watch Miles play for their team while they still can. If you need any convincing to do so, here’s her highlight reel for this game:

The Irish now will take a week off for the holiday before beginning their ACC home schedule against Virginia in front of a sellout crowd. Now, the games really will count.

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Three Notre Dame women added to key watch list

Three Notre Dame forwards are up for a key award.

Notre Dame has placed three women’s basketball players on a key watch list.

[autotag]Liza Karlen [/autotag], [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] are all on the watch list for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award.

Graduate student Karlen averaged 17.7 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game as a senior at Marquette last season, started in all 32 games and was a unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team.

King, who comes to Notre Dame as a graduate student and played at Pittsburgh as a senior, averaged 18.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She also had 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game.

Westbeld, also a graduate, had 14.4 points per game 8.7 rebounds per game for Notre Dame last season, making 34 starts.

The award is named after Hall of Famer Katrina McClain-Pittman. The retired McClain won two Olympic gold medals and one Olympic bronze and was a two-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year. The award is given to the best power forward in the country.

Mar 29, 2024; Albany, NY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Maddy Westbeld (21) shoots a jump shot against Oregon State Beavers forward Timea Gardiner (30) during the first half in the semifinals of the Albany Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at the MVP Arena at MVP Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

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Notre Dame forward Maddy Westbeld will miss start of season

Tough break for the veteran.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] will be a veteran leader on a Notre Dame team full of them during the 2024-25 season. Recognizing the opportunity the Irish have to win a national championship, she chose to use her final year of eligibility and be a part of that effort.

However, the Irish will have to get used to life without Westbeld for now. The 6-foot-3 forward, who averaged 14.4 points, 1.1 blocks and a career-high 8.7 rebounds in 2023-24, is dealing with a foot injury that will keep her out of action at the start of the season. This is unfortunate for a player who has missed only one game during her collegiate career and always been in the starting lineup.

While the Irish have some veteran forward transfers this year in [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] to help soften this blow, it doesn’t make this setback any easier for Westbeld or her teammates. Here’s what she said on social media:

 

We wish Westbeld the best of luck in her recovery. If the Irish are to have any real success this upcoming season, they’ll need her.

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Notre Dame women’s hoops sells 1,000 new season tickets for 2024-25

Time to jump on the bandwagon!

Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team in 2024-25 will have its highest expectations since [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] took over the program. Fans have taken notice of that, and they want to watch the Irish play at Purcell Pavilion. If you need proof of this, look no further than this announcement the Irish made on social media:

If you haven’t gotten on board with Notre Dame women’s basketball, now is the time. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] is coming off being named First Team All-American as a freshman. All-American [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] will be back after missing all of last season. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] also are returning, and the Irish added two quality transfers in [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag].

Anything less than the Final Four for the Irish in 2024-25 will be a disappointment. Ivey has been blessed with the most talent she’s had while leading the program, and it’s up to her to get that talent to mesh.

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Notre Dame adds five-star forward Leah Macy to 2025 recruiting class

The Irish just keep adding.

Notre Dame has had a couple of solid additions to its 2024-25 roster via the transfer portal. But [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] also is looking to the future. To that end, five-star forward [autotag]Leah Macy[/autotag] of Bethlehem in Bardstown, Kentucky has been one of the players on her radar. That pursuit officially has paid off with Macy announcing her commitment to the Irish:

And if that tweet isn’t enough for you, check out the awesome video Macy made also announcing her decision.

This past season, the 6-foot-2 Macy averaged 24.9 points and 13.9 rebounds a game. ESPN ranks her as the No. 14 recruit in her class, and she can play both forward positions as well as center.

Perhaps it’s not coincidental that Macy announced her decision during the same 24-hour span in which the Irish landed forwards [autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] and [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] for this coming season. While she won’t be teammates with them, she could be part of a new core of bigs that includes incoming freshman [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag]. Hopefully, Koval will save that seat for her until she arrives.

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First Team All-ACC forward Liatu King transfers to Notre Dame

The Irish thought big in the portal, and they got who they wanted.

[autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] faced Notre Dame six times during her four seasons at Pittsburgh and lost every single time. They say if you can’t beat them, join them. But while it’s unlikely that the Irish’s dominance in their rivalry with the Panthers played a factor, King nonetheless is coming to the Irish for the 2024-25 season via the transfer portal.

The paint still was drying on the news that former Marquette forward [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] had transferred to the Irish when the news about King broke. So in less than 24 hours, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] has added two standout forwards who will turn what had been a roster weakness into a real strength. The expectations for the 2024-25 Irish couldn’t possibly be higher now, and anything less than a Final Four berth will be a big disappointment.

This past season, King was the ACC’s Most Improved Player and made First Team All-ACC. She nearly doubled her scoring average from 9.4 the previous season to 18.7. Her 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game would have led the Irish. She and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] will be a fantastic post duo and make life miserable for smaller teams.

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Notre Dame lands Marquette forward Liza Karlen from transfer portal

Big get for the Irish.

When Marquette traveled to Notre Dame to play Ole Miss the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, it had a future Irish player in tow. That player was standout forward [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag], who was in her fourth season with the Golden Eagles. Karlen announced on Instagram that she is transferring to the Irish for the 2024-25 season:

https://www.instagram.com/liza_karlen/p/C6mZ5a2OO68/

Karlen made First Team All-Big East last season, so that alone makes this a big get for the Irish. Her career-high 17.3 scoring averaged ranked fourth in the Big East and would have just edged out [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] for second in scoring on last year’s Irish. She also would have ranked second in rebounds (7.9) and blocks (1.2).

The 6-foot-2 Karlen is the latest big the Irish are adding for next season after incoming freshman [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag]. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] also is returning next season. We still don’t know the latest on [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag]’s knee injury, but this move gives the Irish insurance and much more. Either way, the lack of bigs the Irish had last season shouldn’t be an issue this time around.

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