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.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Dec. 31

Guess who’s leading and representing Notre Dame?

We would like to wish you and your a Happy New Year. We continue to explore new ways to make this site a wonderful place to visit, and we can’t wait to share them with you. The fact that you keep coming back here motivates us to do better.

Here are the ACC’s major statistical leaders as we begin 2024:

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of Dec. 31

No Notre Dame players.

We would like to wish you and your a Happy New Year. We continue to explore new ways to make this site a wonderful place to visit, and we can’t wait to share them with you. The fact that you keep coming back here motivates us to do better.

Here are the ACC’s major statistical leaders as we begin 2024:

Notre Dame falters in ACC opener against Syracuse

Not the start to conference play the Irish wanted.

Notre Dame is on a mission to prove it’s the class of the ACC. However, Syracuse had other ideas in Sunday’s conference opener at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Orange showed from the opening tip that they were not going to be bullied by the Irish, who stayed in the game throughout. The valiant effort was not enough as the Irish lost, 86-81, ending their nine-game winning streak.

A game that featured 10 ties and 10 lead changes was as back-and-forth as one might expect through the first three quarters. The Irish (9-2, 0-1) took a four-point lead into the fourth, but the Orange (11-1, 1-0) held them scoreless through the first four minutes of that quarter and took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

While the Irish were within two with two minutes to go, Dyaisha Fair showed off her specialty by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the deficit to eight. Fair would go on to make five throws in the final minute to help ice the game for the Orange.

Fair scored 14 of her 27 points and picked up three of her six steals in the fourth quarter. Alyssa Latham recorded a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds and also had three steals before fouling out. Georgia Woolley had 10 points to overcome eight turnovers.

Despite the Orange often giving her a taste of her own medicine, [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] still had a career-high 32 points along with seven steals and six assists. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] scored 16 points, and [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] added 15.

The Irish were outrebounded, 45-33, which contributed to 18 second-chance points for the Orange. That factored into the final score as much as anything else.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame wins over teams at least eight games above .500 since 2018

The Irish haven’t had many recent wins like the one against Virginia.

In a season that figures to have few true highlights, Notre Dame had one Saturday. Virginia entered Purcell Pavilion with a 10-2 record and having received votes in the most recent Top 25 poll. That didn’t matter to the young Irish because they crushed the Cavaliers, 76-54. If anyone tells you they saw that coming, they’re lying.

This wasn’t only an upset against a quality program and Micah Shrewsberry’s first ACC win. It represented a rarity for Notre Dame in recent years. The Cavaliers’ record coming into this game meant they were eight games above .500. Since the Irish last made consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 2015 to 2017, they have beaten opponents who were at least eight games above .500 coming in only seven times.

So forgive the Irish if they go a little over the top in celebrating this latest such instance. This doesn’t happen to them very much these days, so they definitely are cause for celebration every time. Here are the most recent of these occurrences:

Georgia OL Joshua Miller commits to Syracuse

Offensive lineman Joshua Miller announces transfer ACC destination.

Offensive guard Joshua Miller is the latest Georgia Bulldog to transfer to Syracuse. Miller joins former Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown, who is the head coach of the Syracuse Orange.

Miller is a former three-star recruit. The talented offensive guard stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 305 pounds. He signed with Georgia football as a member of the class of 2023.

Miller is the third Georgia player to transfer to Syracuse. He joins wide receivers Jackson Meeks and Zeed Haynes.

Miller announced his commitment to Syracuse via social media:

Georgia football has had 17 players enter the transfer portal following the SEC championship.

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Dec. 17

You probably can guess who represents Notre Dame on this list.

The ACC season has reached the middle of December. Time is running out for players to get their numbers up before conference play really begins. If they don’t do it now, it might be more difficult for them to do so. Here are those who have answered the call though:

Georgia WR announces transfer destination

Jackson Meeks announces transfer destination

Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Jackson Meeks entered the transfer portal on Dec. 4 with one year of eligibility remaining. Now, the Phenix City, Alabama, native has found a new home.

Meeks is joining former UGA defensive backs coach Fran Brown at Syracuse.

Playing time as a wideout came sparingly for Meeks, who was most productive on special teams throughout his three seasons as a Bulldog.

The 6-foot-2, 205 pounder played in 36 career games and recorded 10 receptions for 132 yards, while adding five tackles on special teams.

Meeks is the third Bulldog in the portal to find a new home. Quarterback Brock Vandagriff committed to Kentucky and defensive lineman Jonathan Jefferson committed to SMU.

ACC women’s basketball leaders as of Dec. 10

Guess who’s leading for Notre Dame?

ACC teams are about to get to the middle of December. Full-time conference play isn’t here yet, but it’s creeping closer. Now is the time for all teams to get their mistakes out of the way before the games really start to count. For now though, here are the players atop the major statistical leaderboards:

Syracuse targeting Giants’ Jeff Nixon as next offensive coordinator

Syracuse is reportedly targeting New York Giants running backs coach Jeff Nixon as their next offensive coordinator.

Just when you thought the New York Giants coaching staff became toxic and unhireable out in the football world, comes the news that running backs coach Jeff Nixon is on the radar up in Syracuse.

Pete Thamel of ESPN reports that the Orange will look to hire Nixon as their new offensive coordinator this offseason (or possibly before).

Nixon is in his first year with Big Blue and has been coaching in the collegiate and pro ranks for the past 26 years, predominantly as a running back coach.

Nixon came to the Giants this past offseason after three seasons with the Carolina Panthers, in which he served as the interim offensive coordinator and assistant offensive head coach.

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