Notre Dame women's basketball preps for rematch against Syracuse in top 25 matchup

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Irish get a chance at redemption on Thursday against Syracuse, while trying to earn a five-game win streak.

The current four-game win streak comes after going 2-0 in recent road matchups and is the second longest win streak of the season for the Irish.

Head Coach Niele Ivey and her team went on a nine-game winning streak in the first half of the season, but Syracuse put an end to the success in a 86-81 win over Notre Dame on New Year's Eve (December 31, 2023).

The Orange were led by Dyaisha Fair with 27 points. Fair's game hasn't slowed down since the win, recently earning ACC Player of the Week.

"Having the energy of the crowd, being in a comfortable setting is going to be big. Luckily, we have Syracuse at home, you know, like just being able to just have two games against them and we're gonna feed off the energy of the crowd and just grateful of the support that we have here," Ivey said.

A rematch will show where Notre Dame has improved against a top 25 opponent after two road wins over Virginia (86-76) and Wake Forest (75-56).

Playing at home is a bonus for Ivey and her team, considering they go on the road just two days later to face top currently #8 UConn.

"First of all, I asked her when she's gonna graduate in the lineups after the game. I'm a fan of her, she's a great player, and it's gonna take a team effort, not just, you know, Hannah, you know, Sony's gonna bring a little bit bigger size on her. We're going to try to do some things defensively, but she's one of those players that is just she's a bucket. So we have to do a good job of containing her and not letting a lot of the rest of their support cast go off. But they have so much balance that it's going to be a team effort for everyone," Ivey added.