Notre Dame women’s basketball to play in Thanksgiving tournament in Bahamas
Another piece of he 2022-23 Notre Dame women’s basketball schedule is set. The Fighting Irish will play two games in the Goombay Splash in Bimini, Bahamas, during Thanksgiving week.
Notre Dame will take on American on Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving day) at Gateway Christian Academy. If the Irish win, they’ll face Arizona State on Saturday, Nov. 26. If they lose, they’ll still play the Sun Devils, but the game would take place on Friday, Nov. 25. George Mason, LSU and UAB will also play at Gateway Christian from Nov. 24-26, but Notre Dame is not scheduled to match up with any of those teams.
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American went 23-9 with a 13-5 conference record in the Patriot League in 2021-22. The Eagles won the conference tournament to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament where they lost 74-39 to Michigan. Arizona State went 12-14 with a 4-9 Pac-12 record last season.
Notre Dame played in the Daytona Beach Invitational over Thanksgiving last year. The Irish lost to Georgia but beat Oregon State. In 2019, Notre Dame played Florida Gulf Coast, South Dakota State and USF in the Cancun Challenge. The Irish participated in the Vancouver Showcase in 2018.
Thanksgiving week tournaments have long been a staple for college basketball.
“It’s been a strategic decision to provide tournaments for women’s athletics in locations that offer strong support from the local communities and a great experience for the teams,” said Susie Jarosch, partner of Global Sports & Events. “We’ve built strong partnerships in Bimini, and we’re thrilled to return to Gateway Christian Academy.”
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The games against American and Arizona State are the second and third games to be made official on the Notre Dame schedule. Earlier this week, it was announced Notre Dame will host Maryland on Dec. 1 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Niele Ivey has an overall record of 34-19 in two seasons as Notre Dame’s head coach. She led the Irish to the Sweet 16 this past season. That game against NC State came down to the wire. The Irish were a few possessions away from potentially punching a ticket to the Elite Eight before ultimately falling 66-63 in a heartbreaker.
Five scholarship players from the 2021-22 roster are back in 2022-23. Notre Dame also added three players from the transfer portal (Jenna Brown from Stanford, Lauren Ebo from Texas and Kylee Watson from Oregon) in addition to McDonald’s All-American freshman KK Bransford.
Game times for the three aforementioned matchups plus a season-long schedule will be released at a later date.
