Notre Dame women’s basketball schedule change: Lafayette game postponed
Notre Dame women’s basketball will have to wait nearly an entire week to pick up where it left off following a 74-60 victory over then-No. 3 UConn. The Fighting Irish’s game scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 8 at Lafayette in Easton, Pa., has been postponed to abide by health and safety protocols within the Lafayette program. The schools are searching for a date to reschedule.
“Obviously, this postponement is very disappointing for our team and our program,” Lafayette head coach Kia Damon-Olson. “An opportunity to play a top-10, ACC program like Notre Dame in Kirby Sports Center is exciting for our community and this game, in particular, generated a lot of local fan interest.”
The No. 5 Irish (7-1) would have been a heavy road favorite over the Leopards (2-7). If anything, this gives head coach Niele Ivey’s team to stay at home and prepare for its next home game against Merrimack College (1-6) this Saturday at 12 p.m. ET. The Irish avoid facing a quick turnaround with the postponement. That game will still take place as scheduled.
The Merrimack game will be followed by another lengthy period between tipoffs. The Irish won’t play again until Dec. 18 when they go on the road to face No. 7 Virginia Tech (8-0). That’ll be a tough test to begin ACC play. Notre Dame hosts Western Michigan (2-5) on Dec. 21 before another eight-day pause.
The Irish come back from the holiday break at Miami (7-3) on Dec. 29. It’s all ACC foes from then until the end of the season when the Irish play at Louisville on Feb. 26. The Cardinals (5-4) have lost three of their last four and have fallen out of the polls after starting the season ranked No. 7.
Notre Dame’s Lead Volunteer to be recognized vs. Merrimack
The Irish will honor 30-year Lead Volunteer for the Notre Dame women’s basketball program Patricia McAdams midway through this weekend’s Merrimack game. McAdams received a master’s in mathematics from Notre Dame in 1967. She began working in the university’s Office of Information Technology in 1992.
From then until her death on Aug. 1, 2022, McAdams has helped sell basketball tickets, coordinate volunteers and assist in promoting the program. Notre Dame credits McAdams for helping secure the first sellout at Purcell Pavilion when the Irish hosted UConn in 2001.
McAdams lost both of her legs in a roadside traffic incident while coming back from a January 2008 Irish game at West Virginia. A car swerved into her stationary vehicle during a snowstorm while she was making a 911 call to alert authorities of a different wreck. She returned to work in South Bend six months later.
McAdams remained a program volunteer until three weeks prior to her passing. Notre Dame is creating the Patricia McAdams Volunteer of the Year Award in her honor.
