The pieces are there…
Notre Dame women’s basketball begins its 2024-25 campaign with an exhibition against Davenport on Oct. 30 followed by the season opener against Mercyhurst on Nov. 4. With another season of high expectations just around the corner, here’s a look at the roster for the year to come.
The Departures
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The Irish saw four players depart after the 2023-24 season. Stanford transfer Jenna Brown didn’t see any action last year after a career plagued by injuries and moved on from the program. Fordham transfer Anna DeWolfe filled a niche for the Irish as a spot shooter and backup ball handler, starting 35 games in her one and only year in South Bend — her last year of collegiate eligibility — with averages of 8.7 points and 2.5 assists per game and a 37.2% three-point clip.
Like DeWolfe, Pepperdine transfer Becky Obinma saw her eligibility expire after a single year at Notre Dame. Obinma ended up in reserve duty for the Irish, appearing in just 16 games and averaging 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest. Lastly, 6-foot-5 forward Nat Marshall transferred intraconference to Miami (Fl.) after posting figures of 5.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 block per game as a junior.
In terms of impact, the losses of Marshall and DeWolfe have some sting. DeWolfe didn’t replicate what she did at the mid-major level as a member of the Irish, but her experience and shooting ability were important contributions to the team, albeit ones that are somewhat offset by another transfer portal addition. As for Marshall, she was thrust into a larger role by last season’s end, playing more than 30 minutes in the season’s final four contests following a knee injury suffered by forward Kylee Watson in the ACC Tournament. Marshall likely would have been relegated to a supporting role again this season, but depth in the front court would have been a plus, especially early in the year.
The Returnees
Hannah Hidalgo
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Last season’s ACC Rookie of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP, and an AP First-Team All-American and winner of the Dawn Staley Award to boot. Hidalgo made a statement from the outset of her freshman season by scoring 31 points in a season-opening loss to eventual national champion South Carolina. She followed that up with a 12-steal game against NJIT en route to finishing the season with school-record averages of 22.6 points and 4.6 steals per game, plus a host of other accolades. The only question is where Hidalgo goes from here, especially once paired with Olivia Miles.
Olivia Miles
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Speaking of Miles, the AP Second-Team All-American missed all of last season while rehabbing a knee injury suffered at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. During her sophomore campaign (the one cut short by injury) she led the Irish in rebounds (7.2), assists (6.9) and steals (2.1) per game while finishing second in points per contest (14.3). She already holds the Notre Dame record for career triple-doubles with three. Concerns linger over her long recovery from injury, but Miles and Hidalgo would make up arguably the best starting backcourt duo in the nation.
Sonia Citron
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An All-ACC player and former ACC Freshman of the Year and AP All-America Honorable Mention. Citron was forced to take over ball-handling duties at the end of her sophomore campaign following Miles’ injury but has said she prefers an off-ball role. Assuming Hidalgo and Miles stay healthy, Citron should have her wish. She’s averaged 14.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game through three seasons in South Bend. Last year Citron shot 35.9% from three and set the Notre Dame single-season record for free throw percentage at 91.2%. In short, she’s a reliable defender with good length (6-foot-1 in the backcourt) and a headache for opposing defenses that already have their hands full with Hidalgo and Miles.
Maddy Westbeld
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A 1,000-point club member who forewent the WNBA Draft to return for a fifth year in South Bend. Westbeld has been a model of versatility and consistency for the last four seasons, averaging 12.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 block per game for her career. Combining her 6-foot-3 frame with her career 35.6% long-range shooting percentage makes her a tough matchup as the third or fourth primary scorer for the Irish. Unfortunately, she’ll miss some time to start her final collegiate season while resting a nagging foot injury.
Cassandre Prosper
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An X-factor for the Irish. The former five-star recruit from Montreal was a mid-year enrollee in the 2022-23 season and averaged 5.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 22 contests as a true freshman. Last season she upped her averages to 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds, plus 1.8 steals per game, but logged only five appearances and three starts before a lower leg injury shut her down for the remainder of the season. As a 6-foot-2 guard, Prosper has the potential to be a real weapon for the Irish, but her shooting (she has career marks of 21.4% on threes and 32.8% on field goals) needs work, and she obviously has to stay healthy.
KK Bransford
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Notre Dame’s sixth-man who’s averaged 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game through two seasons. Bransford’s scoring output took a dip last season, but she appeared in 33 games and started seven while playing 25.7 minutes per game as a sophomore. After briefly entering the transfer portal this offseason, she elected to return for a third year and would have added value off the bench. Instead, Bransford will medically redshirt the upcoming year to rehab a lingering leg injury, leaving her with two more years of eligibility.
Emma Risch
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A five-star recruit overshadowed by her classmate Hidalgo. Risch got limited run at the start of her freshman season before a hip injury sidelined her. She finished with averages of 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game while shooting 42.9% from three through seven games. At 6-foot-1 like Citron, Risch can be a versatile swing player for the Irish, and she’s the prime candidate to assume Bransford’s role off the bench.
Kylee Watson
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A veteran forward who transferred from Oregon after the 2021-22 season. Through two years in an Irish uniform Watson has appeared in 64 games and averaged 6.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. She’s started every game of her Notre Dame career but went down in the ACC Tournament last season after tearing her ACL. A timetable for her return isn’t certain, but it would honestly be a surprise if she didn’t join Bransford in redshirting the upcoming year.
Sarah Cernugel
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A former walk-on who earned a scholarship at the beginning of last season. She scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds across 15 appearances in 2023-24.
The Newbies
Kate Koval
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A 6-foot-5 freshman from Kyiv, Ukraine and the only member of Notre Dame’s incoming freshman class. Koval, the No. 5 overall recruit and No. 1 post player in the 2024 class per ESPN, is a crucial addition in light of the injuries to Watson and Westbeld. She won’t get much time to acclimate to the college game seeing as the Irish have an immediate need in the frontcourt, but her upside is as high as any post player the Irish have signed since Muffet McGraw was head coach.
Liatu King
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The ACC’s Most Improved Player and an All-ACC First Team selection as a senior at Pittsburgh. The 6-foot King posted career highs in points (18.7), rebounds (10.3), assists (1.8), steals (1.8) and blocks (1.5) while recording 18 double-doubles for the Panthers last year. She also logged her highest scoring output of last season (34) against the Irish. King has yet to attempt a three-pointer in her career, so her contributions are limited to inside the arc, but she fills an important hole in Notre Dame’s frontcourt with the injuries to Watson and Westbeld plus Marshall’s transfer.
Liza Karlen
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An All-Big East First Team selection as a senior at Marquette. She averaged 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while recording 10 double-doubles last year. She’s been up-and-down as a three-point shooter throughout her career, although she shot a respectable 35.7% from range and 49.7% overall last season. At 6-foot-2, she’s got height over what DeWolfe had. Additionally, Karlen is pretty much the only option to fill Westbeld’s stretch-4 role for the foreseeable future, but she’s as well-equipped to do so as any player the Irish could have gotten in the transfer portal.