Lexington Region Elite Eight Game Breakdown
#1 Notre Dame vs. #2 Stanford
Notre Dame looked much, much better in the Sweet 16 in their 99-76 win over Ohio State than they did in the previous round against Purdue. The Fighting Irish were able to contain Kelsey Mitchell, who scored 18 points, and shut down everybody else. Nobody else on the Buckeyes managed to score in double figures. Offensively, Notre Dame had six players in double digits, led by Arike Ogunbowale’s 35 points. The Irish will move on to the Elite Eight and face a Stanford squad that held off Texas 77-66. Erica McCall led the way with 23 points and a dozen rebounds and reserve forward Alanna Smith had another solid performance off the bench.
The Irish will be without star Brianna Turner for the rest of the tournament after she suffered a torn ACL against Purdue. Notre Dame was able to step up against Ohio State, but sooner or later Turner’s absence will catch up to this team. Purdue was able to take advantage of the lack of a shot blocker in the paint and that is what Stanford hopes to do as well. The Cardinal have shooters, most notably Karlie Samuelson and Brittany McPhee, but they can do a lot of damage attacking the basket too and that is what they need to do to beat Notre Dame. Erica McCall will need to have another big game and she should be able to find space in the paint to operate. In theory, Notre Dame should be more comfortable with their new roles without Turner on the floor, but Stanford is good enough to take advantage of the lack of depth and pull off the upset on their way to the Final Four.
