Notes From the Joyce Center

1. Monday afternoon's game was a festive time and continued a return to the joyous and energized fan base that inhabited the Joyce Center from 2009-2019. One new addition was the enthusiastic and filled student section for the second straight game! Could this be a turning point in student support for this team?

2. ND has won ten straight since the awful loss at home to NC State and the last seven of those have been against NCAA tourney qualifiers.

3. During the first half and part of the third quarter, I thought that the ND half-court offense was the best I've seen this season. It came against an energetic and athletic defense. My proof for this would be the 59% shooting for the first half and the nice distribution of assists among Citron, Marshall, and Hidalgo. Hannah Hidalgo provides constant energy for the team and is still maturing in how she runs the offense.

4. Natalija Marshall deserves the unsung hero award for playing a career high 35 minutes with five assists and zero turnovers. Four points and three rebounds won't garner any headlines, but she played her helping the team to win role to the hilt without fouling out.

5. Anna DeWolfe had a quietly good game. Her first quarter three, assisted by Marshall, gave the Irish and the crowd the sense that it was going to be our day. In the fourth quarter when MISS had cut a 19 point lead to 13, she hit an open mid-range jumper and followed it by ending a mid-court defensive scramble by tipping the ball the Hidalgo for a layup that extinguished the hopes of the Rebels.

6. Sonia Citron was my MVP for the first two rounds. She was the leading scorer on Saturday and the leader in rebounds and assists on Monday while still scoring 17.

7. If Monday was Maddy Westbeld's last game at the Joyce Center, she certainly left on a high note. I hope that she returns for a fifth season to make strong run at the NCAA title. She was waving and blowing kisses to the crowd at mid-court and while going into the tunnel after the game. My wife said that she did the same thing at mid-court after the KSU game, so we shouldn't read too much into it as a possible farewell gesture.

8. Marcus Freeman and Micah Shrewsberry were there with wife and a daughter respectively. Julie Henderson was seated right behind the Irish bench, though I did not see her giving the coaches any advice during the game. Marist Liafau was on hand, looking impressive in his Citron jersey. Eric Hansen reported that Muffet McGraw was there as well.

9. From what I have seen of OSU, they will be tough to defend with their inside game and dangerous three point shooters. However, I don't know how they will stop ND's offense, if the Irish play as well as the did on Monday afternoon.