Purdue women's basketball adds Notre Dame to non-conference slate

An in-state rivalry will be renewed on December 20th, as Purdue women's basketball will travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame as a part of its non-conference schedule this season.

It will be the first time the two Indiana programs face off since 2017, when Notre Dame narrowly escaped a Purdue upset bid in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers trail in the all-time series 6-11, losing each of the last eight meetings. The last time Purdue beat the Fighting Irish, Katie Gearlds and Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton led the Boilermakers to a 65-54 victory at Mackey Arena in 2005.

Niele Ivey and Notre Dame are coming off a 27-6 campaign, an ACC regular season title and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season, which ended with a loss to Maryland in the Sweet 16. It was the second straight trip to March Madness since a two year drought in 2020 and 2021.

The Fighting Irish also return the top four scorers from last season, including Sonia Citron, Olivia Miles and Maddy Westbeld. Although, Miles is recovering from a knee injury at the end of last season. McDonald's All-American and freshman Hannah Hidalgo figures to be a prominent part of Notre Dame's lineup as well.

It will be another tough test for Katie Gearlds and company early in the 2023-2024 season. Purdue adds the Fighting Irish to an already stacked non-conference slate, which also features a trip to UCLA to start the regular season and matchups with Florida and Georgia in the 2023 Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championships.