Categories: Arizona StateArticleWomen's Basketball

Arizona State takes on undefeated Notre Dame for the right to advance to Sweet 16

(Photo: Steve Rodriguez/Sun Devil Athletics)

After their impressive win over Vanderbilt, the Arizona State Sun Devils have a chance to do something that no other team in the country has done: beat Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish hold a 33-0 record and are the top-seed in the Notre Dame region. They are coming off of a 51-point rout of Robert Morris on Saturday, led by sophomore guard Michaela Mabrey’s 16 points, 11 of which came in the first half.

Notre Dame have utterly dominated their opponents this season with all but two of their wins coming by double-digits.

If there was any time of the season for ASU team to square off against the unbeaten Irish, this would be the moment. The Sun Devils are coming off their most efficient offensive output in weeks as they shot 61.7 percent from the field in their first round victory.

Redshirt sophomore guard Katie Hempen had a solid shooting day on Saturday, going 4-for-5 from three-point land and racking up a total of 16 points.

“(Notre Dame) is big, and they’re physical, and they play hard,” Arizona State head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “You’ve got to control the boards. You’ve got to limit them to one shot.”

Winning the rebounding battle will be big for the Sun Devils as they are 4-7 when they do not outrebound their opponents.

Tip-off will be 3:30 p.m. PST on Monday evening in Toledo, Ohio. The winner of ASU-Notre Dame will face either Oklahoma State or Purdue next Saturday, March 29, in South Bend, Indiana.

You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com