SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Three games into the season and the ceiling for another Notre Dame women’s basketball season may again rest with the results of an MRI.
With a minute left in the third quarter of Wednesday night’s 110-52 rout of Northwestern (2-1), junior star Sonia Citron went down after some contact under the Notre Dame basket.
Down for several minutes with a “lower-body injury,” Citron was eventually helped off the floor, a Notre Dame staff member under each arm, and taken to the locker room.
She never returned and afterward, head coach Niele Ivey had little to offer in regard to the extent or specifics of the injury.
“I have no idea,” Ivey said, when asked about injury details during the postgame news conference.
Citron’s absence for any length of time would make for a serious challenge for 16th-ranked Irish (2-1),and the loss shook her teammates.
“I just talked to them about trying to finish the game and to play for her,” Ivey said. “Obviously, a lot of players were emotional, but just trying to keep their spirits up and let them know it’s out of our control so just play for her.”
The 6-1 guard is coming off a sophomore season in which she was named All-America (honorable mention) and first team All-ACC after leading Notre Dame with nearly 15 points a game, shooting 40% from 3-point range and 47.6% from the field, to go with 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She took on a big chunk of a leadership role and point-guard responsibilities after All-America teammate Olivia Miles went down with a knee injury in February, to help lift Notre Dame to the regular season ACC title.
“Sony is just a great person — on the court she is so consistent,” teammate Cass Prosper said. “We know what we’re going to get every game from her. Especially seeing her grow as a leader from last year, she’s amazing. She just cares for us, for the team. That’s why she plays so hard for us. I just love her. I hope she’s OK. We’re definitely praying for her.”
Miles had surgery in April and is still in the recovery process without a timetable for a return, according to Ivey.
Citron, who came into Wednesday’s game averaging 19 points a game, was lighting it up offensively and igniting a Purcell Pavilion crowd of 7,000 in the season’s first home game before her injury suddenly silenced the arena.
She dropped in a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer for a 24-16 Irish lead, then scored the final 11 points of the second quarter, including a 15-footer at the halftime buzzer, to provide the Irish with a 56-26 edge.
Despite her early exit, Citron led the Irish with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. She had five rebounds, three assists and two steals – with just one turnover – in 28 minutes.
Little drama was expected in the contest. The Irish rolled over Northwestern in Evanston a year ago, 92-58, but got off to a slow start Wednesday.
“Sleep-walked” is how Ivey described the first two minutes, when the Irish had four turnovers and a missed 3-pointer to fall behind, 8-0.
She called a timeout, then watched her team score the next 15 points, starting with a 3-pointer from star freshman Hannah Hidalgo.
Averaging 28.5 points coming — fourth-best nationally — the 5-6 guard finished with 21, shooting 9-for-12 from the field. The nation’s leader in steals per game had six on Wednesday night, giving her 21 in three games. She added six rebounds and five assists with just two turnovers in 28 minutes.
After eight first-quarter turnovers, the Irish had seven more over the final three quarters combined. It never got better for the Wildcats, who had 25 turnovers for the game. Notre Dame’s 49-29 edge on the boards, 20-12 on the offensive side, helped produce a 30-8 advantage in second-chance points.
There was some good news beyond the win.
KK Bransford, a 5-11 sophomore guard, returned from a preseason lower-leg injury and scored seven over 11 minutes.
Three other players were in double figures, with Maddy Westbeld with 13, guard Anna DeWolfe — the grad transfer from Fordham — with 10, and forward Kylee Watson with 10 as the Irish shot 55% from the floor, including 45% from 3-point range — well above their two-game average. The 42 field goals came on 24 assists.
Prosper also returned after missing Sunday’s game against NJIT. She was with the Canadian national team over the weekend, winning three games in four days in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Medellin, Columbia.
She contributed seven points, a block and a couple steals in 19 minutes against Northwestern.
The 6-2 guard, in her second season with the Irish after enrolling early and starting her college career last December, is one of the players likely to see increased playing time if Citron is sidelined.
Ivey has been down this road before and won’t panic.
“It’s an opportunity for a lot of players to do more,” she said. “We have an incredible team, and we’re not just one person. We have a lot of great players on this team and everybody’s just got to do a little bit more.”
Fans may get a feel for what that looks like on Saturday, when the Irish face Illinois (2-1) in the Citi Shamrock Classic in Washington, D.C.
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