Clemson couldn't hang with Notre Dame on Senior Night
Maya Dodson decided to hand out rejections on her Senior Night with Notre Dame women's basketball.
The graduate transfer from Stanford blocked five Clemson shots in a 77-56 home victory over the Tigers. Dodson, who entered the night tied for ninth in the country with 2.73 blocks per game, added 20 points and nine rebounds in a dominant effort for the Irish. She made 81.8% of her shots from the field (9-of-11) and 50% of her free throws (2-of-4).
"I do get in a defensive zone," Dodson said. "Sometimes I get a little too mad when I get scored on, and I forget that I need to go and score on the other end. I'm working towards that, but I love playing defense. That's something that gives me a lot of joy."
No. 14 Notre Dame (21-6, 13-4 ACC) totaled 13 steals and eight blocks in creating problems for Clemson (9-19, 3-14). The Tigers made only 36.7% of their shots (22-of-60) and managed only 10 assists as a team.
The Thursday night win clinched a top four seed and a double bye in the ACC Tournament for Notre Dame. The Irish will close their regular season Sunday with a home rematch with No. 4 Louisville (24-3, 15-2), who trounced Notre Dame, 73-47, on Feb. 13.
Clemson didn't provide much resistance for Notre Dame in Purcell Pavilion. The lone bright spots for the Tigers came early in the first and third quarters. Clemson led 8-7 with 4:17 left in the first quarter, but never led again. The Tigers attempted to make the second half interesting by opening with a 12-5 advantage to cut Notre Dame's lead to 11 with 5:58 left in the third quarter, but the Irish regained control to cruise to another victory.
Freshman guard Sonia Citron lifted Notre Dame's seniors with game highs in points (23) and rebounds (13). She also tallied eight assists. Citron's rebound and assist totals marked season bests for her.
Fellow freshman guard Olivia Miles added 11 points and nine assists.
"I can't do anything I do without my teammates," said Citron, who has been named ACC Freshman of the Week six times this season. "They were finding me. I love to run in transition. Olivia does great with getting it down the court really fast and finding me. All thanks to my teammates."
Senior guard Dara Mabrey, who was surprised before the game by her mother being in attendance, scored nine points on three 3-pointers. The Irish honored Dodson, Mabrey and fellow seniors Abby Prohaska and Katlyn Gilbert with a pregame ceremony.
Notre Dame will have a chance to finish its regular season with an undefeated 14-0 record at home if it can upset Louisville on Sunday (12 p.m. EST on ESPN2). The Irish know that will be a tall task.
"I want us to come out there and play with heart," Dodson said. "This is our home. It's the last game before the ACC Tournament. If we play our game, it's going to be a great game. We're going to be ready for them."
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