Liza Karlen’s last game in a Marquette uniform was one of her best, and it came on Notre Dame’s home court, of all places.
The same court, as it turns out, where the 6-foot-2 grad transfer forward will spend a lot of time in her final season of college eligibility.
Shortly after the Golden Eagles lost 67-55 to Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament on March 23 in South Bend, Ind., she entered the transfer portal. On Sunday, the St. Paul, Minn., product committed to exiting it onto the Irish roster.
Consider a missing piece, for a team with Final Four potential, found and added. And the Irish may not be done.
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As it stands, the unanimous All-Big East selection in 2024 joins a team with four returning starters, a 2023 All-America guard returning from a one-year hiatus in Olivia Miles, and that adds the nation’s top center prospect in the 2024 freshman class — 6-5 Ukraine native and McDonald’s All-American Kate Koval to a team that went 28-7, won the ACC Tourney and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
The Irish also this summer get back two guards who like Miles also qualify for medical redshirt seasons — defensive stalwart Cass Prosper and 3-point sharpshooter Emma Risch — and a versatile junior-to-be guard who made a transfer portal U-turn, KK Bransford.
What Karlen brings is a needed frontcourt presence on a guard-heavy roster to join All-ACC forward Maddy Westbeld, Koval and eventually incumbent starting post player Kylee Watson, who’s recovery timeline from a March 9 ACL tear in the ACC Tourney semis is expected to extend beyond the start of next season.
Karlen averaged 17.7 points and 7.9 rebounds with 10 double-doubles last season, including the 19 points and 14 rebounds she put up against Ole Miss. The Golden Eagles finished the season 23-9 under former Irish point guard Megan Duffy, who has since left the program herself to coach at Virginia Tech.
Had 10 seed Marquette beaten the No. 7 seed Ole Miss in that tourney game, she would have faced her future teammates in the next round.
Karlen shot .497 from the field, .357 from the 3-point arc and .822 from the free-throw line.
Without Karlen, ESPN’s Charlie Creme on Wednesday projected Notre Dame as an early No. 1 seed in next spring’s NCAA Tournament, along with defending national champion South Carolina, USC and UConn.
Two other players in the transfer portal besides Karlen recently visited Notre Dame. Alabama forward Aaliyah Nye came to South Bend on April 22, but decided to go back to Alabama and play her final season with her original team. Pitt forward Liatu King, a 6-0 forward and grad transfer, visited ND the next night and has yet to make a decision about her next step.
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