Notre Dame women’s basketball avoided the worst-case scenario.
The knee injury Sonia Citron suffered in Wednesday’s 110-52 home victory over Northwestern isn’t expected to keep the star junior guard sidelined for the rest of the 2023-24 season. Head coach Niele Ivey said after Notre Dame's 79-68 Shamrock Citi Classic victory over Illinois in Washington, D.C., that Citron should return in two weeks from a sprained knee.
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Citron went down in pain late in the third quarter Wednesday when teammate Cassandre Prosper fell into her leg. Citron needed help to return to the locker room after the training staff came to her aid.
The No. 16 Irish (2-1) have already been playing without star point guard Olivia Miles, whose sophomore season was cut short by a knee injury that required surgery in April. Head coach Niele Ivey and Miles have been uncertain on when Miles will be able to return.
Both Citron and Miles were named to the 10-woman preseason All-ACC team. The 6-foot-1 Citron led Notre Dame in scoring last season with 14.7 points per game in addition to averaging 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. The 5-10 Miles finished second in scoring behind Citron with 14.3 points per game and led the Irish in rebounds (7.2), assists (6.9) and steals (2.1).
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In the first three games of this season, Citron averaged 20.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 60% from the field and 41.7% from 3.
Notre Dame will likely need a collective effort to replace Citron’s production. Freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo has already taken on a major role in replacing Miles. She’s done so with a flourish by averaging 25.5 points, 6.8 steals, 5.5 assists, and 5.3 rebounds.
Sophomores KK Bransford and Prosper will be among the guards asked to pick up the slack in Citron’s absence. Fordham graduate transfer Anna DeWolfe and freshman Emma Risch may need to play more important roles as well.
Prosper started in Citron's place Saturday and scored four points in 22 minutes. Bransford added 11 points off the bench in 28 minutes. DeWolfe scored eight points in 34 minutes in her typical starting role.
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