Basketball Game Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Tygarts Valley Bulldogs

Two dominant forwards in Selena Wilson and Summer Lewis-Smith are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be defending their home court for the first time this season when they go up against the Tygarts Valley Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Notre Dame is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 50.4 points per game this season.

While Notre Dame didn't have the best season last year (they finished 6-16), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past. They managed a 39-34 win over South Harrison two weeks ago. The 39-point effort marked the Fighting Irish's lowest-scoring match of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.

Notre Dame got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Wilson out in front who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 13 rebounds. Wilson's evening made it five games in a row in which she has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Isabella Garnek, who went 5 of 12 on her way to 10 points along with five boards and four steals.

Notre Dame smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least 11 offensive rebounds in ten consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Meanwhile, Tygarts Valley scored the most points they've had this season on Monday, but it wasn't enough. They fell to Pocahontas County 67-61. The defeat continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Warriors : they've now lost five in a row.

Notre Dame's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 6-1. The wins came thanks to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 26.7 points per game. As for Tygarts Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 5-3.

Notre Dame lost to Tygarts Valley at home by a decisive 54-39 margin when the teams last played back in February of 2024. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Lewis-Smith, who went 9 of 11 on her way to 20 points and seven rebounds. Now that Notre Dame knows the damage she can cause, will they be able to stop her this time? There's only one way to find out.