Fighting Irish Today

Liatu King has been quietly impactful all season, but on Sunday, she took center stage as third-ranked Notre Dame (14-2, 5-0) outlasted host Clemson (10-7, 3-3), 67-58. King’s stellar 11-point performance in the fourth quarter helped the Irish pull away late, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds while shooting an efficient 10-14 from the field.

“It was so tough,” said Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey of King’s performance. “On the defensive end, I had her guarding guards at times because they play four guards, and she was tremendous.”

Unlike many of their previous games this season, this one didn’t feature large scoring runs. No team managed to score more than six unanswered points, as both sides exchanged buckets throughout the game. Despite playing without All-American Hannah Hidalgo, the Irish managed to maintain a single-digit lead but couldn’t shake a relentless Clemson offense.

The game got off to a slow start for Notre Dame, as they missed their first two shots before hitting four consecutive field goals, followed by a pair of free throws from Olivia Miles to take a 10-6 lead into the first media timeout. Clemson struggled offensively and failed to make a field goal for the final 7:02 of the first quarter, but they were kept in the game by five free throws off Irish fouls. At the end of the first quarter, Notre Dame led 17-11.

The Irish extended their lead in the second quarter, outscoring Clemson 13-11 to take a 30-22 advantage into halftime. King led all players with 10 points and was tied for the game-high in rebounds with 5 (alongside Kate Koval). Miles and King combined to shoot 8-11 from the floor, while the rest of the team went 5-18. Clemson’s offense was primarily limited to the paint, scoring all 16 of its first-half points inside.

In the second half, Miles and Dara Mabrey opened the scoring with fastbreak layups, following a first half where Notre Dame had only one fastbreak point. Meanwhile, Clemson, which had gone 0-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, began hitting three-pointers in the third quarter, while the Irish went 0-5 from deep. The Tigers won the third quarter 19-17, cutting the Notre Dame lead to 47-41.

Then came the Liatu King Show. The graduate forward was unstoppable from midrange, going 4-5 in the fourth quarter, drawing four fouls, and contributing 11 of her total 23 points in the final frame. The other nine points in the quarter came from four different players, including a clutch three-pointer by Maddy Westbeld. King’s late surge allowed the Irish to secure the win and maintain their perfect conference record.

Notre Dame now heads back to South Bend for back-to-back home games, starting with No. 13 Georgia Tech on Thursday, followed by SMU on Friday. The Irish haven’t faced the Mustangs since the 2008 NCAA Tournament.