South Carolina, Notre Dame women's basketball teams to make history facing off in Paris
This year's women's college basketball Final Four proved that the game has some of the brightest stars in the United States. Now, Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks are taking their talents overseas to play a game in Paris against the 2023 ACC head coach of the year Niele Ivey and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, both programs announced Wednesday.
The two powerhouses will face off Nov 2 at a yet-to-be announced venue. The game will mark the season opener for the 2023-24 campaign and is the first NCAA basketball game – men or women – to be played in the French capital.
"We did not hesitate to accept the invitation," Staley said in a statement. "Playing Notre Dame in Paris is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our student-athletes, and I’m thankful for the support of our administration and our donors."
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The student-athletes will also tour sites in the city old and new.
"Notre Dame is playing under the shadow of Notre Dame!" Ivey said in a statement. "We are absolutely thrilled to be heading to Paris to participate in this historic matchup between two storied women’s basketball programs.
"It’s always been my mission to break barriers and provide opportunities for my players to have life-changing experiences. Women’s basketball is on the rise right now, and having this exposure continues to grow the game on an international platform."
Staley is coming off her third consecutive Final Four appearance and won the 2017 and 2022 national championships with the Gamecocks. Although she lost five players to the WNBA draft, including No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, Staley still has SEC All-Freshman guard Raven Johnson and will introduce three top-25 recruits from the Class of 2023.
Ivey, who was a part of all nine of Notre Dame's Final Four appearances and both national championships as a player or coach, has four of her five starters returning from last year. Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron were both named All-Americans last season after leading the Fighting Irish to the regular season ACC title and a Sweet 16 appearance.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: South Carolina, Notre Dame women's basketball to play game in Paris
