BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – When Notre Dame and TCU faced each other in November, Horned Frogs 6-foot-7 center Sedona Prince tallied 20 points and 20 rebounds, which was the first performance of its kind for TCU since 2005.
The Fighting Irish were without starting forward Maddy Westbeld due to a foot surgery she underwent in August. Freshman Kate Koval started while Westbeld healed.
Westbeld returned for Notre Dame in January and, despite Saturday's 71-62 loss in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament at Legacy Arena, she was able to shut down Prince’s rebound game, with the graduate student only notching six rebounds in the rematch.
“She’s a great (post) player, so I had to be as physical as possible,” Westbeld said. “I really tried to make her work for everything.”
Prince scored 21 points to with four assists.
Whether it was Westbeld or Liza Karlen, who was also out with an injury in the Cayman Islands Classic, the Notre Dame defense learned from the game and made sure that it did not allow a repeat of what happened last time the teams played. The Irish especially focused on guarding Prince in practices for this time around.
“Our development coach brought in two guys that were 6-foot-7 for us to play against,” Karlen said. “But she has so much skill, so it’s really hard to replicate that.”
Coach Niele Ivey knew that she had to make adjustments. Lucky for her, the adjustment was the health status of Westbeld and Karlen.
“I had more size this time,” Ivey said. “We wanted to limit her touches, but they did a good job of getting her the ball.”
Westbeld and Prince saw foul trouble, with both being taken out late in the third quarter. The players returned in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but Westbeld quickly found her way off the court 31 seconds in. Despite hearing that it was her fourth foul over the speaker, she doesn’t let the thought of fouling out enter her mind.
“When people are saying that you’re in foul trouble, you get in a space where it’s tough to stay present,” the senior said. “I try to play it as aggressive and as clean as possible.”
This loss marks the fourth straight Sweet 16 exit for the Fighting Irish, while TCU will continue its quest for a national title Monday at 6 p.m. ET.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Notre Dame tried to contain TCU's Sedona Prince, but it was a tall task
