KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team wraps up non-conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 21 with a noon contest on the road against the No.5 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
 
OPENING TIP: 

• Lauren Ross leads WMU in scoring with 23.5 points and 1.8 steals per game. She also paces Western's three-point shooting efforts.
• Taylor Williams leads the Broncos with 7.9 rebounds per game, adding 11.9 points.
• Gabi Saxman paces the quad with 3.0 assists and averages 2.0 points.
• Western Michigan 65.8 points per game this season out-paces the 60.5 points per contest Notre Dame allows. 
• The Broncos are 4-2 when they score more than 60 points.
• WMU is making 8.1 shots per game from deep while holding opponents to 7.1 makes per game.
• Series- The Irish are 9-0 all time against the Broncos, with six of those victories coming at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.

 
WHERE TO WATCH 
Wednesday's matchup between the Broncos (5-5) and Fighting Irish (9-1) will be available for streaming via ESPN+. The link to the stream is listed above, and can also be found HERE. 
 
LAST WEEK REWIND 
The Broncos were led by guard Lauren Ross, who has been named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week three times already this year. The redshirt sophomore recorded 35 points in Western Michigan's 101-73 victory over Chicago State, including a perfect 12-for-12 from the charity stripe. Taylor Williams added to the team effort, 
 
SCOUTING THE IRISH 
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1) are attempting to build on a three-game winning streak this week after defeating Virginia Tech 63-52 in a top-10 matchup on Sunday. Coming off her second ACC Player of the Week honors this season; Olivia Miles led the scoring for Notre Dame with 16 points. Mile leads Notre Dame in four statistical categories: points (16.0), rebounds (8.3), assists (7.2), and steals (2.7). Lauren Ebo added great success down low for the Irish, posting 15 points off the bench to outscore Virgina Tech 42-16 down low.  
 
As a unit, Notre Dame has put up 85.7 points per game, going 7-0 when they score over 76 points. They are shooting 306-for-621 (49.3 percent) from the field, 49-for-136 (36 percent) from deep, and average 74.5 percent of their free throw attempts, making 196-for-263. They are second in the ACC in both total rebounds (46.1) and blocks (6.1). The Fighting Irish average 18 assists and 15.1 turnovers per game. 
 
UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's game against Notre Dame, the Broncos have a brief holiday break before beginning their 2022-23 MAC season on the road at Toledo. Tip-off in Toledo, Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 4 is set for 7 pm.