SOUTH BEND ― Despite Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum being more than 620 miles away from Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion, the Irish’s women’s basketball game against the Demon Deacons Thursday, Feb. 19 will feel like a home game for grad student Malaya Cowles.
Not only did Cowles spend four seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rival Notre Dame for her final year of eligibility, but she is also a North Carolina native.
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She said she has 28 tickets reserved for family and friends, not including those who have already bought tickets ahead of time. Most importantly, Cowles’ mother, Gloria Davenport, will see her daughter play in person for just the second time this season.
“She’s always tuning in; she hasn’t stopped talking about it,” Cowles said.
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After the Irish’s Feb. 15 win against North Carolina State (17-8, 10-4 ACC) in Notre Dame’s annual “Pink Game,” Cowles shared that her mother is currently battling cancer. Returning to Wake Forest, less than an hour away from the family’s hometown of Wilkesboro, couldn’t come at a better time for Cowles.
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Head coach Niele Ivey said she dedicated some time during the Irish’s film session Tuesday to highlight Cowles’ ties to their upcoming opponent. Ivey said her role off the court as a mother to Chicago Bulls guard Jaden Ivey has helped her understand the trust it takes for a player’s family to send their daughter away from home.
Ivey said she will always take time to balance preparation with celebration.
“I know it’s a challenge. I’m a mom, so when you have your family in the stands, it means something different,” Ivey said. “Fortunately, some of our players have had their family in the stands all season long, and she hasn’t had that opportunity. I’ll be excited for her to have her little fan club.”
The Irish may have beaten the Demon Deacons by 36 points last season in South Bend, but Cowles stood out with 15 points and 10 rebounds for her former program. Heading into her first game against Wake Forest, Cowles said she is feeling fully up to speed after starting this season late due to a knee injury.
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She only missed the first two games of the year, but Cowles admitted that it took her a while to start feeling “bouncy” again like she did vs. the Wolfpack. Cowles finished that win with 13 points, five rebounds and three steals ― one of nine games this season putting up double-digit scoring figures, but her first since Jan. 15.
“I haven’t had that in a minute,” Cowles said. “Hopefully that continues to carry on for the rest of the season.”
A sense of urgency
Heading into Winston-Salem, Notre Dame (16-9, 8-6 ACC) has won three of its last four games and has a chance to keep stacking wins during this two-game road trip. Even though the Irish face two bottom-four ACC teams in Wake Forest (13-13, 3-11) and Southern Methodist (SMU) (9-17, 2-12), they have struggled away from home all season.
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Ivey said she can’t point to an exact reason as to why the Irish are 3-7 this season when they aren’t suiting up on their home court. Two of those losses ― California (16-11, 7-7 ACC) and Georgia Tech (11-15, 6-8 ACC) ― came against squads lower than ninth-place Notre Dame in the ACC standings.
“Hopefully (Thursday) it doesn’t show up, and we show up the way we did [Sunday] with our defense and with our energy,” Ivey said. “Playing a complete game. I think some games on the road, either we start off too slow or we only put together a couple of good quarters. We have to play a great 40 minutes.”
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The Irish’s most recent away game was an 11-point loss to Virginia (18-8, 10-5 ACC) in which Notre Dame led by one after the first period ― only to be outscored 48-28 in the second and third quarter. It simply can’t afford a performance like that against Wake Forest or SMU with less than two weeks until the end of the regular season.
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“I try to continue to nail that point into them, especially our grads because this is it, so when you’re in the middle of February heading into March, it could be your last game,” Ivey said. “You want to leave everything on the floor and have that type of energy and sense of urgency.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame women’s basketball looks to end road struggles vs Wake Forest
