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Notre Dame sophomore guard Emma Risch out for season with hip injury

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•02/06/25•

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Notre Dame guard Emma Risch. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)

In two seasons at Notre Dame, sophomore guard Emma Risch has only appeared in 20 games. She will not appear in another during the 2024-25 season. Head coach Niele Ivey announced Thursday night Risch is out for the remainder of the season because of a hip injury.

If that sounds like déjà vu, well, that’s because it basically is.

Risch was at Thursday’s game against Stanford, which the Fighting Irish won 96-47, on crutches. She had not played since Jan. 23 against Boston College. And even then, she was only on the court for 3 minutes in that game. She played 5 and 6 minutes in her two appearances before that against SMU and Virginia, respectively.

That’s sort of where Risch has been at in her young career; she has not factored into the regular rotation even when healthy, but you have to think a major factor in that is being oft-injured. Risch could have benefitted from valuable time on the floor during her freshman season, but she only played in seven games before undergoing season-ending hip surgery for the first time. She expanded her usage out to 13 games this season but suffered the same fate — an issue with the same hip that ended her first year on campus.

Ivey said there was more damaged cartilage and scar tissue that needed to be fixed in Risch’s hip.

“It’s just unfortunate, but on the road to recovery,” Ivey said. “Just praying for her.”

The vision for Risch when she came to Notre Dame as the No. 20 overall recruit in the class of 2023, according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz rankings, was for her to be a stretch wing. Her greatest asset is by far her sharpshooting. She was a 45-percent three-point shooter in her junior year of high school at Melbourne (Fla.) Palm Bay.

“Emma is one of the best shooters I’ve seen in a very long time,” Ivey said when Risch signed with her program. “She has an incredible IQ, deep shooting range and elite vision. Her size and ability to score in all three levels separates her and will translate to college basketball immediately. I’m looking forward to the positive impact she will make on our team on and off the court.”

It hasn’t exactly played out that way for Risch, unfortunately. In 13.1 minutes per game, Risch has averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist. Raw numbers aside, the shooting percentages are right about where you’d want them to be for a guard who isn’t afraid to let it fly. Risch is a career 45.3 percent shooter from the floor and she owns a 42.1 percent clip from three-point range. She’s made 39 of her 86 three-point shots.

Without Risch, and with graduate senior center Kylee Watson and junior guard KK Bransford perhaps not playing at all this season — the latter has already announced she will not see the floor until 2025-26 — Notre Dame will roll with the core rotation of eight scholarship players it has been rolling with in the heart of ACC play.

The Irish (20-2, 11-0 ACC) put their unblemished conference record on the line Sunday in South Bend against No. 21 California.

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