(Photo Courtesy of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball)

Three weeks ago, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team was the #1 ranked team in the country.

But after losing three of their last five games, Niele Ivey’s Irish slipped all the way to a #3 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame will host the first two rounds, opening against 14th seeded Stephen F. Austin Friday at Purcell Pavilion. Michigan is the #6 seed in the Notre Dame pod. The Wolverines will face the winner of the play in game between Iowa State and Princeton. Former Notre Dame great Natalie Achonwa is an assistant coach at Michigan. The winners of Friday’s 1st round games will meet Sunday at Purcell Pavilion with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

The Irish are 26-5 on the season and have an explosive offense led by Hannah Hidalgo, Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron. They own wins this season over two #1 seeds: USC and Texas. Texas is the #1 seed in Notre Dame’s Region. The Irish defeated the Longhorns 80-70 in overtime on December 5th.

The Irish have a possible rematch with 2nd seeded TCU in the Sweet 16. TCU handed Notre Dame its 1st loss of the season, 76-68 in the Cayman Islands November 29th.

Notre Dame also owns wins over two #2 seeds: UConn and Duke. After beating Duke in the regular season, the Irish lost to the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament by five. The Blue Devils are a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame’s also lost to another #2 seed NC State down the stretch, on the road in double overtime and to Florida State, a #6 seed.

The #1 seeds are UCLA, South Carolina, Texas & USC. The #2 seeds are NC State, Duke, UConn and TCU.

Michigan State is a 7th seed and will open up against Harvard Saturday in Raleigh. The winner faces either #2 NC State and #15 Vermont.

Indiana is a #9 seed and will face #8 Utah in the 1st round on Friday in Columbia, SC. The winner faces #1 South Carolina in the 2nd round.

Ball State is a 12 seed and will battle #5 Ole Miss to start the NCAA Tournament Friday in Waco. The winner battles #4 Baylor or #13 Grand Canyon.