The Notre Dame women’s basketball team is feeling like it might have finally shaken off whatever was going on towards the end of the season. Rather than continuing to struggle against a clearly overmatched Stephen F. Austin on Friday afternoon, the Fighting Irish took care of business in a big way. And in the process, Niele Ivey’s squad looked like the team that was ranked No. 1 in the entire country at one point in 2024.
After the game, Ivey talked about how she thinks the team has found its groove again, thanks to the 106-54 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A game they were allowed to play at their home court in Purcell Pavililon.
"I feel like we got back to us,” the Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach said. “And that is really exciting for me to see."
Notre Dame women’s basketball team finds its groove in blowout NCAA Tournament win
Star guard Hannah Hidalgo echoed those comments after a game where she scored 24 points, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals.
“It’s important to be able to play with that swagger like nobody can touch us,” Hidalgo said.
Hard not to think they did exactly that in a 50+ point win, especially when you consider the Notre Dame women’s basketball team is only a No. 3 seed this year, thanks to their struggles at the end of the regular season and then relatively early exit from the ACC Tournament.
Next up is a tilt against No. 6 seed Michigan, who didn’t look anywhere near as dominant as the Fighting Irish, but they did log a win over Iowa State in the first game of Friday’s NCAA Tournament action on the women’s side.