As the spring semester gets underway around the tri-campus community, here’s a look back at how non-football sports performed at Notre Dame during the past month.
Women’s basketball
Now 14-2 on the season and ranked third in the country, Notre Dame has not lost a game since December. The Irish have played six games since the fall semester concluded, winning them all by an average margin of 34.7 points.
In the first of those six wins, a 118-49 annihilation of Eastern Michigan on Dec. 15, Notre Dame broke its program record with 16 made three-pointers and reached its all-time top-10 for points scored in a game. Sophomore guard Emma Risch enjoyed the most prolific game of her young career, tallying 23 points and seven made triples, and sophomore forward Cassandre Prosper added 20 points for her biggest game of the season.
Over the next two games, a 97-54 defeat of Loyola Maryland on Dec. 22 and a 95-54 ACC takedown of Virginia on Dec. 29, graduate guard Olivia Miles became the first player in ACC history to record a triple-double in consecutive games. She posted 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against the Greyhounds before totaling 11 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists against the Cavaliers. Sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo also averaged 30.5 points per contest during those two games, leading the Irish on a 28-0 run early in the Virginia game.
To start the new year, Notre Dame passed a major road test against No. 17 North Carolina on Jan. 5. In the 76-66 victory, Hidalgo and Miles each nailed five three-pointers to combine for 43 points. Four days later, the Irish came home and boat raced Wake Forest by a 100-64 margin, as six Notre Dame players scored in the double figures. Finally, with Hidalgo missing the first game of her college career this past Sunday at Clemson, Notre Dame cranked out a 67-58 victory on the shoulders of a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double from graduate forward Liatu King.
Still the team to beat in the ACC, Notre Dame will host No. 17 Georgia Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m. and SMU at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Men’s basketball
The Irish improved to 8-9 overall and 2-4 in conference play with a 78-60 defeat of Boston College on Monday night. Before that, they began the break with a 91-62 drubbing of Le Moyne on Dec. 22. Junior forward Tae Davis, one of the highest scorers in the ACC during December, totaled 24 points and made 12 free throws against the Dolphins.
Notre Dame then transitioned into the new year with a four-game losing skid against league opponents. Another 27 Davis points weren’t enough in an 86-75 loss at Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve. Playing back at home against North Carolina on Jan. 4, the Irish brought sophomore guard and leading scorer Markus Burton back from a seven-game injury absence, but he couldn’t drop a potential game-winning layup to answer Elliot Cadeau’s go-ahead four-point play on the other end in a 74-73 heartbreaker.
The Irish led late again but lost by a single point again (66-65) on Jan. 8 to NC State. They would flip the script in Saturday’s 86-78 loss to Duke, finishing the game on 15-1 run after falling behind 14-0 right away. Notre Dame also hit a season-high 14 three-pointers on 26 attempts at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Monday’s streak-ending defeat of Boston College belonged to Davis and Burton, who combined for 46 points to help the Irish pull away from an early slugfest.
Notre Dame will battle Syracuse and Virginia on the road across the next two Saturdays before welcoming Georgia Tech to South Bend on Jan. 28.
Hockey
In head coach Jeff Jackson’s final season, Notre Dame is currently 7-14-1 overall and 2-11-1 in the Big Ten. The Irish finished up the fall semester with a 2-1 overtime loss and a 3-1 regulation defeat at Ohio State. Sophomore center Danny Nelson scored in both games and would a few weeks later win a gold medal with sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer and Team USA at the World Junior Championships.
Notre Dame opened 2025 with a memorable night at Wrigley Field in the Frozen Confines series on Jan. 3. Sophomore forward Carter Slaggert forced overtime with his first goal of the season, and the game later entered a shootout. With Penn State shooting second, freshman goaltender and Chicagoland native Nicholas Kempf made five consecutive do-or-die saves to keep the Irish alive. Eventually, in the eighth round, senior defenseman Ryan Helliwell – two career goals and all – roofed a beautiful backhander to get Notre Dame the shootout win and extra Big Ten point.
Though the Irish would lose 3-0 to Penn State and 5-3 to No. 9 Michigan at home over their next two games, they’d win their first Big Ten regulation game of the season in thrilling fashion on Saturday. The 7-4 win featured three Notre Dame goals in a 32-second span during the second period and senior forward Justin Janicke’s first career hat trick. Danny Nelson also set a single-game Big Ten plus-minus record with a +6 rating in his second game back from the World Juniors.
This weekend, the Irish will visit No. 3 Minnesota at 8 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday for their final in-conference series of January.
Swimming and diving
The Notre Dame women’s team traveled within the state to West Lafayette on Friday, opposing Kentucky and Purdue. The Wildcats defeated the Irish by 186.5-113.5, while the Boilermakers claimed a 182.5-117.5 victory.
Freshman Carli Cronk stood out for Notre Dame, winning the 200 free in 1:46.51 and the 400 IM in 4:11.55. She now holds a top-10 time in program history in each of those events. Senior Maggie Graves also earned a win in the 1000 free (9:50.73), and the 200 free relay team also won in 1:30.32.
The Irish will return to the pool at home on Jan 24 and 25 for the Tim Welsh Classic.
Men’s tennis
Notre Dame jumped out to a 2-0 start in its Sunday doubleheader against Duquesne and Western Michigan. The Irish did not lose a set in their 7-0 domination of the Dukes and also won comfortably by a 6-1 score against the Broncos.
The Irish will stay at home this weekend to battle Princeton on Friday before challenging Yale and Saint Joseph’s on Sunday.
Women’s tennis
Notre Dame began the 2025 season by competing at the Northwestern Quad Invite in Evanston, Illinois, over the weekend. The Irish faced off against Colorado, Northern Illinois and Northwestern. Juniors Bojana Pozder and Akari Matsuno each went 3-0 in singles play at the event, while senior Nibi Ghosh and junior Rylie Hanford won each of their three doubles matches.
This weekend, Notre Dame will host Ball State on Friday before welcoming Illinois and DePaul to Eck Tennis Pavilion on Saturday.
