Just six hours after being named the nation’s No. 1 team for the first time since Jan. 2019, Niele Ivey’s Notre Dame women’s basketball team was back in Purcell Pavilion to put that mark to the test.
“This was a big moment for us with a lot of external pressure coming into the game. Our team was focused and I am so grateful for the energy that the South Bend community pours into us,” Ivey said.
With just five more games standing between the Irish and a perfect ACC regular season, something that hasn’t been done since the 2015-16 campaign, Notre Dame would first have to get by No. 11 Duke.
Led by former Tennessee standout and accomplished ESPN analyst Kara Lawson, the two-time national runner-up Blue Devils have enjoyed resurgent success following last year’s surprise trip to the Sweet Sixteen. Duke, whose leading scorer is freshman forward Toby Fournier, entered the matchup at 20-5 overall and 11-2 in conference play, good for third in the league.
One of the most dynamic backcourts the game has ever seen has engineered a banner Year 5 for Ivey’s program in South Bend. The guard trio of graduate Olivia Miles, senior Sonia Citron and sophomore Hannah Hidalgo combine to average a staggering 55 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists per game. While Miles and Citron are expected to be top-three selections in April’s upcoming WNBA Draft, Hidalgo has emerged as one of the frontrunners for the Wooden National Player of the Year Award. The Irish have also benefited from their frontcourt, with Pitt transfer forward Liatu King averaging a double-double with 12 PPG and 10.4 RPG.
The sellout crowd of 9,149 inside Purcell Pavilion was ignited from the jump as Notre Dame celebrated National Women and Girls in Sports Day, but it was the visiting Blue Devils who came out with more energy, opening up a 19-16 lead after quarter one. Junior guard Taina Mair, who averages just 7.1 PPG on the season, converted on all four of her looks in the opening frame to lead the Blue Devils. Mair, a Boston native who transferred from Boston College following her freshman year, is Duke’s primary playmaker averaging over 4 assists an outing.
Speaking with the media postgame, Hidalgo touched on the importance of regular-season challenges. “Playing tough teams like Duke at this point in the season is big for us so that we aren’t getting hit in the mouth in close games during the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament,” she said.
Neither side could connect on a field goal for the first four minutes of the second quarter, but three Irish free throws leveled the scoring before a Citron triple gave Notre Dame its first lead in over 10 minutes.
Despite ending on a nearly three-minute scoring drought, the Blue Devils high-pressure full-court defense kept it close by scoring 9 points off 10 Notre Dame turnovers. Duke, who leads the ACC forcing nearly 22 turnovers a game, led the Irish for 14 minutes of the first half but entered the intermission trailing 29-27. Both Fournier and Miles were held to just 3 points each, while Mair led Duke with 11 and Hidalgo and graduate forward Maddy Westbeld led Notre Dame with 8 apiece at the break.
Citron came out of the locker room on fire, as she scored the first 6 points of the third quarter to open up an 8-point Irish advantage, which forced a Duke timeout. The stoppage wouldn’t halt the bleeding though, as 4 consecutive Duke turnovers all resulted in Irish baskets, ballooning the lead to 46-28. Hidalgo connected on a trey and a transition layup during the 11-0 surge, and also found Miles on two no-look dimes to electrify the Irish faithful.
In the postgame press conference, Lawson addressed Notre Dame’s depth and star power during the big run. “That run coming out of halftime overwhelmed us. Notre Dame was really purposeful with their execution, and it becomes hard to play from behind against such a talented team," she said.. “Some of our turnovers fueled their transition game, and they are really hard to stop when they get out and run. They have so many capable weapons, and it felt like we were playing uphill against them from there.”
Citron agreed, adding, “Our defense fueled our offense, and we have so much speed with Olivia and Hannah to get us running during that third quarter.”
All told, Notre Dame shot 9-20 in the period, while holding Duke to just 2-11 en route to a 50-35 advantage. The Notre Dame defense, which leads the ACC by averaging over 11.6 steals per game, forced 6 turnovers in the frame and outrebounded the Blue Devils 15-6.
In the end, the Irish would prevail 64-49, holding their opponent under 60 points for the fourth straight game. Despite dropping three of the last four against Duke, the Notre Dame victory moved the Irish to 19-4 in the all-time series.
Hidalgo led the Irish in scoring for the 19th time this year, scoring 19 points despite not having her most efficient night. Citron added 15, and Westbeld tallied 11 despite missing some time in the first half with a bloody nose. Mair had her second-best scoring output this season, spearheading the struggling Duke attack with 15.
Ivey was impressed with her backcourt’s play on both sides of the court, attesting, “The energy of our guard play was incredible today.”
The Irish showed once again why they are the ACC’s premier rebounding team, dominating the glass 41-28, including 15 offensive boards. Lawson noted the difficulty in getting back in the game with Notre Dame’s rebounding resilience. “We didn’t box out and that hurt as we were trying to mount a comeback. Notre Dame pursued the ball well, and those offensive rebounds hurt.”
Ivey concluded by complimenting her team’s focus. “I addressed it on Saturday, but nothing changes with our goal. We knew the ranking was a possibility but we didn’t want to focus on it, so I’m proud of how our group navigated all the attention,” she said.
“You can embrace the special moment with the crowd because we haven’t experienced that in my tenure, but then you have to lock in and play the game. I’ve learned that adversity and challenges are going to present themselves, so you can’t think about the accolades, or the streak, you just have to get up every day and find a way to get better,” Ivey concluded.
After a two-game road set that began in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest, the Blue Devils will now return home to Durham to play three consecutive home games inside the world-famous Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Sitting at 23-2 after reeling off 18 consecutive wins, the Irish head out on their last road trip of the regular season to close out the week. The first stop of the two-game set is Thursday evening in Coral Gables, Florida, as Notre Dame takes on Miami. Sunday afternoon brings the game of the week in women’s college basketball, as the Irish face the No. 13 NC State Wolfpack in a noon matinee showdown between the ACC’s top two teams, highlighted by ESPN’s College Gameday. Thursday’s contest with the Hurricanes tips off at 7:00 p.m., with streaming available on ACCNX.
