Head coach Niele Ivey’s No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team was back in Purcell Pavilion on Thursday night as it welcomed the Stanford Cardinal to South Bend for a matchup between two of the eight programs with multiple NCAA National Championships. This was the first ever conference matchup between the storied foes, as four of the six previous meetings occurred in the NCAA Tournament, with the most recent battle being won 84-68 by the Irish during the 2019 Elite Eight.
Despite having qualified for 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments, the Cardinal entered the battle at just 11-10 in Head coach Kate Paye’s first season at the helm. Paye, a former standout and longtime assistant in Palo Alto, took the reins from legendary bench boss Tara VanDerveer following her retirement after 38 years in charge of the Cardinal. A 2011 National Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, VanDerveer stepped down with 1,216 wins (most all-time until surpassed by UConn head coach Geno Auriemma in December) and three NCAA National Championships.
Across the sideline, it has been a banner year for Notre Dame, as its 19-2 start has been headlined by the play of graduate guard Olivia Miles and senior guard Sonia Citron, both of whom are expected to be top-three selections in April’s WNBA Draft, as well as the Wooden Award frontrunner in sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo. The dynamic backcourt trio has combined to average over 55.5 points per game this season, including star showings in top-five wins over USC, Texas and UConn.
Just four minutes into the contest, perhaps in a sign of things to come, Stanford’s leading scorer, Nunu Agara, went down in pain. Agara, a sophomore forward from Minneapolis averaging over 17 points and 8 rebounds a night, injured her back after suffering a hard fall on her third shot attempt of the evening. In her absence, the Cardinal turned the ball over 10 times throughout the opening 10 minutes while connecting on just 3 of 14 field goals. The Cardinal remained in striking distance as Hidalgo and Miles combined to shoot just 2 for 11, and the Irish ended the opening frame leading 17-8.
Things didn’t get any cleaner for Stanford in the second, as a nearly 6-minute scoring drought, which included 6 more turnovers, saw Notre Dame embark on a 20-0 run to push the advantage to 44-13.
“I thought we ran better actions and got better shots. We were able to look inside and get downhill, and that opened the offense up,” Ivey said postgame. She continued by saying, “We want to set the tone and not take our foot off the gas. I’m proud of the way they kept playing to the standard defensively no matter what the score was.”
Ivey also made sure to shout out the Irish faithful, saying, “I thought the energy of the crowd was amazing, so we appreciate them coming out for a late game and bringing some juice.”
Graduate forward Maddy Westbeld had her best first half since returning from injury on Jan. 5, as she turned in 11 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting across her 12 first-half minutes. Hidalgo and Miles each added 11 apiece, and Notre Dame entered the locker room holding a commanding 50-15 lead on Stanford. The 33 second-quarter Irish points were their second-most this season, falling just short of the 34 scored in the third period against Loyola (Maryland) back on Dec. 22.
Speaking with the media, Westbeld outlined her road to recovery, saying, “I’m definitely blessed to play with such a talented group. My approach to the last month has been getting better every game and learning something new every day.”
Coming out of the intermission, the Irish would stretch the lead to as many as 48, as Hidalgo connected on eight straight buckets to up her total to 22 points, while also adding 4 assists. Miles continued to show her do-it-all ability, as she converted on her fourth triple of the evening to move her total to 16 points alongside 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
By the time it was over, all eight healthy Irish scholarship players had recorded points, and Notre Dame rolled to the 96-47 victory. Hidalgo tallied 24 points, while Miles matched her season high with 20. Junior forward Cassandre Prosper also turned in one of her finest performances this season, totaling 13 points on just 5 field goal attempts. All together, Notre Dame shot over 50% from the field and from beyond the arc, as well as over 88% from the charity stripe.
Having gone through the grueling recovery to return from ACL surgery, Miles made it a mission to completely remake her jumpshot over the past 18 months.
“When you’re injured as bad as I was, all you can really do is shoot, so I just have to trust in the work I’ve put in and let it fly,” Miles said as her three-point percentage on the campaign rose to over 43%.
All told, the 29 Cardinal turnovers were the most by an Irish opponent since Chicago State had 32 back in November of 2023. Additionally, the 49-point loss marked the worst margin of defeat ever for Stanford.
“That’s a storied program, so I’m really proud of our group for competing at such a high level all game. I’m just grateful to coach such talented young women,” Ivey concluded.
The win moved the Irish to 3-4 all-time against the Cardinal and also marked their first triumph in South Bend following a 88-76 loss in November of 1991 to the eventual national champions.
Having dropped seven of 10 since the New Year, Stanford will conclude the road trip on Sunday at noon in Louisville, with the status of Agara still unknown as the Cardinal prepare to take on the Cardinals.
Now sitting at 15 consecutive wins, Notre Dame will host the other West Coast ACC school on Sunday, when the No. 21 California Golden Bears make the trip to northern Indiana. At 11-0 in the ACC, the Irish sit seven games away from the first perfect conference season since they did so in 2015-16. Sunday’s showdown with Cal is set for a 2 p.m. tip-off on the ACC Network.
