The old adage “adversity builds character” may be a proverb because it is probably true. There's no better example of that than the No. 3 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team.
Last season, the Irish team was without star guard Olivia Miles; He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and missed the entire season.. Still, Notre Dame was still a ranked team thanks to freshman All-American point guard Hannah Hidalgo. The Irish made it to the 2024 Sweet Sixteen, but not much more, without Miles and with other members of the roster in and out of the rotation due to injury issues. , is probably the limit for a team that has truly overachieved.
This season, Notre Dame showed everyone the potential of the dynamic backcourt duo of Miles and Hidalgo, and despite losing a few games early in the season, they entered 2025 on a strong note.
A strong Irish team features the country's second-leading scorer in Hidalgo, a triple-double threat in Miles, and a surprisingly outstanding transfer forward in Riatu King. This year's team has become even stronger with the return of Maddie Westbelt in the second half of the season.
Things are going well for the Irish until Thursday.
Head coach Niele Ivey's team welcomed number 17. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Thursday night at the Joyce Center. The Irish won 81-66, but they didn't win for all the reasons listed above. Although Notre Dame didn't play to its obvious strengths, it won thanks to the chemistry and teamwork of players who don't get much national attention.
Notre Dame won without Hidalgo, but he missed his second consecutive game with an ankle sprain sustained last week. wake forest. Miles and King continued to play, but Miles scored just six points on 3-of-10 shooting in the first three quarters, while King scored a season-low six points.
The Fighting Irish will also be without Hidalgo and guard Emma Risch, necessitating a seven-man rotation against the Yellow Jackets' physical program.
What worked for the Irish was the play of their usual supporting cast. All of the players on the roster are highly touted newcomers, but they are often overshadowed by the outstanding work of Hidalgo and Miles.
“This team has multiple weapons, so if one goes down, someone else can step up and we have five guys on the floor that can score,” Ivey said. “They understand that they are very selfish, so tonight was Sonia.” [Citron] and maddie [Westbeld].
It was a special moment for Westbelt. After starting all 120 games of his NCAA career, the guard suffered a foot injury that required surgery and took him off the court. Thursday was Westbelt's first start since returning from injury on January 5th.
Westbelt responded with a season-high 20 points and five rebounds. The senior went 8-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, defying South Bend's raucous crowd.
“It was unbelievable. I feel really blessed to be back on the court and playing with my teammates,” Westveld said. “Obviously, starting a game is really special for me, so it was an unfortunate situation, but anyway it feels great to play with my teammates again.”
Citron led the Irish in scoring with 21 points, marking the senior's fourth game of the season with at least 20 points in a game, but did not make a single 3-pointer. Citron was everywhere the Irish needed her, whether it was taking contested layups inside or hitting efficient mid-range shots. The guard made 9 of 11 from the perimeter, his best shooting of the season.
Cassandre Prosper played 36 minutes for the second straight game, filling in for Hidalgo's absence. In the win, Prosper scored 15 points, his fourth double-digit score this season, matching his total from the past two seasons.
“She came in and was ready to play in the first half, but in the second half we went with a three-guard lineup. Those guards were doing a great job downhill, so she was ready to play. I thought it was done,” Ivey said. “She had a great time, did a great job defensively and did a great job scoring.”
Prosper made half of the Irish's six 3-pointers on the day and also had nine rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Now, the margin of victory seemed pretty comfortable for the Irish, but Georgia Tech was definitely not a team to ignore.
Georgia Tech played aggressively, finding space behind the Notre Dame defense and getting shots early in the shot clock, looking to compensate for the sheer size of the Irish interior, which outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 50-25. And so.
Coach Ivey's seven-man rotation continued to make adjustments, making things difficult for Georgia Tech. It started with jumpers, with Ivy starting three forwards to emphasize their size against the smaller Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech adjusted, twice cutting the lead to nearly double digits to one possession and even briefly taking the lead at the start of the second half. That's when Citron and Prosper scored 13 of the Irish's 22 third-quarter points.
“Georgia Tech is one of the best schools in the ACC and is having a great season,” Ivey said. “So I thought this group was really resilient and really rounded out this game.”
When Miles started to pick up his shot, the Irish had already scored 18 points thanks to a perfect team performance.
If Ireland can do this without their leading scorer and defender, and with their leading scorer both on time off, it could be a special season.
“This is a good team,” Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner said of the Irish. “Notre Dame, that's a Final Four team. There's no doubt about that.”
Before the game, Ivey received a 100-win commemorative basketball, making him the fastest ND coach to reach 100 wins. After the game, Ivey talked about how different this team is from other teams.
“I don’t think it’s my job to do what I love with my favorite team, but they are a special group,” Ivey said. “I'm so grateful to them. I'm so blessed to not only have so much talent, but to work with such great people.”
