Are the Fighting Irish defeating themselves?

The Fighting Irish have an inexperienced roster and are losing the battle for a national championship. Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team, coached by Niele Ivy, is not a national championship-contender because it lacks depth beyond Hannah Hidalgo. 

Notre-Dame e de Paris

One player does not define Notre Dame

Hidalgo, arguably one of the best defensive and scoring guards in all of women’s collegiate basketball, cannot score every point or accumulate every steal for Notre Dame. Unfortunately, she is being asked to do both, but this strategy is failing because opponents are game-planning specifically for her. Teams know how to shut her down.

For example, Michigan’s women’s basketball team, currently ranked sixth in the country, focused on containing Hidalgo during their annual Shamrock Classic game. Because of Michigan’s intense defensive pressure, Hidalgo was scoreless in the first half and finished the game shooting just 19% from the field and 0% from the three-point line. With Hidalgo’s limited production, Notre Dame lost by 39 points and fell six places in the AP Top 25 rankings.

With defenses tightening around Hidalgo, Notre Dame now relies on players who have never logged meaningful minutes to compensate for losing Olivia Miles (to the transfer portal) and Maddy Westbeld, Liatu King, and Sonia Citron (to the WNBA). Ivy did recruit new talent from the transfer portal, such as Duke’s Vanessa De Jesus; however, it appears these players are being brought in primarily to support Hidalgo’s stardom, rather than to make significant contributions of their own. This approach is not sustainable against highly ranked teams, as we saw against Michigan and in any game where Hidalgo does not put up record-breaking numbers like the 44 points and 16 steals she recorded against the University of Akron.

   As things stand, Notre Dame will continue its streak of failing to advance past the Sweet Sixteen.

Author’s Note

Since writing this article, Notre Dame defeated a ranked USC team. While some may view this as a positive sign, it does not change my assessment. The Irish secured the win on a last-second shot by Hidalgo after trailing most of the game. Moreover, USC is not at full strength, relying heavily on freshman Jazzy Davidson to fill the offensive gap left by Juju Watkins. Beating a young and depleted USC team does not outweigh Notre Dame’s underlying problems.