Niele Ivey knows her team.
So when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended their regular season on a low note, the head coach knew her team didn’t need reassurance or encouragement.
None of that. They needed to get angry.
The Irish have spent the last three weeks honing their fury into a sharp edge. They resent their loss on Senior Night and the early exit from the ACC Tournament. They hate the No. 3 seed. And most importantly, the Irish despise the way they’ve let themselves play: sluggish, timid, unimposing.
Ahead of a rematch against the No. 2 seed TCU Horned Frogs in the Sweet 16 on Saturday, Notre Dame started the week with a lengthy rewatch of the last time the two teams played: a November loss in the Cayman Islands Classic tournament.
Senior star Olivia Miles seethed through the entire film session.
“I was just cringing,” Miles said. “I was like, ‘I can’t even watch this.’ It was difficult to watch. … (Ivey) showed it to us to ignite something in us, to make us mad, to see how we were playing and how we’ve been playing recently.”
That loss to TCU was one of the best things that happened to Notre Dame. The 76-68 result marked the first of two early-season losses in the Cayman Islands that sparked a pivotal change.
After losing 78-67 to Utah the following day, the Irish returned to South Bend with a chip on their shoulder — and a taste of what it would take to compete in the top echelon this season. Notre Dame responded to the challenge. They won their next 19 games, including definitive victories over ranked opponents like Texas, Connecticut, North Carolina and USC.
So when the Irish floundered through two losses in the final week of the regular season, then bounced out of the ACC Tournament with a semifinal loss to Duke, Ivey knew what to ask of her team: respond. Take it personal. Get mad. Then get right.
Sonia Citron could be the key to Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament hopes — and a future WNBA star
The end of the ACC Tournament coincided with Notre Dame’s spring break, offering the team a few days off. But when players returned to South Bend, Ivey subjected her team to a brutal stretch of training designed to shake them out of their funk.
Miles and fellow senior Sonia Citron gave a blunt summation of those practice sessions: “Really hostile. Really intense.”
It was necessary. The Irish needed to find themselves again. The defense had grown sluggish. Players failed to pursue rebounds and lost themselves ball-watching from the perimeter. Sophomore star Hannah Hidalgo often had buoyed the offense in the early months. But in the closing weeks, the offense became over reliant on Hidalgo’s frenetic scoring — and unwieldy on her rare off nights.
By the time the Irish kicked off the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Citron and other seniors felt confident they had squashed this lesser version of their team.
“We’ve just got back to being us,” Citron said. “We’re back to being confident. We’ve gotten more in our rhythm and our flow.”
It was evident on the court. Five different players scored in double digits in the first-round win over Stephen F. Austin. A smothering defense forced Michigan into 16 turnovers in the second round. And despite limitations for Miles — who suffered an ankle injury in the first round — Citron and Hidalgo never wavered as the engine of the offense.
This shift sparked pride in Ivey, who praised the “inspired basketball” that elevated the Irish to blowout victories in the first two rounds. Despite dropping to a No. 3 seed, the Irish are carrying the swaggering intensity of contenders into Birmingham, Ala., for the Sweet 16.
“I thought they were relentless,” Ivey said. “I thought they were focused and locked in. You could tell there was a big carry-over. I challenged them. They had a great response to that challenge. Now, stakes are high. They’re just playing at a high level and playing for each other. Defensively, they’ve really taken on a different identity. I’m really proud of that.”
The Irish hope to carry that same energy into Saturday’s matchup with TCU, a No. 2 seed headlined by savvy playmaker Hailey Van Lith.
Van Lith is a focal piece for any scouting report against the Horned Frogs. But for the Irish, there is one clear roadblock on their way to the Elite Eight: TCU center Sedona Prince.
The Irish don’t have a clear-cut answer for Prince.
The 6-foot-7 center racked up 20 points and 20 rebounds in their first meeting of the season, dominating the paint with eight blocks. In November, Notre Dame severely lacked frontcourt personnel. Senior center Maddy Westbeld missed the game with a left foot injury. And the matchup was only the fifth collegiate game of freshman center Kate Koval’s career, offering her a bruising introduction to playing post against an elite NCAA opponent.
With Westbeld returned and Koval more experienced, the Irish will be better equipped to handle this physical challenge. But with Prince guarding the paint, Notre Dame’s ability to move the ball and manipulate the 3-point line will be more important than ever.
The Irish will also be aided by the full return of Miles, who managed only eight points while playing through an ankle injury in the second-round win. Miles rested for several days after Sunday’s win.
When she returned to practice Thursday, Miles felt fully recovered — a crucial improvement for the Irish to keep rolling in the tournament.
“It makes all the difference,” Citron said. “Obviously, (Miles) is an amazing player. She’s a playmaker. Not only does she score, but I think her biggest game is in getting shots for her teammates, assisting her teammates. We miss that when she’s not on the floor. She runs our offense. She’s the head of the snake.”
The Irish know their goals lie beyond Saturday’s game — and beyond Birmingham. For now, the key is taking the tournament one step at a time.
First, the Horned Frogs.
Then, a potential Elite Eight matchup against Tennessee or Texas.
And finally, the light at the end of the tunnel: a chance to avenge themselves in the Final Four.
It all rests on this team’s ability to stay angry.
“We don’t like to lose,” Hidalgo said. “We hate the feeling. Now it’s all or nothing. It’s really important that we do all the little things now to take us to that next step.”
