Notre Dame Women - Updates with the Wit of Rick Condon

3/9/2025

Notre Dame wrapped up a tough couple of weeks with a 61-56 loss to Duke in the semi-finals of the ACC tournament. The scuffling Irish have now lost three of five heading into the NCAA tournament. Over this stretch they have seen their chances at a top seed in the Big Dance slip away and even now may end up with a three seed. Coach Niele Ivey has struggled to push the right buttons as the offense has struggled and the team has seemed prone to defensive lapses in big moments. That is the bad.

As for the good - the Irish wrapped up pre-NCAA tournament play with an (almost) unblemished home record, big wins over highly-ranked teams, a (brief) stint as the top-ranked team in the country and accrued a resume’ that will almost certainly have them hosting the first two rounds. The backcourt of Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles was stellar all year and the Irish have enough of a multi-talented roster to think they can still get their act together and make a deep run. The recent slide juxtaposed with earlier wins over Texas, USC, and UConn certainly make forecasting their tournament hopes difficult.

A side note here: grad senior starting forward Maddy Westbeld who has had a solid year has not been playing well recently. In addition, during each of the ACC tournament games, Westbeld spent extended time on the bench trying to get her nose to stop bleeding after getting hit in the face. This, of course, makes her the perfect metaphor for the current state of the Irish.

2/23/2025

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

Notre Dame rose to No. 1 in the AP rankings in the most recent poll released on Monday and took care of business that night beating No. 11 Duke at home 64-49. They then cruised Thursday night in Miami with an 82-42 win to set up a showdown with No. 13 NC State on Sunday afternoon. What followed was, well, bonkers.

After 21 lead changes, 2 overtimes, and 50 minutes of high intensity, electric college basketball, the Wolfpack emerged with a 104-95 victory over the newly-minted-soon-to-not-be top seeded Irish. What a game. Zoe Brooks poured in 33 points for NC State including perfect 14-14 free throw shooting. And they needed every last one of them. Hannah Hidalgo led ND with 28 points and Sonia Citron was everywhere; including 5 feet behind the three point arc with 2 seconds left in regulation. She drained the shot to tie the score and set up some extra basketball for the 5,500 in attendance and the ABC viewing audience. The Irish had a chance to win it at the end of the first OT, but could not execute a set play off a timeout with 3 seconds to go. NC State came out firing in the second OT and put the game away. This coming week will see a new No. 1. 

What an incredible overall season this has been across the sport (so far!). There are seven teams (ND, USC, UCLA, UCONN, LSU, Texas, South Carolina) that have been jockeying around near the top of the rankings and the schedule has included many great games pitting those teams against each other. If you came to the sport last year for a shot of Caitlin Clark, I hope you stuck around for the chaser that is this year’s entertaining slugfest.

2/16/2025

No. 2 Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh Thursday night on the road 88-57, continuing a dominant march through ACC play. Hannah Hidalgo was uncharacteristically off, clanking her way to 11 points on 3 for 17 shooting from the field. Olivia Miles, though, was there to pick up her backcourt mate scoring 28 points including 8 buckets from three point range which tied the school record.

The Irish had moved up a spot in the rankings after Texas took down South Carolina last weekend. No. 6 USC then went out and beat No. 1 and previously undefeated UCLA this week. UCLA is likely to stay in the top spot given the next few teams behind them have two losses each. However, it is true that ND took down USC earlier this year who later went out and beat the Bruins. So utilizing the selective transitive property, the Irish should ascend to No. 1 in the country in next week’s polls. Of course that same line of logic could put any number of teams (like Belmont* for example) atop the polls, but whatever …

*Belmont beat Northern Iowa beat Green Bay beat Drake beat North Dakota State beat Boise State beat Colorado beat Kansas State beat Utah beat Notre Dame beat USC beat UCLA.  

2/9/2025

The No. 3 Notre Dame Women's basketball team continued en fuego. Two more wins this week extended their streak to 16 total. And those two wins were both blowouts over former PAC-12 schools, Stanford (96-47) and California (91-52) - welcome to the ACC; amirite?

Thursday night, the Irish outscored the Cardinal in each quarter featuring a 33-9 drumming in the second on the way to an insurmountable 50-15 halftime lead. Saturday promised to be a better game up against the No. 19 ranked Bears. And while I suppose it was closer with “only” a 39 point margin of victory, this one also was never in doubt.

Sunday’s contest was the “Think Pink Game" to spread breast cancer awareness and Purcell Pavillion was sold out with virtually everyone wearing hot pink and/or kelly green. Great cause. Great crowd. Very, very bad color match.

2/2/2025

No. 3 Notre Dame stayed white hot this week with a pair of road ACC wins extending their overall win streak to 14. Thursday night the Irish beat Virginia Tech, 77-61, and on Sunday afternoon they took care of a dangerous Louisville team, 89-71. Hannah Hidalgo scored 30 and 34 points to lead the team in each game. She now has nine career games with 30 or more points trailing only ND legend Arike Ogunbowale (11) for the program record. Said Coach Niele Ivey after the Cardinals game about Hidalgo, “she is just a dog.”

Ivey meant that as high praise. Trust me, though, do NOT use that quote to console a friend who has lost a pet.

1/26/2025

No. 3 Notre Dame beat Boston College in Chestnut Hill on Thursday night, 89-63. The victory extended their current win streak to twelve. The Eagles led at the end of a tight first quarter. But Maddy Westbeld opened the scoring in the second with a layup to put the Irish ahead and they never relinquished the lead. Hannah Hidalgo unsurprisingly led the scoring with 23 points and Sonia Citron put up a balanced stat line including 9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists. Notre Dame moved to 17-2 on the year; 10-0 at home and 7-0 on the road. 

But, wait, where did the two losses come from if not on the road or at home? That would be a strange two game swoon during a neutral site tournament over the long Thanksgiving weekend that took place in the sunny and warm Cayman Islands. Given that fact pattern, I would be looking hard at tournament offerings in (less warm and less sunny) Saskatchewan or Manitoba for the upcoming spring break.

1/19/2025

Notre Dame beat No. 17 Georgia Tech Thursday night, 81-66, marking the fifth time this year they have beat a ranked opponent by double digits. With Hannah Hidalgo out and still resting a sprained ankle, Maddy Westbeld (herself just back from a leg injury) got her first start of the season and did not waste it. She scored 20 points leading the way together with Sonia Citron who had 21 points. The Irish hosted one of the new ACC teams, SMU, Sunday night with tip off after the deadline for this article.

Hidalgo was in the news this week after former Irish coach Muffet McGraw, appearing on Sarah Spain’s podcast, slammed her for an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post. The post was made and deleted in July, but Hidalgo has not said anything about it since. McGraw called it “insulting” to her teammates and a “poor choice” among other comments. This is the second time a prominent ND athlete has endured self-inflicted heat from such social media activity with Korbin Albert of the US women’s national soccer team being the other. 

Ugh. Well, as the saying goes, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. Here’s hoping this stays in the coincidence category.

1/12/2025

So with apologies to real poets everywhere, but in keeping my promise (threat?) from last week; the Irish weekly recap in the form of a limerick …

There once was a team from South Bend.

Whose two wins this week continued a trend.

Smoked Wake Forest Thursday night.

Beat Clemson Sunday, though it was tight.

And remain number three at week’s end.

One postscript - Hannah Hidalgo rolled her ankle against the Demon Deacons and sat out the Clemson game. Not great, but it does not appear to be serious. And you’re welcome for not delivering that news in iambic pentameter.

1/5/2025

No. 3 Notre Dame took down No. 17 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon on the road in Chapel Hill, 76-66. Liatu King grabbed 15 boards and Hannah Hidalgo led the scoring with 24 points that included five for nine shooting from three-point range. The win avenged the men's team's tight loss to the same UNC a day earlier in South Bend and was revenge for their own losses to the Tar Heels in their most recent two games. In fact, Notre Dame had not won in Carmichael Arena since 2017.

Avenge and revenge; kind of poetic. Perhaps next week an Irish recap in the form of a sonnet or haiku or (duh) a limerick.

12/29/2024

Notre Dame beat Virginia, 95-54, on Sunday afternoon for Coach Niele Ivey’s 100 career win. The game was tied 9-9 in the first quarter when Hannah Hidalgo hit a triple to kick off a 28-0 Irish run. ND cruised from there in an emphatic start to conference play. Hidalgo finished with 28 points. Sonia Citron added 25 points and 11 rebounds. Citron had missed the last game against Loyola Maryland with “general soreness”.

LOL. And, honestly, relatable. I am on the other side of 50 years old and haven’t woken up without general soreness in a long time.

12/22/2024

No. 3 Notre Dame cruised to an easy 97-54 win over Loyola Maryland to wrap up non-conference play on Sunday afternoon. Hannah Hidalgo had 33 points capping off a week in which she was named ACC player of the week as well as Associated Press National Player of the week. Hidalgo’s sophomore season is off to an impressive start as she has averaged over 25 points per game and is shooting over 43% from three point territory.

Hidalgo hails from Haddonfield, New Jersey which always makes me think of the Halloween horror movie franchise. Many of those are set in the fictional Haddonfield, Illinois which is, in fact, based on the one in New Jersey. As to why the writers switched from Illinois to New Jersey? Not sure, but it has allowed for Tony Soprano (and not Michael Myers) to hold the record for fictional New Jersey body count.

12/15/2024

Three is a magic number.

Notre Dame took down a top 5 team for the third time this season when they beat UConn, 79-68, in South Bend, IN. The win marked the third consecutive season the Irish beat the Huskies in one of college basketball’s great rivalries. Hannah Hidalgo led all scorers with 29 including a 6 for 11 performance from behind the three point line and, if you allow me to stretch the point, almost had a triple double with ten rebounds and eight assists.

By the way, 'Three is a Magic Number" was the first episode of Schoolhouse Rock, an animated series of educational musical short films that ran on ABC on Saturday mornings in the 1970’s and 1980’s. It featured themes of mathematics, science, history, grammar, and civics. It got me thinking. Someone should get our incoming, TV-loving president-elect to sit through season three, “America Rock.” That season featured episodes entitled “No More Kings”, “The Great American Melting Pot”, and “Three Ring Government” about the birth of democracy, immigration, and the separation of powers. Perhaps the catchy tunes and colorful illustrations might pierce that thick layer of bronzer and teach him something. But I doubt it.  

12/8/2024

Notre Dame got back on track in a season that has so far been one of streaks. Following two losses in the Cayman Islands, the Irish responded with two wins this week. Thursday night in South Bend, No. 4 Texas and ND needed overtime to determine the outcome. The Longhorns scored the first bucket in the extra period, but that would be it as the Fighting Irish finished the game on 12-0 for the 80-70 victory (and their second top 5 team takedown this year). Sunday afternoon featured a much easier win, 93-62, vs. Syracuse in the ACC opener for both teams.

Another quirky streak ongoing right now is entry into the career 1,000 point club against a top 5 ranked team. Olivia Miles hit that mark in the USC win and Hannah Hidalgo did the same against Texas. That means that 4 of the starting 5 for the Irish are in the millennium “club" with only freshman Kate Koval to follow. This coming Thursday night she will get her chance to keep the streak alive against No. 2 UConn. She just needs 925 points. You got this, Kate ...

11/30/2024

The Irish were riding high after a big road win over highly-ranked USC and moving up to No. 3 in the national polls. They rode that momentum into the 2024 Cayman Islands Classic this week where they ripped off another … wait … where they promptly dropped back-to-back games; a Friday 76-68 loss to TCU followed the next day by 78-67 loss to Utah. 

Yikes.

Depth concerns seem to be rearing their head a bit as each game saw the bench outscored decisively and a second half collapse. The schedule stays tough with home games against No. 5 Texas and No. 2 UConn bookending a visit to Syracuse in the next two weeks. Perhaps after visits to Southern California and the Cayman Islands, a little northern Indiana and upstate New York December weather is what they need to get back on track.

That and another consistent scorer besides Hannah Hidalgo.

11/24/2024

Notre Dame went into hostile territory on Saturday and came away with a statement win over No. 3 ranked USC, 74-61. Irish guards, Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles, were electric, combining for 44 points. Sonia Citron understood her (defensive) assignment and kept Trojan star, JuJu Watkins, to 5 points in the first half. The game was a sellout and attended by WNBA royalty including Candace Parker, Cheryl Parker, Cameron Brink, and Cheney Ogwumike. 

This being Los Angeles, there were also plenty of non-hoop stars there including three big ones: Ted Lasso, People’s 2020 “Sexiest Man of the Year”, and Snoop Dogg - or, if you prefer, Jason Sudeikis, Michael B. Jordan, and Calvin Corozar Broadus Jr. 

You’re welcome for that little bit of trivia. Also, Calvin’s outfit was something …

11/17/2024

Notre Dame had a (mostly) fun week. They started by signing five-star recruit, Leah Macy, on Wednesday morning, thumped James Madison at home that night, 92-46, and wrapped things up on the road at Lafayette with another win over the weekend, 91-55. Hannah Hidalgo led all scoring in both games with 24 and 29 points and freshman Kate Koval pulled down a combined 35 rebounds (!) in the two victories.

Irish forward, Liatu King, missed Sunday’s game as she was still in concussion protocol. She joined a large group of injured players - so much so that only seven players dressed against the Leopards. Then, strangely, in a 36 point blowout, the seventh player, Sarah Cernugel, only saw four minutes of action. Huh?

Hey coach - minor suggestion; use that (short) bench more. There is a long, long way to go ...

11/10/2024

Looking at the 2024/2025 season for ND women’s basketball team, expectations are high. The backcourt of Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo may be the best in the country, the opening AP ranking of 6 is high, and the preseason prognosticators have the Irish as a realistic title contender. They just need to stay healthy coming off the prior year where injuries hampered the team all season long and they exited with a loss in the Sweet Sixteen.

Monday night saw a season-opening win over Mercyhurst, 105-61. Good start, right? Well, all-ACC player Sonia Citron missed the game with a foot injury, 1,000 point scorer Maddy Westbeld is out for a month or two also with a foot injury, and KK Bransford who was first off the bench last year has decided to medically redshirt this season due to leg issues.

I refer fans of the program to the last sentence in the opening paragraph … they “just” need to stay healthy.