SOUTH BEND, Ind. — That Olivia Miles’ comeback from March knee surgery hasn’t yet revealed a clear timeline for merging into normalcy isn’t the angst bomb for Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey that having an All-American in limbo would seem to engender.
Even if it extends beyond Notre Dame’s season-opening showdown with another probable preseason top 10 team, South Carolina, Nov. 6. in Paris.
“I’m just kind of playing it by ear and trusting how she feels and kind of trusting what's the best scenario for her,” Ivey told Inside ND Sports this past week during a quick pitstop back in South Bend between attending the WNBA All-Star game July 15 in Las Vegas, and flying to Madrid, Spain, this weekend to take in the latter stages of the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup.
“And, so that's where I'm at. So, I'll be prepared for either scenario.”
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Miles’ rehab being “ahead of schedule” in post-op week 15 is part of the wave of reassurance. What the rest of her team has done this summer, with Miles “coaching” from the sideline, is the other significant piece.
Not the least of which is incoming freshman point guard Hannah Hidalgo’s seven-game rampage through the World Cup in helping lead Team USA to the gold medal, capped by a 69-66 victory Sunday over host Spain in the finals. Hidalgo put up nine points, four rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the final game.
The 5-foot-6 McDonald’s All American Game co-MVP back in late March was tied for second on a balanced USA team in scoring (10.7 per game), tied for first in minutes played (20.1), and first in assists (5.4) and steals (3.1). She also rebounded at a 3.4 per-game clip and set World Cup single-game records for steals (8) and assists (13).
Rising sophomore Cassandre Prosper has also surged on the international stage, averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.8 blocked shots for Team Canada (6-1) before missing its bronze-medal-winning victory over France Sunday (80-73 in overtime) with an apparent minor injury.
Significantly, Prosper has found her shooting touch (.461 overall/.400 from the 3-point arc) after laboring for consistency in that area during her 22-game run as an early enrolled freshman that replaced her senior high school season in Canada (.321/.217).
“Their confidence offensively has been the thing that I've been impressed by the most,” Ivey said of Hidalgo and Prosper. “And both of them love to play defense. That's always refreshing to watch them impact the games so much.”
The tradeoff is that their respective international commitments have prevented either from spending much time playing with their ND teammates this summer in South Bend. Hidalgo spent three weeks early in the summer, but couldn’t enroll in summer school and will take her first college classes beginning Aug. 22.
Prosper was able to complete some schoolwork online but played ever less with her Irish teammates — just one week.
“It’s so worth it, the time missed at home, because I'll always feel like the international experiences will help them down the road and will help their leadership with us,” Ivey said. “And when you're competing at the highest level, I feel like that's the best type of experience in basketball you can play, especially in the summertime.
“So, I know that they're going to bring back those experiences for themselves individually that will eventually help the team.”
Hidalgo and Prosper will reconvene with their Notre Dame teammates next weekend in Europe for a two-game foreign tour of Croatia and Greece, where they’ll compete against club teams. The Irish fly out Saturday and return to South Bend on Aug. 8, two weeks before fall-semester classes get underway.
“We actually have this foreign tour every four to five years,” Ivey said. “And it's part of the Notre Dame experience. It’s like a bonding experience as well, but also giving them the experience of a lifetime. And we're really big about having that kind of experience for our student-athletes.”
It’ll be a reacclimation project of sorts for a couple of seniors who will be heavily counted upon to bring a front-court presence to a team with a glut of guard talent.
Forward Natalija Marshall (6-5) spent some time away from the team doing a study-abroad stint in South Africa and also was in Washington, D.C., earlier this month on the ACC’s Unity Tour.
“She's had some really great experiences this summer and she's been really good when she has been with us,” Ivey said of Marshall, who averaged 3.5 points and 2.0 rebounds last season in a reserve role. “She had battled injuries the first couple of years here, but she's healthy now. So everyone's going to see a little bit more of her next year, of her development, because she has had a healthy summer and she had a lot of opportunities to get a lot of reps.”
Meanwhile, Maddy Westbeld (6-3) is finally getting up to speed after spending most of the summer recovering from a lower-body injury that nagged her much of last season and kept her from competing for Team USA this summer in international 3-on-3 competition.
“We've tried just being very purposeful and intentional with her, so she’s back in workouts,” Ivey said of Notre Dame’s leader in blocked shots (38) and one of its top scorers (11.2) and rebounders (6.6). “We were trying to make sure she was completely healthy. So, we kind of shut her down for a little bit. But now she's been ramped back up, so she's good.”
Besides Hidalgo, Ivey has been integrating three other newcomers this summer to add to a team that went 27-6 overall, won the ACC regular-season title outright (15-3), and then reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 with Miles sidelined with her right knee injury sustained Feb. 26.
Fordham grad transfer guard Anna DeWolfe has been a revelation of sorts and is one of the reasons Ivey is confident the team can accommodate a less-ambitious recovery schedule for Miles if it comes to that.
The 5-8 three-time All-Atlantic 10 selection has 111 starts on her résumé and averaged 17.0 points a game during her four seasons at Fordham.
“I knew honestly just playing against Anna what she was going to bring and that she was the absolute perfect fit for us,” Ivey said. “When Liv [Miles] watches on the side, her eyes just light up with Anna, the things that she can do. She's been phenomenal.
“She brings this energy when she gets on the floor, because she kind of plays with a grit. She has a lot of confidence. And I feel like that's kind of contagious with the team, especially again for her coming in and trying to learn. But she's very comfortable taking on that leadership role, being very vocal and being a scorer for us. And that's what I I told her I wanted her to come in and do.”
The other newcomers are 6-2 Pepperdine grad transfer Becky Obinma and 6-1 freshman Emma Risch. Obinma, who started her college career at TCU, is a forward. Risch is a guard and was one of the top 3-point shooters in high school nationally last season and also a McDonald’s All-American.
“She's a sniper, because she can shoot the ball so well,” Ivey said of Risch. “With her size, I've said this before, I compare her to Alicia Ratay, from the (2001) national championship team. That's how pure of a shooter she is. She is shooting the ball extremely well. And she's always shot-ready. It's been just incredible watching her and working with her.”
The Irish lost just two players from last season’s roster — 5-7 guard Dara Mabrey and 6-4 center Lauren Ebo, and Obinma will try to help offset the latter, though they’re very different players.
“She's been a great fit, especially off the court,” Ivey said. “We’ve always had great chemistry and have been a tight-knit group, but she's kind of stepped right in and we all feel like we've known her for years.
“She's kind of adjusting to the pace and just trying to find her way. I feel like she's very athletic and a little undersized for a forward, but she runs like a track star. She's got long arms, very athletic. And so, that's been really great to see as far as her presence on the block. She's just been growing and learning and absorbing the offense really, really well. So, just kind of taking it day by day.”
Eventually, it will be time for Miles to fit back in. Playing in front of Hidalgo. Playing with Hidalgo. Helping make her better. Being the face of Notre Dame women’s basketball again.
“Especially because I've had two ACL [tears] myself as a player, I kind of know that process,” Ivey said. “And Liv and I have had multiple transparent open conversations about how she feels, what this looks like for her and basically kind of just trusting the process, trusting her healing process, trusting what she feels and what our medical team lets me know.
“She's having an incredible summer. Her rehab has been going great. She's done a fantastic job of getting herself back as far as extension and flexion and things that she needs at this point. And when she’s ready, we’ll be ready for her.”
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