One of the reasons Notre Dame continues to play like the No. 1 women’s college basketball team in the country after ascending to that spot two games and three days ago is what Pitt grad transfer Liatu King was willing to add to an already strong program culture.
Toughness. Unselfishness. And sometimes making a big statistical sacrifice for the overall good of the growth and chemistry of the team.
And sometimes all that shows up as prominently as it should in the stat line — hers or whoever the 6-foot forward has the assignment to shut down.
Thursday night at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., it was conspicuous in both places as the Irish continued to flex their evolving defensive muscle, this time in an 82-42 waxing of host Miami, in their 19th straight ACC win.
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“It looks good having 20-some points,” said King, who contributed 13 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and zero turnovers in 28 minutes on Thursday night. “But when you're not on an as-successful team, it doesn't really matter. I care about winning and making history. And I feel like I could do that with this team.”
Notre Dame made a dent in history on defense against a Miami team that had taken ACC upper-tier teams NC State (76-74) and Florida State (83-82) to the final horn the past two games and put up a lot of points in both narrow losses.
Collectively, though, the Irish (24-2, 15-0) held the Hurricanes (13-13, 3-12) to season lows in points (42), shooting percentage (.268) and 3-point percentage (.000, 0-for-16). Individually, King helped make it a not-so-happy reunion for former Irish forward Nat Marshall.
Giving away five inches to the 6-5 grad senior, King helped hold Marshall to five points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field and blocked two of her shots. That included keeping Marshall from showing off the new dimension to her game.
In 75 career games with the Irish, Marshall attempted a grand total of one 3-pointer — and missed it. But with Miami, she had canned 28 this season coming into Thursday night and was an impressive 39% from the arc.
Against King and company, she went 0-for-6.
“I thought Liatu was amazing,” Ivey said. “She's been a big key to our success. And so, I just love when the stats kind of show the things that she does. She's so super tough, and it's just been just an incredible addition to our team.”
Senior guard Sonia Citron continued her recent offensive surge — with a game-high 19 points, including three 3-pointers — and played at her season-long elite defensive level. She, Cass Prosper and Hannah Hidalgo all rotated onto Miami leader scorer, grad senior guard Haley Cavinder.
Cavinder finished 4-of-15 from the field for eight points, halting her 21-game streak of double-figures scoring, including 27 in the last game, against Florida State. Against the Irish she and twin Hannah, also a Miami starter, combined for 14 points. That’s roughly five fewer than what Haley averages by herself.
“We came into the season saying that we want our identity to follow in our defense,” Ivey said. “And I think with the addition of Cass coming back from injury, the addition of Liatu has allowed us to do that. Soni is the best two-way defender, but we've also brought a lot of athleticism that helps us be a better defensive team.
“And I think they’re great at locking in on the scout [scouting report]. We really challenge them defensively in practice, and I feel like it's coming. We're growing every day in in that category, which I love, especially as a coach, in this part of the season.”
The Irish also got off to a great start, racing to a 10-0 lead and closer the first quarter and starting the second with a 16-0 run and a 26-6 command.
Citron had eight rebounds to go along with her 19 points. The nation’s No. 2 scorer, sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo, joined Citron and King in double figures with 18 points, as did Olivia Miles with 14. Walk-on Bella Tehrani scored the final points of the game, the first of her Irish career, in a drive to the basket in traffic.
Miles, meanwhile, added seven rebounds and six assists, with a few of them highlight-reel caliber. But she did have five turnovers as the Irish collectively finished with 16.
“A lot of them were unforced turnovers,” Ivey noted, “so making better reads in transition is something we try to break down every day in practice.
“So, putting them in the scenarios against practice guys, that makes them read pressure situations. That's what we do all the time, and that's something that I think we could continue to grow in.”
The Irish, with two home games next week, have a chance to lock up the ACC regular-season title and also clinch the top seed in the ACC Tournament if they can continue their growth curve Sunday at No. 12 NC State (21-5, 13-2).
That's a noon ET start on ESPN, with College Gameday originating from Raleigh, N.C., preceding the game.
Notre Dame is the only team so far that has already locked up a double-bye into the quarterfinals of the ACC Tourney, March 5-9 in Greensboro, N.C.
“I'm really proud of this group,” Ivey said. “I have a resilient team, and we're doing something special. And again, just want to stay healthy and try to continue to get better, and keep winning.”
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