Hannah Hidalgo and the rest of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team were given 48 hours to celebrate, rest and let their bodies and minds recover following Saturday’s 74-61 takedown of then-No. 3 USC in Los Angeles in front of a celebrity-pocked crowd at the Galen Center.
So, what does a day off look like for a player who plays like she’d refuse one?
The 5-foot-6 sophomore guard plots ways for her and the Irish (5-0) can get even better defensively than their No. 9 national standing in field-goal-percentage defense (.321) and Hidalgo’s status as the No. 1 individual in steals (5.2 per game) might suggest.
That along with the expected recovery tools of hot tub, massage and compression therapy.
“I feel like nobody kind of understands how good we can be defensively,” Hidalgo told a group of reporters earlier this week just ahead of a weekday practice session.
“Of course, there’s a lot of improvement that we have to do. Just being a little more disciplined and a little smarter, but a lot of people focus on our offense, but we definitely can handle our defensive side too.”
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The nation’s No. 6 team in scoring offense, with six players averaging double-digit scoring, got a bump up in the national rankings to No. 3 in the latest AP poll on Monday. And on Wednesday they took a plane to the Cayman Islands to put it to the test.
And what awaits them there before plunging into another top 5 matchup, with Texas, next Thursday at Purcell Pavilion? Not cupcakes.
TCU, ND’s Friday opponent at 5 p.m. EST, and Utah, their Saturday assignment at 5 p.m., are a combined 11-1 with the only blemish a two-point loss by the Utes on the road at Northwestern. It’s all part of the Cayman Islands Classic, a five-team affair in George Town in which each one plays two games over a three-game stretch.
ND’s happen to come on back-to-back days, something ND coach Niele Ivey wanted her team to experience early in the season to prepare them for the ACC Tournament format in March.
TCU (6-0), a transfer portal-reliant team with 11 players who started their college careers at a different school, is ranked 17th and has a win this season over ACC heavyweight and 20th-ranked NC State, and features former LSU guard Hailey Van Lith in the backcourt. The Irish are familiar with Van Lith from her multiple seasons at Louisville in the ACC.
“I’m always talking about quieting the noise,” ND coach Niele Ivey said about handling ND’s early-season schedule. “There’s always going to be a lot of noise with highs or lows, wins or losses. You have to focus on the main thing, which is us, which is the locker room, which is making sure that we get better every day.
“So, that’s always my constant message to them. I think that game Saturday, we enjoyed it. It was a big statement win for the program and women’s basketball. But now we’ve got to focus on the next game. It’s really TCU, take care of that. And then it’s Utah, even though it’s a back-to-back.
“You have to be very intentional about making sure that they’re locked in and they’re focused on taking one day at a time and just focus on getting better.”
And Ivey believes Hidalgo is better than the version who earned All-America honors as a freshman last season. She comes into the TCU matchup as the nation’s third-leading scorer (24.8 ppg).
“The biggest improvement is her composure,” Ivey said. “She has the experience, and I think everyone is now seeing a more-composed Hannah. Athletically, her shot is a lot better. Her left-handed finish, which is something she really focused on, is a lot better.
“You’re seeing a more poised point guard, but somebody who’s also has a lot of help. She has a lot of help with Olivia Miles being back. So she can just be a wing at times and sometimes run the point.
“Pleased with her leadership, pleased with her composure and how well she’s come out poised for the last five games.”
Tall task
On Saturday at USC, Irish freshman center Kate Koval was tasked with defending the player projected to be the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, 6-3 forward Kiki Iriafen. She helped harass the Stanford transfer into 5-of-15 shooting from the field and four turnovers.
This Friday, she gets another elite frontcourt player, 6-7 TCU center Sedona Prince. Projected as the No. 6 WNBA overall pick — two spots behind ND guard Olivia Miles — Prince started her career at Oregon and was a former teammate of injured Irish senior center Kylee Watson.
Prince comes into the matchup with ND as the Horned Frogs’ leading scorer (20.7) and rebounder (9.7) and is second in the nation in blocked shots (3.8).
Who’s No. 1?
Koval at 4.8. The 6-5 Ukraine native ’s also among the nation’s leaders in rebounds (11.8), and is scoring at an 11.8 ppg clip.
“Kate is a phenomenal player,” Hidalgo offered. "She’s extremely smart. She has a phenomenal IQ. She doesn’t look like a freshman and her mindset is definitely not like a freshman.”
So what does the next step look like for Koval?
“I think she’s still just getting in shape and just figuring it out,” Ivey said. “Honestly, she’s in the fire, so every game is a different aspect for her to learn. And she doesn’t have anybody in front of her who can show her, so she’s just in it.
“But I think she’s doing a great job of just growing every game. She’s blocking shots. She’s bringing a presence like we’ve never had with her size. You’re going to see her scoring more, even from the perimeter.
“Right now she’s still finding her spots. But I think offensively, you’re going to see her do a lot more. She’s a great passer. I think she finishes really well, and she’s a really great screener. So, I think you’re going to see more of her offensively. Her stretch from the block is what you’re going to see a little bit more of.”
Staying engaged
Liatu’s King’s return last Saturday from a head injury gives the Irish eight healthy players again after a one-game absence. And the Pitt grad transfer forward finds herself among the nation’s leaders in field-goal percentage at .711.
It appears it will be a while longer until the available playing rotation expands again. Starting forward Maddy Westbeld has publicly stated she expects to be back from summer foot surgery around the time conference play starts in earnest, so about another month.
The recovery timeline for Marquette transfer Liza Karlen’s lower-leg injury is believed to be similar, though Ivey has only termed it as “week to week.” Karlen suffered the injury in Notre Dame’s Oct. 30 exhibition game against Davenport and has not played in a regular-season game yet for the Irish.
What Ivey is clear about is how she’s keeping them engaged with the team while on the road to recovery.
“I think Carlos [Knox], our player development coach, has done a fantastic job of keeping them engaged,” Ivey said. “If that means working on ball handling in a chair, helping on the sidelines, being a passer, even in drills when [they] can’t be in drills.
“We meet every day as a performance team as to what they can do. Sometimes it might be free throws. Sometimes it might be passing. I’m always asking them questions while we’re watching film, so they’re still hearing their voices.”
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