SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Fordham grad transfer guard Anna DeWolfe was one of three Notre Dame departing seniors asked to give speeches at the Irish women’s basketball awards ceremony Tuesday night at Purcell Pavilion.
“When you play for the national championship next year,” she said in conclusion, “I need you to get me two tickets.”
No one who is set to be a part of that run did anything but endorse the notion, after reaching the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 this past season and fashioning a 28-7 record with an injury-diluted roster.
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“It took me some time to turn the page,” All-America point guard Hannah Hidalgo said of a 70-65 loss to Oregon State, March 29 in Albany, N.Y., that truncated ND’s late-season surge. “I was right back in the gym after the game.
“Obviously, that game is motivation, because we were just one step off from the Elite Eight. Obviously, with the team we have coming in next year, we’re going to be [in the] Final Four and [win a] national championship. So it’s exciting, and it kind of motivates me for next season.”
Now she needs to be motivated to work on her own speech-writing. The record-setting freshman was called up to the stage four times on Tuesday night, one to give the benediction and three times to accept individual awards.
She admitted upon being named Defensive Player of the Year that she hadn’t prepared even one speech, but she ad-libbed one. Then she and junior guard Sonia Citron were named co-MVPs, and she ad-libbed again.
When she was given the Woody Miller Player of the Year Award — voted on by the media and named for the late South Bend Tribune sports writer who long covered the program — she ran out of words.
“I don’t have anything else to say,” she said with a smirk. “Thank you.”
But when the subject turned to someone other than herself, Hidalgo had plenty to say. Like about the photos and video circulating of her and returning All-American guard Olivia Miles on social media, playing together during the team’s postseason workouts.
Miles missed the entirety of this past season after suffering a serious knee injury Feb. 26, 2023 in that season’s regular-season finale at Louisville.
“Obviously, it’s two great point guards, just being able to play with each other, play off each other,” Hidalgo said. “It’s going to be exciting just seeing how Liv plays. Her style is just different and something nobody else has.
“And so just being able to work out with that is just going to be kind of scary for everybody coming in next season. It’s going to be tough.”
She means for the opponents.
Westbeld reflects on decision to return
Senior forward Maddy Westbeld was named Most Improved Player on Tuesday night, and recently gave herself a chance to improve even more at the college level by redeeming her COVID option season and returning for a fifth year at Notre Dame in 2024-25.
“It was a difficult decision,” she said. “I talked to a lot of people in my circle — my friends, my family, just people in my corner. I think right after the game I kind of got some clarity of just — it was unfinished business that I needed to take care of and I needed to take care of with this team.”
Westbeld was referring to the Oregon State loss in the Sweet 16.
“And so, I expressed it to coach [Niele] Ivey, and we were just really, really excited. It was a touching moment, for sure.”
Westbeld, one of four starters returning, was third on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and first in rebounding (8.7). She has 12 double-doubles in 2024 after accruing nine total in her first three seasons.
She shot .458 from the field, .368 from the 3-point arc and .784 from the free-throw line. She was second on the team in blocked shots (39) and second in steals (52), behind the nation’s leader in that category, Hidalgo (160, 4.6 per game).
“Her leadership and knowing what coach Ivey wants, knowing how to play Irish basketball,” Hidalgo began listing Westbeld’s assets. “And she’s such a dog. Nobody can really guard her. Her ability to do so many things is exciting, and next year nobody’s going to be able to handle that.”
Portal perusing
Two intriguing transfer candidates have made it to campus for official visits this week, and both would qualify as grad transfers.
The latest is Pitt senior Liatu King, who arrived Tuesday night. The 6-foot forward was named the ACC's Most Improved Player averaged a double-double (18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds) this past season for the Panthers (8-24) as well as 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocked shots -- all career highs.
The first-team All-ACC selection averaged 35.5 minutes a game, shot .523 from the field and .711 from the free-throw line. She has never attempted a 3-point shot in college. She’s from Washington D.C., and attended Bishop McNamara and is a two time ACC All-Academic selection.
And a pain for Notre Dame to contain.
In a near upset (71-66) of the Irish in January, King put up 34 points and 13 rebounds on the Irish in Pittsburgh. A month late in South Bend, Notre Dame had an easier time with the Panthers (78-53), but King still recorded a double-double — 18 points and 14 rebounds.
On Monday, Alabama senior forward/guard Aaliyah Nye took a visit to ND. She was a second-team All-SEC selection and one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the country.
She averaged 14.1 points, 3.1 rebounds for Alabama (24-10) this past season and made a school-record 108 3-pointers and was fifth nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.18).
She shot .417 from the arc this season, and .451 her junior year. She is from East Lansing, Mich., and played her first two college seasons at Illinois.
Notre Dame has already added from the transfer portal as Ivey revealed Tuesday night. Sophomore guard KK Bransford has pulled a U-turn and will return to play for the Irish next season.
Tip-ins
• Ivey noted that Notre Dame averaged 6,443 fans for their home games this past season with three sellouts.
“The energy was different at the end of the year,” she said. “It was electric.”
• Other award winners besides Hidalgo, Citron and Westbeld Tuesday evening were Cass Prosper and former walk-on Sarah Cernugel for the Most Spirited award, and Cernugel for the Student-Athlete of the Year Award.
• Former McDonald’s All-American guard Jenna Brown spent the final two years of her six-year college career at Notre Dame after spending the first four at Stanford. In three of the last four seasons, injuries kept her from playing as much as one minute in one game, including this past season.
The speech she wrote and read Tuesday from her phone was touching and gave some insight into her perseverance and what her journey looked like.
“You don’t get to choose what happens to you,” she said, “but you get to choose how you respond.”
• The lone freshman to join the 2024-25 team, 6-foot-5 center Kate Koval, is set to enroll in June. The Ukraine native played her high school ball at national prep power Long Island (N.Y.) Lutheran, a team that featured three McDonald’s All-Americans on the winning East team earlier this month in Houston.
“Just coming in and being a sponge and learning as much as she can,” Ivey said of her hopes for Koval this summer. “She’s just a phenomenal person and player, and she’s just excited to be able to be part of our system, learning our system and then building chemistry with the team.”
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