2025-2026 Notre Dame Women's Basketball

[sfk324]

Not to make it political, but it's entirely political, so it's unavoidable in this case. The rumored issue was that Miles is super woke and drove a divide in the team because Hidalgo is not and wouldn't apologize for some stuff. Alleged mean girl / bully behavior and then Miles effectively quit on the team when she didn't get her way.

I also put it on Ivey as a coach because locker room culture is 100% on you and what you tolerate. But also even with perfect hindsight I don't know what you do in a Shaq + Kobe situation.

It wasn't a problem until it was a problem, which was after NCState. The effort against FSU was unacceptable, and everyone who cared about the on court results knew it. It's why Ivey put Sonia at that post-FSU press conference and not Miles or HH. It's not about either of them, it's about the team and both of them needed to realize that. If you want everything to be about you, don't play a team sport.

Whatever was done or not about HH's comments, you can either accept it or not, but at some point you have to move on. Miles wasn't the only non-straight person on the team, but seemed to be the only one who wouldn't move on from it. She's still on about it a year later.

 

[irishrb]

irish only down 32-25 at the half as they are playing with a lot of fight today

Yeah, actually playing pretty well. Very unfortunate that Moore has hit a 2 game brick wall slump on her shooting. If she's making threes, like she normally does, who knows.

 

[DCK_1981]

Down less than 10 in a game you’re a 29.5 point dog in the 2nd half is a good effort. ND isn’t winning this game but keeping it close would be good for program momentum.

 

[NumbersGuy0520]

Cowles looks absolutely lost out there.

 

[NumbersGuy0520]

Good season lady Irish. Exceeded expectations come tournament time; maybe this is something they can build off of.

If you want to beat an undefeated UConn, you can’t let them take 10 more shots than you, and you need some better inside presence.

 

[stpeteirish]

Cowles looks absolutely lost out there.

Has all year. And her back up, Sanchez, even worse. We got this far is a credit to Ivey but she should have done a better job in the portal.

 

[burmafrd1944]

We gave them a real fight and made them know it

We MUST get some inside ability

That has been Ivey's big weakness in recruiting; the big ones she gets either do not work out or leave

 

[IrishLax]

Tbh most bullish I have been on ND in awhile. No business being in that game for three quarters. Not sure it's possible to overhaul the roster to the point needed to win a championship but at least they are competing now. Completely different level of play from earlier in the year.

 

[irishrb]

Definitely an impressive run that totally surprised me. Will be interesting to see the dynamic of the team next year, with what will be a lot of new faces.

 

[Irish5Saint]

Tbh most bullish I have been on ND in awhile. No business being in that game for three quarters. Not sure it's possible to overhaul the roster to the point needed to win a championship but at least they are competing now. Completely different level of play from earlier in the year.

Pete better have gotten those undergrad adjustments for non-football sports as well.

 

[arrowryan]

 

[irishandy]

This team definitely exceeded expectations. They have a great recruiting class coming in and no matter who is on this team they follow Hannah's energy.

 

[Old Man Mike]

I hate to see them lose, but this wasn't that bad --> a great all-around effort vs a superior coach strategist (note how they consistently kept Hannah from messing with their ball-handling.) Hannah did what she could. Cass and KK worked their butts off -- Vanessa too. Great pride to show they were there to compete. No one could have figured that some bench player could make every shot and score 20 points.

Glad they will be able to honestly hold their heads up about the season. I know nothing about current rules, or if Hannah could possibly come back, but if she would, and if things were "happy" enough so that KK and Cass might come back, maybe something very good could be coming. ... regardless, they became a very watchable honorable team at the very end. I still believe that this was largely player-driven -- a LOT of player pride in the characters of Hannah, Cass, KK, and Vanessa (and I give a lot of credit to Vanessa de Jesus who became a very calm tough floor general.)

 

[burmafrd1944]

I hate to see them lose, but this wasn't that bad --> a great all-around effort vs a superior coach strategist (note how they consistently kept Hannah from messing with their ball-handling.) Hannah did what she could. Cass and KK worked their butts off -- Vanessa too. Great pride to show they were there to compete. No one could have figured that some bench player could make every shot and score 20 points.

Glad they will be able to honestly hold their heads up about the season. I know nothing about current rules, or if Hannah could possibly come back, but if she would, and if things were "happy" enough so that KK and Cass might come back, maybe something very good could be coming. ... regardless, they became a very watchable honorable team at the very end. I still believe that this was largely player-driven -- a LOT of player pride in the characters of Hannah, Cass, KK, and Vanessa (and I give a lot of credit to Vanessa de Jesus who became a very calm tough floor general.)

UConn is so talented and deep; it would have needed a near miracle to beat them. But we were in it for most of the game and made them work for it. Better teams, supposedly, then us, looked a lot worse against them. And after the way they destroyed us in the season I feared it would happen again. You see what they did to Syracuse - a good team - they were up over 40 points in the first half. So our ladies can walk way from this season with their heads up.

next year we will see; Hannah is coming back and from all indications so far we do not seem to be losing anyone that matters; and the recruiting class (if it holds) is great. Next season will be on Ivey more than ever. She needs to show she is in the elite tier of college coaches if we are going to challenge for a Championship.

 

[Irish#1]

Solid finish to the season. Should have momentum for next season. This will be the year we know if Ivey is the right coach.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Credit to Ivey. She's caught a ton of flak, much of it deserved, but the effort down the line from this team was extremely impressive.

 

[ozzman]

That's some high praise

 

[BabyIrish]

In terms of next year, I do not think Cass has any more eligibility left. Both KK and Hannah have one more year. Hannah is not eligible to go to the draft so unless she transfers (which I don't think will happen) she will be back. I think if KK wanted to leave she would have two years ago. Don't see that happening either. We've got 4 recruits and Lacy healthy so that gives you 7 to work with. I would say you need at least 2 transfers to build for the 4 and 5 spot and then another transfer to give you a roster of 10. Then you can actually have proper rotation and accountability.

Great fight from the girls today. Ivey had them bought in. I do believe she still is a step behind the elite coaches in terms of x and o's. The crazy thing is the first play of both halves the team had exceptional passing and off ball movement, and both generated high percentage shots, one leading to a bucket the other to a shooting foul. I really do not understand why that can't be done throughout the course of the game. Maybe next year.

 

[sfk324]

In terms of next year, I do not think Cass has any more eligibility left. Both KK and Hannah have one more year. Hannah is not eligible to go to the draft so unless she transfers (which I don't think will happen) she will be back. I think if KK wanted to leave she would have two years ago. Don't see that happening either. We've got 4 recruits and Lacy healthy so that gives you 7 to work with. I would say you need at least 2 transfers to build for the 4 and 5 spot and then another transfer to give you a roster of 10. Then you can actually have proper rotation and accountability.

Great fight from the girls today. Ivey had them bought in. I do believe she still is a step behind the elite coaches in terms of x and o's. The crazy thing is the first play of both halves the team had exceptional passing and off ball movement, and both generated high percentage shots, one leading to a bucket the other to a shooting foul. I really do not understand why that can't be done throughout the course of the game. Maybe next year.

Cass has another year available as a medical red shirt if she wants it. She only played in 5 games before being injured and never returning in 23-24.

 

[UPMich_NDfan]

Throw in a splash in the portal and they might have a squad next year!

 

[UPMich_NDfan]

Credit to Ivey. She's caught a ton of flak, much of it deserved, but the effort down the line from this team was extremely impressive.

Agreed. It looked at one point she had lost control but what she did this team was super impressive. They weren’t that good but have a generational talent and she figured out a way to win with pretty much just that. Impressive.

 

[Irish#1]

Agreed. It looked at one point she had lost control but what she did this team was super impressive. They weren’t that good but have a generational talent and she figured out a way to win with pretty much just that. Impressive.

Might be an understatement.

 

[BabyIrish]

Cass has another year available as a medical red shirt if she wants it. She only played in 5 games before being injured and never returning in 23-24.

Did not know that. If Cass is back, and you key in on 2 transfers at the center position, this could be a team that makes a run next year.

 

[irishrb]

Did not know that. If Cass is back, and you key in on 2 transfers at the center position, this could be a team that makes a run next year.

Yeah, easier said than done...Seems to be the achilles heel of both programs...I'm still amazed at how well this team did considering what they had at that position this year.

 

[sfk324]

There are only a handful of legitimately good bigs. Would it be nice to get one? Sure. But I'd rather a really good 4 like Jess Shepherd who can compete with anyone than a mediocre 5 like Koval who struggles against teams you need her to be good against.

As for Cass, the pre-tournament expectation was that she'd be going pro and forgoing the extra year. She enrolled early with the plan of being able to leave early as a result, and it doesn't seem like her thought process had changed. Maybe the tournament run will have an impact, and I think she'd be well served in returning. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Old Man Mike]

As to what's best for Cass, that is, of course, her business. But I'd think that the key would be whether she/they believe she'd be WNBA drafted. In my opinion, as I've stated, she's good enough to make a team, even start as a defense/hustle/glue/drive-you-nuts-with-effort role player, but are the WNBA drafters really looking anything but points and blocks/rebounds? If not likely to be drafted, then come back to college -- if not ND, then somewhere. I could imagine her wanting to go elsewhere to prove her offensive skill potentials, since Ivey seems not willing/aware to do that (maybe that's Hannah; maybe not.) But we're talking about a Canadian National team player here; not chopped liver.

 

[irishrb]

There are only a handful of legitimately good bigs. Would it be nice to get one? Sure. But I'd rather a really good 4 like Jess Shepherd who can compete with anyone than a mediocre 5 like Koval who struggles against teams you need her to be good against.

As for Cass, the pre-tournament expectation was that she'd be going pro and forgoing the extra year. She enrolled early with the plan of being able to leave early as a result, and it doesn't seem like her thought process had changed. Maybe the tournament run will have an impact, and I think she'd be well served in returning. But I'm not holding my breath.

Interesting....absolutely agree...I would assume it would be in her best interest to stay...and just figured it would happen....I do suppose her draft status would be the make or break.

 

[burmafrd1944]

Ivey appeared to learn a costly lesson last year about team chemistry and what a HC needs to do there

That is very important

now she needs to get better at the X's and O's

 

[arrowryan]

Ivey appeared to learn a costly lesson last year about team chemistry and what a HC needs to do there

That is very important

now she needs to get better at the X's and O's

And get better at being strategic on how to use/spend NIL.

 

[phillyirish]

Throw in a splash in the portal and they might have a squad next year!
View attachment 3062913

Seeing as our only freshmen this year didn’t see the floor at all, I’m not sure we can count on any of the incoming class to make a big splash.