Notre Dame women's basketball coach opens up about 'failures' ahead of NCAA Tournament
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Notre Dame women's basketball coach Niele Ivey is leaning on the team's end-of-the-regular season losses and struggles as a teaching tool as the No. 3 seed Fighting Irish prepare to begin the NCAA Tournament on Friday against 14th-seeded Stephen F. Austin.
The Irish (26-5) lost three of their final five games to close the regular season, a skid that dropped them from a projected No. 1 seed despite key wins earlier in the year over Texas, USC, UConn and Duke. After entering March ranked No. 1 behind standout sophomore Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame's late-season slide forced a recalibration.
"I think those were setbacks for us, lessons for us," Ivey said, as reported by Curt Rallo of the Associated Press. "It was definitely hard the last couple weeks trying to get back to who we are, our identity. As long as you learn from those lessons, those failures, they can always provide growth. That's what I'm looking for for our team."
Ivey said her team had a short break following its ACC semifinal loss to Duke to reset mentally and physically. The rest, she said, helped players return with a sharper focus and energy as they began preparation for NCAA tournament play.
Notre Dame women’s basketball led by strong players
Notre Dame leads the country in three-point shooting percentage at 39.5%, but shot just 25.5% (14-of-55) from deep in the three late losses. Hidalgo continues to lead the Irish with 24.2 points per game, while Olivia Miles is the only Division I player with three triple-doubles this season. Miles averages 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
The Fighting Irish face a Stephen F. Austin team (29-5) that is riding a 15-game winning streak and is known for its perimeter shooting. The Ladyjacks attempted a program-record 320 threes this season and are led by Faith Blackstone's 14.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
SFA head coach Leonard Bishop said his team will need to be "dialed in" offensively and defensively to challenge Notre Dame in South Bend.
"I think we have to be dialed in on the defensive end and ultimately, you don't win the game if you don't score more points, so we've got to put the ball in the bucket," he said. "I think no matter if it's a 3, a layup, a free throw, we've got to be hitting (Friday). We've got to be dialed in and I think feeding off of our defense can allow us to create some offense as well."
Tipoff is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. CST.
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