Tag: Niele Ivey

Photos of Notre Dame alumnus Jackie Young in the WNBA Finals

The Irish should be proud to have helped develop this champion.

Former Notre Dame player [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] has joined a club previously occupied only by [autotag]Ruth Riley[/autotag]. By winning the WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces, Young is the second Irish player to win a a national championship, an Olympic gold medal and a WNBA title. She was on the Irish’s national title team in 2018, and she was on the gold-medal team for the inaugural 3-on-3 women’s basketball competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

During the Aces’ finals victory over the Connecticut Sun, Young averaged 12.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game while shooting 38.3% from the field. Those numbers as well as matching Riley’s distinction caught the attention of Irish coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]:

Appreciate this moment, Irish fans, because it might be a while before we see this again. This program has built some winners, but it rarely churns out winners quite like this. Until the next one comes, enjoy these photos of Young in the 2022 WNBA Finals:

Notre Dame to play California in Shamrock Classic in St. Louis

Football not your thing? Get to St. Louis for a women’s hoops game one day instead.

Football no longer is the only sport in which Notre Dame and California will play each other this year. As the guys on the gridiron get set for battle at Notre Dame Stadium, the schools’ respective women’s basketball program are looking forward to their own meeting. The teams will play each other Nov. 12 in the first Shamrock Classic at St. Louis’ Enterprise Center, where Irish coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] won the national title along with her other Irish teammates in 2001:

Ivey is not the only St. Louis native coaching this game. It’s also the city where Bears coach Charmin Smith is from, so you better believe both coaches are looking forward to this a lot.

Also of note is that this will be the first women’s basketball game to be shown on NBC and Peacock. Don’t worry about it interfering with football though. That program is facing Navy in Baltimore that day, so it won’t even be on the same network.

Here’s hoping this event is a big success (and an Irish win).

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Charel Allen returns to Notre Dame as assistant coach

It’s a homecoming for one of the Irish’s own.

In the mid-2000s, [autotag]Charel Allen[/autotag] was one of Notre Dame’s biggest stars. She was an All-American twice, an All-Big East First Team selection twice and was team captain as both a junior and a senior. She finished her collegiate career with 1,566 points, ranking her 15th in Irish history. Now, she’s coming back to South Bend as an assistant coach under [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] after five seasons on the staff at Cal State Fullerton.

After Notre Dame, she was drafted by the WNBA’s now-defunct Sacramento Monarchs, for whom she played six games in 2008. She then thrived over eight seasons in Bulgaria, winning five championships, being selected to the all-league first team four times and earning one player of the year honor.

Ivey has this to say about the hire:

“Excited to welcome Charel back to the Notre Dame family. Charel brings a high-level mentality that leads to great player development. She possesses experience at every level – collegiately, professionally and internationally. She’s a rising star in this industry. She’s extremely passionate and loyal and understands what it takes to excel as a student-athlete at Notre Dame.”

Best of luck to Allen in her return.

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Four former Notre Dame players named WNBA All-Stars

Which All-Star is your favorite?

[autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] isn’t long removed from coach, so her legacy in form of WNBA players will continue for some time. Eventually, we hope to see the same effects from [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]’s coaching. For now, Notre Dame fans should be pleased that four former Irish players have been named to the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game. No other university has more representation in this year’s event.

The number of Irish alumni in this year’s game became official with the announcement of the 12 reserves, On Saturday, they, along with the 10 selected starters, will be split up into teams captained by A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm. The teams then will face off in the game, which is being held in Chicago.

If you’re a Notre Dame women’s basketball enthusiast, you won’t be disappointed with this game. Here are the players for you to watch and reminisce about:

Notre Dame women make two additions via transfer portal

The Irish have some needed post help now.

Notre Dame has benefited from the transfer portal with the addition of two veteran post players. One is 6-foot-4 forward Kylee Watson, who comes to South Bend after two years at Oregon. The other is Lauren Ebo, who gives the Irish their only true center at the moment. After two years at Penn State, she heavily contributed to Texas making back-to-back Elite Eights.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] had this to say about Watson:

“Kylee is one of the most dynamic and versatile posts in her class. She can score at all three levels and is extremely explosive in transition, either running the floor or igniting the break. What I love about her most is her motor and toughness.”

Ivey also commented about Ebo:

“She brings a wealth of experience with deep runs in the NCAA Tournament the past two years. She is a true leader on and off the court. She’s a force inside and is a perfect fit for our team and our culture.”

The Irish also have added Stanford’s Jenna Brown from the portal. Here’s hoping both players can help Ivey make her first run to the Final Four as head coach.

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NC State deals Notre Dame heartbreaking defeat in NCAA Tournament

This one hurts.

Notre Dame had top-seeded NC State on the ropes in the Sweet 16 of the Bridgeport Regional in the NCAA Tournament. In fact, the Irish were mere seconds away from defeating the Wolfpack for the second time this season and getting back to the Elite Eight. Instead, the tables turned at the worst possible time, and the Irish will head home after losing a 66-63 heartbreaker.

The Irish (24-9) took the lead in the second quarter, during which they had a 26-14 scoring advantage over the Wolfpack (32-3). They led by as much as 10 without falling behind and still had a four-point advantage with 1:45 to go. That lead was cut to 66-63, and the game was about to be tied but for Elissa Cunane’s first missed free throw of the game. Maya Dodson got the rebound, and the Irish called a timeout hoping to milk the clock with 35 seconds left.

Out of the timeout, the worst possible thing happened, and it surely will haunt Dara Mabrey forever. Raina Perez picked the senior clean at the center-court logo and broke free for a wide-open layup with nobody in front of her, giving the Wolfpack the slimmest of leads. The Irish called their last timeout to set up a game-winning basket, but Maddy Westbeld missed a 3-pointer, and Perez got the rebound and was fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining. Perez made two free throws, and the stunned Irish could only watch the Wolfpack celebrate their incredible come-from-behind victory.

As predicted, Cunane was the Wolfpack’s most productive player with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but it was the defense that will be remembered most in this game. Kai Crutchfield had three of her four steals in the fourth quarter, and two of those led to four of her 14 points. Perez also had four steals, none bigger than the last one.

Olivia Miles nearly carried the Irish on her back to the finish line as she led all scorers with 21 points. Westbeld scored 13 points to go with eight rebounds and three steals. However, she also committed five of the Irish’s 16 turnovers.

This one will sting for the Irish for a while, especially after being outscored, 20-10, in the fourth quarter. At the same time, this was the season in which Niele Ivey was able to establish herself as the right person to lead the program going forward. Most of the team will be back next season, and only more progress can result. The Irish are back, and they’re not going away.

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Tale of the Tape: Team Stats – Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma

Which side’s numbers will win out?

Notre Dame wants to see how far it can go for Niele Ivey in her first NCAA Tournament as head coach. At the moment, the answer to that question will come during the Irish’s second-round game at Oklahoma. To this point, the Irish have gotten to where they are because of their awesome offense, timely defense and abilities to both share and take care of the ball. There’s no reason to think that won’t continue as long as the season lasts.

 

While the Irish have a nice offense, the Sooners have an elite one, which no doubt is helped by the large number of 3-pointers they make in each game. They also are one of the best in the country at passing the ball, so there is no doubt that all of this leads to ball movement that confuses opponents. Their Achilles heels are preventing points, the number of fouls and turnovers, so those should provide some openings for the Irish.

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Notre Dame to face Massachusetts in first round of NCAA Tournament

Are the Irish ready for the spotlight?

It’s odd to talk about Notre Dame not being in the NCAA Tournament for a while, but that’s exactly what has happened lately. Fortunately, that drought won’t continue this year. The Irish have been selected for their first March Madness appearance since 2019 and their first with Niele Ivey as their head coach. They have been seeded fifth in the Bridgeport Regional and will face Massachusetts in the first round.

This will be the third time the Irish and Minutewomen face each other. The Irish won both of their previous meetings. The first took place in the 1995 National Women’s Invitational Tournament, the precursor to the present-day Women’s NIT, and was a 90-72 win. The second time happened at Purcell Pavilion in November 2012 and ended with a 94-50 victory.

It’s been a long road to get back to respectability, but the Irish have done it. The question now is whether that can translate into tournament success for this year or if this simply is a building block for the future.

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Watch: Notre Dame celebrates its upsets win over NC State

Think they’re happy?

Unlike their male counterparts the night before, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team scored an upset at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish defeated No. 3 NC State, 69-66, to give Niele Ivey her first win over a top-five opponent. What do you do when you earn such a big victory? Celebrate, of course.

Naturally, the first celebration began on the court as soon as the clock hit zero, much to the delight of the fans who turned out:

When Ivey reached the locker room, a water celebration with her players was waiting for her:

With everybody gathered, it was time to break into their victory song (no, not the fight song):

When Ivey addressed her players, she said pretty much everything she could say:

Just for good measure, Sam Brunelle tweeted out her feelings:

So did Ivey:

If you didn’t believe it before, you definitely can now. Notre Dame is back among the best in women’s basketball, and it’s time to acknowledge it.

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No. 20 Notre Dame upsets No. 3 NC State

The biggest win to date of the Ivey Era!

The following is courtesy of Notre Dame athletics:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Niele Ivey earned her first top-five win of her young coaching career as the No. 20 Fighting Irish (17-4, 8-2) knocked off No. 3 NC State (19-3, 10-1), 69-66, on Tuesday night. As a result, the Irish remained undefeated at home, improving to 10-0.

The victory is the first win at home against a top-five team since Arike Ogunbowale and company knocked off Louisville in a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup back in the 2018-19 season.

Maya Dodson led the way with an impressive 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, while keeping All-American Elissa Cunane at bay, who scored 13 points for the Wolfpack.

Olivia Miles’ statline was 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sam Brunelle also notched double figures again with 10 points. In fact, it was a total team effort for the Irish with Maddy Westbeld, Dara Mabrey, Sonia Citron, Anaya Peoples and Abby Prohaska all landing on the scoresheet.

The Fighting Irish also got it done on the glass, out-rebounding the Pack, 45-38, recording 18 second-chance points.

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