Tag: Niele Ivey

Niele Ivey, Maddy Westbeld, Lauren Ebo speak after NCAA Tournament win

What are your thoughts after this win?

SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame has to be feeling confident after knocking Southern Utah out of the NCAA Tournament, 82-56, in the first round. The Irish let the Thunderbirds know early and often that this game that was being played in their house would be played on their terms.

Whenever the Thunderbirds showed the slightest chance of coming back – and it was very slight – the Irish doubled down on both ends of the floor. It was such a blowout that little-used [autotag]Sarah Cernugel[/autotag] entered the game near its conclusion. The Purcell Pavilion definitely would have exploded had she made either of her two field-goal attempts, one which came from 3-point range. Alas, she remains scoreless for the season except for her lone basket Dec. 10 against Merrimack.

Cernguel was one of several people [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] talked about in her postgame news conference. She was joined by top scorer [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] (20 points) and dominant veteran big [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] (14 points, 10 rebounds). Here’s what they had to say:

Notre Dame commit among finalists for national player of the year

Quite the honor for the future Irish star.

The Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year has ended up at Notre Dame a few times. [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] won it in 2014 and [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] in 2009. Two other winners, Erin Boley in 2016 and Michelle Marciniak in 1991, began their collegiate careers at Notre Dame but transferred elsewhere after one season. Another player could soon be joining those ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey, committed to the Irish on Nov. 15. This came a few months after winning gold with the U.S. in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Now, she is one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year.

When Hidalgo announced her decision to commit to the Irish, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] said the following:

“Irish eyes are smiling! We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family!  Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program. She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ.  Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better.  The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”

Here are some profiles of Hidalgo and the other two finalists for this award:

Niele Ivey, Maddy Westbeld, Sonia Citron speak after Notre Dame loss

Hear from a team that has to be nervous about the next week.

Even with no games to prepare for, don’t be surprised if [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] doesn’t get much sleep over the next week. Like everyone else, she gained a glimpse of what Notre Dame is like when it doesn’t have [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] in a 64-38 blowout loss to Louisville in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Now, Ivey has to plan for scenarios in which Miles will and will not be available for the NCAA Tournament. Worse, it’s possible the selection committee will not allow the Irish to host the first two rounds if Miles’ status remains up in the air at the time of the bracket’s release.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] led the hapless Irish with nine points against the Cardinals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored eight and was briefly knocked out with an apparent injury, but she checked back in quickly. Here is what those two players and Ivey said after a game that only can be described as brutal:

Niele Ivey, Maddy Westbeld, Lauren Ebo speak after Notre Dame win

Hear from the winners of the ACC Tournament quarterfinal against NC State.

Despite having the ACC Tournament’s top seed, Notre Dame was dealt a tough hand for its quarterfinal. It had to face an NC State program that had won the last two matchups, and Olivia Miles was sidelined with a knee injury, probably for the entire weekend. Rather than panic, the Irish merely adjusted, and they won, 66-60. That earned them the right to face another tough squad in Louisville in the semifinals.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] showed why she was named ACC Coach of the Year by keeping her players prepared even though they were missing their best asset. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag]’s 3 near the end of the first half gave the Irish a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and she achieved a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] enjoyed a balanced afternoon with eight points, six rebounds, a steal and an assist.

All three women spoke to the media afterwards, and here’s what they had to say:

Photos of Notre Dame’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over NC State

In case you were working and missed it.

With [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] out and a two-game losing streak against NC State, some might have doubted Notre Dame in its ACC Tournament opener. But if the Irish weren’t that good, would they have overcomes Miles’ absence against Louisville and won the outright ACC regular-season title? Of course not. With conference coach of the year [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] leading them, the Irish exorcised their recent demons and beat the Wolfpack, 66-60.

One problematic opponent is behind the Irish, but they now have to face a tough one in those same Cardinals they rallied to beat last weekend. This semifinal opponent also fought the Irish tough at Purcell Pavilion, but Miles hit a memorable shot at the buzzer to save the day. So don’t be fooled by the Cardinals. This is a team stacked with talent and one of the few to give the Irish a real challenge this season.

Before worrying about the next game, let’s look at some images from the one that was just played:

Watch: Notre Dame coach’s son pulls a Chris Webber

Gotta know the timeout situation if you’re inbounding in the final seconds of a close game.

We’re sure that Detroit Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey, the son of Notre Dame coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag], will have a fine NBA career. Like with any rookie, he’s bound to make mistakes as he gets a feel for the professional game. However, it’s unlikely anyone had him celebrating Chris Webber’s 50th birthday in fitting fashion on their bingo card.

In the closing seconds of a game against the Chicago Bulls, the Pistons had a chance to tie or maybe win after mounting a furious fourth-quarter rally. Ivey was charged with inbounding the ball out of the Pistons’ final timeout. He couldn’t find any open teammates, and in an effort to avoid a five-second violation, he did something that undoubtedly triggered PTSD for the many Michigan fans that had to have been present at Little Caesars Arena:

It’s unfortunate that Webber had a Hall of Fame career and calling a timeout with none left in the national championship game remains his legacy. However, sports fans don’t forget mistakes in high-stakes situations, so here we are.

The good news for Ivey is this gaffe, which played a key role in the Pistons’ 117-115 loss, won’t be nearly as remembered. Plus, he has a brilliant basketball mind in his mother who should help them through this. He’ll be OK.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

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ACC honors galore for Notre Dame

So many Irish folks won awards that we had to make a listicle out of this story.

When you win the outright ACC regular-season championship, as Notre Dame did, many conference honors are sure to come. That’s exactly what happened when the ACC unveiled its annual honors. The best part is the honors weren’t limited to those who are on the court every game.

All of this is happening ahead of the ACC Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina. Having earned one of the top four seeds, the Irish received an automatic berth to the quarterfinals, which will take place Friday. As the top seed, they will play the winner of the second-round game between Syracuse and an NC State program that has given them problems over the past year.

Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology has the Irish holding steady as the No. 3 seed in the quadrant featuring undefeated and top-ranked South Carolina. Should the Gamecocks draw the Irish in the Elite Eight in that scenario, they’ll have to deal with these heavy hitters that have made the Irish such a force this season:

Watch: Mark Packer vents during Ivey Coach of the Year announcement

Take our advice and don’t be like Mark Packer.

If you don’t agree with Notre Dame’s [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] being named the ACC Coach of the Year, that’s fine. Like anyone else, you’re entitled to your opinion. But that opinion should wait until after the award winner has been announced, not during. This piece of advice was either lost on or ignored by the ACC Network’s Mark Packer as Ivey’s honor was announced on live TV, and thanks to Blue and Gold’s Tyler Horka, his bitterness now is on Twitter for all to see:

Look, you definitely can make a case for Duke’s Kara Lawson to have won the award. After all, her Blue Devils proved a formidable foe for the Irish all the way to the end, even winning at Purcell Pavilion. But again, why does this have to happen during the moment of truth?

This reflects poorly on Packer and doesn’t help the notion of ESPN’s alleged bias towards all things Duke. If he’s going to throw a tantrum while the ACC awards are being announced, someone else needs to emcee this show in the future. You cannot and should not display this egregious lack of professionalism at the wrong time. All young broadcasters should note this is what not to do during an awards show.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

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Notre Dame wins outright ACC regular-season championship

Feels nice to be alone on the conference mountaintop.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]’s transformation as a worthy successor to [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] officially has been completed. With Notre Dame needing a road win over Louisville in its regular-season finale to clinch at least a share of the ACC regular-season title, the pressure couldn’t have been higher. The road was made tougher with the sudden loss of [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], one of the country’s best players, to a right knee injury. All signs pointed to a disappointing precursor to the ACC Tournament.

Instead, Ivey kept her team focused, and the Irish overcame a 10-point third-quarter deficit to come away with a hard-fought 68-65 win over the Cardinals. With Duke losing to North Carolina, the Irish won their first outright ACC regular-season championship since 2017. They last won a share of the ACC regular-season title in 2019.

The 24-4 Irish finished conference play with a 15-3 record. They will have the top seed in the conference tournament, which begins Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their first game will be in the quarterfinals Friday against the winner of Thursday’s second-round game between NC State and Syracuse.

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Notre Dame wallops Georgia Tech on senior night

Nice showing in the season’s final home game.

Senior night for Notre Dame began with honoring [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] and the injured [autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag]. Once the game tipped off though, the script started to flip. Georgia Tech scored eight unanswered points out of the gate, prompting [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to take an early timeout. Fortunately, things more or less corrected themselves from there, and the Irish won, 76-53.

The Irish (23-4, 14-3) had trouble holding off the Yellow Jackets (13-15, 4-13) for a bit, only taking a six-point lead into halftime. That changed in the third quarter as the Irish opened it with a 14-4 run. The Yellow Jackets never seriously threatened after that, only getting as close as 14 early in the fourth quarter. In short, it was a typical Irish victory for the final regular-season game at Purcell Pavilion this season.

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] led all scorers with 13 points. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] completed a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] also scored 12, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] contributed 11 points and a game-high five assists. Ebo had eight points in her final regular-season home game, and [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] scored 10 off the bench.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89