Tag: Niele Ivey

Notre Dame readies to face Boston College on New Year’s Day

For your early New Year’s viewing.

Notre Dame won’t have much if any time to celebrate on New Year’s Eve. That’s because a game is scheduled for noon EST on New Year’s Day. The Irish will welcome Boston College to Purcell Pavilion. If you’re a fan of players really making noise in the ACC, this is the game for you.

This contest will feature the ACC’s top two assist leaders in the Irish’s [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] (7.8) and Eagles freshman Phenom Taina Mair (7.5), who also is the conference’s minutes leader (37.1). The Irish also will have to deal with Dontavia Waggoner, who leads the conference in steals. You better believe [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] will have her team ready for both players.

Since losing a heartbreaker at the buzzer to Maryland, the Irish have won five straight. They will look to continue that streak as ACC play began in earnest with Thursday’s win at Miami. If you want to see if they can, come out to Purcell Pavilion like we will be doing. Otherwise, you can watch on the ACC Network.

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Notre Dame suffers first loss on Maryland buzzer-beater

That was gut-wrenching.

There are ways to pick up your first loss of the season that don’t break your heart. That won’t be the case for this year’s Notre Dame squad thanks to how its final ACC-Big Ten Challenge game ended. No. 20 Maryland’s Diamond Miller scored the final two of her game-high 31 points on a pull-up jumper near the left elbow off a screen just as time expired. The basket gave the Terrapins a 74-72 win and prompted Miller to shush the Purcell Pavilion crowd.

It was a game that went back and forth until the very end. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] completed a three-point play with 48 seconds left to give the No. 7 Irish (6-1) a 70-69 lead. Miller immediately followed that with a basket in the paint, prompting [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to call a timeout. After the huddle broke, Miles missed a layup that [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] couldn’t rebound cleanly, and the Terrapins (7-2) called a timeout to maintain possession.

Miller was fouled after the subsequent inbound pass, but she only was able to split two free throws. Ivey called her final timeout to draw up a play to tie the game or potentially give the Irish the lead. Miles inbounded the ball and found a wide-open [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] for a game-tying layup. The Terrapins took a timeout after that, setting the stage for Miller’s heroics.

Miller did a lot more than hit the game-winner at the buzzer. In addition to being the game’s leading scorer, she had a game-high 12 rebounds and a team-high five assists. Only Shyann Sellers joined Miller in double-digit scoring with 17 points.

Citron completed a double-double for the Irish with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Miles scored 14 and had a game-high seven assists. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] scored 10 and blocked three shots.

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Notre Dame dismantles Ball State, 95-60

The Irish keep rolling.

The following is courtesy of Notre Dame athletics:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The most complete performance to date.

That was the way Karen & Kevin Keyes Head Coach Niele Ivey unquestioningly described her team’s 95-60 dismantling of Ball State (2-2) on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion to move to 4-0 on the year. No. 9 Notre Dame left little to no doubt from the start, scoring 27 points in both the first and second quarters and holding Ball State to just nine points in the second 10 minutes. Notre Dame led by as much as 39, and five Irish players finished with 10+ points for the second time this year.

A huge piece of that first-half deluge came as a result of guard Dara Mabrey’s five three-pointers before the break, the first time she’s had such a showing since sinking seven threes against Oklahoma in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Mabrey finished with a total of 19 points, three rebounds and three assists.

“Dara’s one of the best three-point shooters in the country,” Ivey said. “Seeing her light it up from the perimeter right away from the beginning of the game [is awesome].”

Notre Dame topped the Cardinals in every category, including bench points (41-17), fast breaks (19-11) and second chance points (15-6). The Irish blocked eight shots, including a season-high three from center Lauren Ebo. She had her first double-double in a Notre Dame uniform on Sunday, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

A couple of newcomers posted career highs in the points category against the Cardinals; graduate student and Stanford transfer Jenna Brown had 10, while freshman KK Bransford posted 16.

“It was special for me, and it was special for my teammates to see what I can bring to the team,” Bransford said after the game. “Tonight I felt really confident just knowing that [my teammates] have my back.”

Bransford went 8-8 from the free throw line and posted six rebounds as well. She is the lone freshman currently on the team, but she played like a veteran on Sunday.

The depth and contributions across the board bode well for Ivey, who has hopes of making the Final Four for the 10th time in program history.

“I think that we’re just scratching the surface.”

Notre Dame heads to the Bahamas this week to play in the Goombay Splash for a Thanksgiving tournament. First up is a match against American (0-3) on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. The contest can be streamed on FloHoops, and additional information about the tournament can be found here.

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Niele Ivey, Sonia Citron speak after Notre Dame beats Northwestern

Hear what the Irish’s coach and game’s leading scorer had to say about this eventful win.

EVANSTON, Ill. — Notre Dame beat Northwestern, 92-58, in a game that seemed uneventful on the surface. However, some fireworks throughout kept things interesting, and this will be one of those rare 34-point games that is talked about within both programs for the rest of the season thanks to technical fouls and ejections. Both the win and those fireworks were talked about when [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] met with the media afterwards. Here is some of what was said:

Niele Ivey, Olivia Miles and Kylee Watson discuss Notre Dame win

The Irish speak about their win in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS — Notre Dame’s 90-79 win over California at the Shamrock Classic in St. Louis came tougher than anticipated. Still, a win is a win, and to have it come live from the Enterprise Center on NBC made it all the more special. The opportunity for [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to do it in her hometown was among the topics covered in her postgame news conference with [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag]. Here is some of what they said:

Notre Dame overcomes foul trouble to win Shamrock Classic over Cal

A bit tight, but still a win.

ST. LOUIS — [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]’s St. Louis homecoming could have gone a lot smoother. She didn’t plan on so many key players having to sit at a crucial time so that could be on the court at the end of the Shamrock Classic. Still, she gladly will take a 90-79 win over California.

The Irish (2-0) led by as much as 14 in the third quarter, but three players ([autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag]) had four fouls before the end of that frame. With Ivey forced to go to her bench as the fourth quarter began, the Bears (1-1) whittled the deficit down to three. Fortunately, the Irish were able to calm themselves down, and the reserves were able to tread water before the foul-plagued starters could return. Once that happened, it was relatively smooth sailing.

[autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag] led the Irish with 16 points before fouling out. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] had 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 14, Miles achieved a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists, and 12 points came from Westbeld.

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Notre Dame prepares to face California in Citi Shamrock Classic

The Irish will be part of history in St. Louis.

It could be argued that [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is looking forward to this game more than any other in which she’s been Notre Dame’s head coach. She’ll be coaching the Irish in her hometown of St. Louis for the Citi Shamrock Classic against California, which is coached by fellow St. Louis native Charmin Smith. This also is the city where Ivey won the 2001 national championship with the Irish as a player.

There are many reasons to be excited about this game. The Irish will enter it with confidence after their season-opening win over Northern Illinois. This will be the first time a women’s basketball game is broadcast live on NBC, so you can flip over to this after the football team’s contest with Navy is finished.

Most importantly for us, we will be on location to cover this game. Our thanks to Ashton Pollard of Fighting Irish Media for making this possible. We look forward to being part of what should be a great day.

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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.

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How Twitter reacted to Notre Dame-Clemson: Irish side

You’re happy, right?

It had been 40 years since an unranked Notre Dame team last defeated a top-five team. That came when the 1982 Irish upset Dan Marino and top-ranked Pittsburgh. Clemson wasn’t the top-ranked team entering Notre Dame Stadium in 2022, but the final outcome was no less impressive. The Irish beat the Tigers, 35-14, almost two years to the day of them beating this same program in the same location.

Irish fans in South Bend and beyond will be celebrating this one for a long time. If a national championship wasn’t in the cards, this was the next best thing. All reservations about [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] have gone out the window, at least for the moment. There no longer appears to be a limit on the possibilities with him at the helm in the years to come.

Here are some of the best reactions to the big win on Twitter, many of which came from program alumni:

Twitter reacts to Audric Estime’s fourth-quarter touchdown

The way this touchdown was set up was just as impressive.

Notre Dame was living dangerously against Syracuse, allowing its lead to be whittled down to a single touchdown. Many Irish fans hesitantly waited for the other shoe to drop and the game to be tied. Then, [autotag]Howard Cross[/autotag] and [autotag]Marist Liufau[/autotag] teamed up to do this:

With just a little over half the field to work with, [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag] began the drive by calling [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag]’s number five straight times. Then, [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag] completed an 11-yard pass to [autotag]Deion Colzie[/autotag]. A pass interference then put the Irish in the red zone, and [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] covered the rest of the field on the next play:

A 31-17 fourth-quarter lead put the Irish on the verge of upsetting the ranked Orange at home. The Estime touchdown was seen by many as the moment  the Irish might have put this game out of reach. Here’s how some happy folks reacted to this touchdown on Twitter:

Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey speaks at ACC media day

Think the Irish have another deep tournament run in them?

Entering her third season as the legendary [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s successor, Notre Dame coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] has every reason for optimism. She went from .500 in her first year at the helm to 24-9 and an appearance in the Sweet 16. But for a late Irish collapse against NC State in their final game, the Final Four would have been within their reach. Alas, neither Ivey nor her team could be disappointed by how far they had come.

All of that is history now, and Ivey is ready to see what she can do with this year’s Irish. She answered questions about it during the ACC’s media day Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina: