Notre Dame 2025-2026 Regular-Season Thread. | Page 5 | The Boneyard

Notre Dame 2025-2026 Regular-Season Thread.

triaddukefan said:
It was great to see DeJesus do a favor for her Alma Mater in help sinking that evil blue school from Orange County NC. Glad to see she her getting to play major minutes and contributing in her final college season.
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Huge fan of Vanessa de Jesus. From her days at Sierra Canyon on over to Duke and now ND. She is a tough, smart young lady who understands the game.
 
triaddukefan said:
It was great to see DeJesus do a favor for her Alma Mater in help sinking that evil blue school from Orange County NC. Glad to see she her getting to play major minutes and contributing in her final college season.
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Isn’t she like 30? Seriously, isn’t this her 6th year of college? I thought she was HS class of 2020 with Paige….
 
DefenseBB said:
My main concern is for ND to lose on Monday when I am in attendance....
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Perfectly understandable. Hannah plays well, as you know, against UConn, but she doesn't have her two buddies this year, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld (sigh). On the other hand, a certain guard with the initials PB isn't around.... 😉
 
Dillon77 said:
Perfectly understandable. Hannah plays well, as you know, against UConn, but she doesn't have her two buddies this year, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld (sigh). On the other hand, a certain guard with the initials PB isn't around.... 😉
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While ND doesn’t have the horses it had in the prior 3 meetings vs UConn (all ND wins), UConn’s Achilles heel so far this season, without PB, has been turnovers and HH leads the world in steals. Yes UConn is loaded and playing at home. But I’m feeling a level of agita that I haven’t had against any other team this season.
 
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DefenseBB said:
Isn’t she like 30? Seriously, isn’t this her 6th year of college? I thought she was HS class of 2020 with Paige….
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She was out for one season due to injury. If you factor the COVID year and the redshirt for injury, the math works out.
 
Dillon77 said:
Perfectly understandable. Hannah plays well, as you know, against UConn, but she doesn't have her two buddies this year, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld (sigh). On the other hand, a certain guard with the initials PB isn't around.... 😉
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Yup and she also doesn’t have her other “buddy” OM either ….😜
 
DefenseBB said:
Yup and she also doesn’t have her other “buddy” OM either ….😜
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Touche.

The most exciting and gratifying win of the three @oldude mentioned in his post just above was the middle one, which was also played at Storrs.

Olivia Miles and Cass Prosper were both injured and out for the year, so the Irish were playing with a shortage of players (again). Yet Hannah Hidalgo (34) and Maddy Westbeld (23) put on a clinic on how to run the pick and roll/pop; aided and abetted (always) by Sonia Citron (15), with unexpected help from Nat Marshall (10). To me, that was Hidalgo's "prove it" game: yes, she scored over 30 against S. Carolina in her very first game but the Irish got whacked in Paris.
That was a fun Irish team: three adept scorers with valuable help from Kylee Watson/Nat Marshall, Bransford and Anna DeWolfe. Won the ACC regular season and tourney. Probably Ivey's best coaching year.
 
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Leah Macy Will Not Play This Year; Start Eligibility in 2026-27
 
oldude said:
While ND doesn’t have the horses it had in the prior 3 meetings vs UConn (all ND wins), UConn’s Achilles heel so far this season, without PB, has been turnovers and HH leads the world in steals. Yes UConn is loaded and playing at home. But I’m feeling a level of agita that I haven’t had against any other team this season.
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I can understand that....Hidalgo has a way of relishing the challenging moments. I wish KK Bransford was back: while her scoring stats don't bounce off the opposition's white boards, she is a solid one-on-one and collective defender who is tough as nails. Plus she's the tallest of the true ND guards (Prosper, although listed as a guard, is a slashing forward). Coach Ivey has inserted a smallish Iyana Moore into the starting line-up, reducing ND to one post, three smallish guards and Prosper. Strong should have a field day.

Hannah and Vanessa de Jesus (VdJ) were really ratcheting up the ball pressure and filling the passing lanes against UNC. The Louisville game should be interesting...intensity will be dialed up, so good game to scout.

Still, I'm looking forward to how this "bridge" group of Irish persevere.
 
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Dillon77 said:
Leah Macy Will Not Play This Year; Start Eligibility in 2026-27
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I (still) consider this a bridge year for the Irish, although this group has been making it interesting at times (this next stretch of games should be illuminating).

However, it didn't behoove the team to bring Leah Macy back if she wasn't able to hit the court running. She'd lose a year of eligibility while she rounds into her own shape and that of fitting in with a lot of players who won't be back after this season. Now, Macy can continue to work on that rehabilitation. and come back strong in the summer. In effect, she's now part of the Class of 2026, but one who has gotten a year of acclimation, academics and socialization under her belt.

I'll be very interested in what Coach Ivey does in regards to a post/power forward position come this spring. Cowles and Sanchez will ove on. That will give Irish fans an insight into how Ivey sees the Irish frontcourt of '26-'27. Will Cass Prosper come back for another year as a slasher forward. Will Macy, who can do inside and mid-range, become something of a more mobile Cowles? And then there are the multiple wings who were recruited. Should be very interesting.
 
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triaddukefan said:
One covid year, one redshirt year (knee) and will end up with 3 degrees. The last McCallie recruit still playing in WCBB
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Now, that dates VdJ...and all of us.

Speaking of degrees, that's an interesting trail to pick up on: how many total degrees are hoopsters picking up during the course of their respective careers? So, VdJ will get three. So will Olivia Miles (undergrad and one Masters from ND; one from TCU). Nat Marshall left with three (undergrad and masters from ND, masters from MIami). The medical redshirt year appears to be a critical factor!
 
Dillon77 said:
Leah Macy Will Not Play This Year; Start Eligibility in 2026-27
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I’m such a fan of this young lady. Really hoping she fully recovers and has a great career. Missing two years in a row makes it tough, but she always seemed to have the kind of motor and attitude that will serve her well.
 
As usual, losses reveal weaknesses and the Louisville game certainly did that.

But first I’d like to address the Deb Antonelli assertion that HH and CP could mimic Iowa. Perhaps if HH could shoot 3 point shots consistently it would be possible, but she can’t. End of story.

On to the Lville game:

The weakness that Lville exposed, was that Cass still cannot score inside against stronger defenders. Ziegler, who is 6’3” and is stronger than Cass was defending her. , and when Cass drove to the basket she picked up her dribble, she was outmuscled, leading to numerous awkward, no chance of making shots. This is where game by game adjustments are crucial. Because Cass did collapse the defense, when she picked up the ball in the paint she could have kicked to de Jesus in the corner, but instead of doing that she awkwardly flung the ball towards the basket.

As much as Moore has improved as a much needed 3-point shooter, her defensive liability is evident. She was guarding Scott, who came into the game averaging 8 points a game, but scored 20 last night. She played 28 minutes and guarded HH to boot. I’m not sure why Ivey didn’t switch HH on Scott. Perhaps she concluded that Moore is a liability vs any guard. I don’t know.

At halftime, when the team came on the court to warm up, Cowles spent the entire time on an excercise bike with a rap and brace on her knee. You could see her lack of mobility early in the second half when Lville got uncontested inside shots, and she didn’t really regain her mobility till the end of the 3rd qtr. She’s injured, but we have nobody to replace her with due to the portal failure.

Against talented teams with talented guards, HH can’t get the amount of steals she does against everybody else, which makes us more of a half court team. We did a decent job offensively nevertheless, and HH got a lot of points driving to the basket, while doing well with ball movement. She shoots longer shots much better off the dribble than stationary, and even at the free throw line. As good as she is, game by game she is is no Caitlyn Clark and we’re not going to go on some magical run this year.

de Jesus reverted back to her norm. She is a streaky shooter when she does get hot. Perhaps that’s why they don’t have Cass kick out to her. idk.

The upside is that we played hard and stayed close. I’m from the Al McGuire school that stars should take over at crunch time. ND called a timeout at 4 minutes and Ivey spent a long time away from the team talking to her staff. She came back to the huddle and decided that feeding Cowles inside was the best strategy to win. Mind boggling to me.

Louisville has way more size and talent than ND. So, keeping as close as they did was a victory over earlier in the year, when this would have been a big blowout without Moore scoring the way she is now.
 
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JellyBean said:
I don't get why would she be on the hot seat. She has a top five recruiting class coming next season. Some interesting prospects for '27 are on the radar. Coach Ivey is slowly putting her vision and fingerprints on the ND program, and they are heading in the right direction.
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I’m don’t think she’s on the hot seat. I will say the mass exodus of players leaving the last few years should be concerning though.

I also don’t know if they are headed in the right direction either. We will have to wait and see on that one
 
Hannah looks gassed out there. They have to find to get her rest during the games. Or when they’re down by 40 in the 4th, don’t play her
 
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Some (variations on) comments I posted first on McGraw's Bench:

- One can fall into a rabbit hole looking into what this particular Irish team is or isn't at this juncture (at least for me).
The goal is to recognize that the Irish need to do as well as they can in upcoming ACC play to help them get into and be seeded relatively well in the NCAAs.
- To do so, let's take each game, team by team, starting with Miami. While a lot of these games are winnable, a number are also losable...remember what happened to Georgia Tech. However, if ND can play the defense they did against UNC and even the first half of UConn, that would be very helpful.

Here are some quick hitters based on last night and a lot of the threads I've seen on multiple boards.

  • UConn, of course, is very good and Sarah Strong is very, very good. If she could come out early for the pro's, she would -- and should -- be the first player selected. Reminds me of an even sturdier Maya Moore. First-rate, world-class talent.
  • Depth of the Huskies might be the deepest I've seen in a long time. Felt like Heckel, Zeibel Shade were interchangeable in playing tough defense and launching threes.
  • Boy, I don't how know how Wisconsin girls grow up loving UConn, but KK Arnold and Allie Zeibell are net losses from the Midwest. Kudos to Geno. Arnold is the same age as Hannah Hidalgo, so one didn't need two point guards at once (oh yes, the Irish tried that). A player like Zeibell would've been great to come in and shoot threes but she never really had an interest in ND. Emma Risch was supposed to be that kind of player.
  • It's good to see Gisela Sanchez back in a pretty good groove. I liked her movement on offense and recognition that she needed to move. And why she double clutches some balls on rebounds, she's seemingly holding onto more than earlier in the season. Need more of this. A few ND players looked unsure of themselves against UConn, but Sanchez knew her assignments and went about them.
  • My take on Hannah's jumpers: it's her legs and perhaps her concentration....she's doing so much and being attacked so much by hordes of defenders that jumpers looked misaligned or just off. When she drives, her instincts just take over and that can be helpful.
  • If KK Bransford can come back, she can help in two areas: defending some part of the paint to prevent drives and weakside cuts; and, rebouunds.

Rest up, practice and ger ready for Miami. UConn can continue to roll
 
Dillon77 said:
Some (variations on) comments I posted first on McGraw's Bench:

- One can fall into a rabbit hole looking into what this particular Irish team is or isn't at this juncture (at least for me).
The goal is to recognize that the Irish need to do as well as they can in upcoming ACC play to help them get into and be seeded relatively well in the NCAAs.
- To do so, let's take each game, team by team, starting with Miami. While a lot of these games are winnable, a number are also losable...remember what happened to Georgia Tech. However, if ND can play the defense they did against UNC and even the first half of UConn, that would be very helpful.

Here are some quick hitters based on last night and a lot of the threads I've seen on multiple boards.

  • UConn, of course, is very good and Sarah Strong is very, very good. If she could come out early for the pro's, she would -- and should -- be the first player selected. Reminds me of an even sturdier Maya Moore. First-rate, world-class talent.
  • Depth of the Huskies might be the deepest I've seen in a long time. Felt like Heckel, Zeibel Shade were interchangeable in playing tough defense and launching threes.
  • Boy, I don't how know how Wisconsin girls grow up loving UConn, but KK Arnold and Allie Zeibell are net losses from the Midwest. Kudos to Geno. Arnold is the same age as Hannah Hidalgo, so one didn't need two point guards at once (oh yes, the Irish tried that). A player like Zeibell would've been great to come in and shoot threes but she never really had an interest in ND. Emma Risch was supposed to be that kind of player.
  • It's good to see Gisela Sanchez back in a pretty good groove. I liked her movement on offense and recognition that she needed to move. And why she double clutches some balls on rebounds, she's seemingly holding onto more than earlier in the season. Need more of this. A few ND players looked unsure of themselves against UConn, but Sanchez knew her assignments and went about them.
  • My take on Hannah's jumpers: it's her legs and perhaps her concentration....she's doing so much and being attacked so much by hordes of defenders that jumpers looked misaligned or just off. When she drives, her instincts just take over and that can be helpful.
  • If KK Bransford can come back, she can help in two areas: defending some part of the paint to prevent drives and weakside cuts; and, rebouunds.

Rest up, practice and ger ready for Miami. UConn can continue to roll
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Not too far back UConn could barely field 6 players for games due to injuries. Geno mentioned that in his postgame comments after the ND game. During that time UConn often had to hang on by their fingernails against lesser teams and they also took some tough losses because they just didn’t have the depth needed to compete as they would have liked to.

To all our ND friends, hang in there. This too will pass.
 
oldude said:
Not too far back UConn could barely field 6 players for games due to injuries. Geno mentioned that in his postgame comments after the ND game. During that time UConn often had to hang on by their fingernails against lesser teams and they also took some tough losses because they just didn’t have the depth needed to compete as they would have liked to.

To all our ND friends, hang in there. This too will pass.
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@JellyBean

Thanks for the messages, guys. When the Irish lost key players to graduation and/or (in some cases, unexpected) transfers, Coach Ivey had to go "shopping" -- in a hurry. The result is pretty much what most of us saw on the court. Since that time, Pat Garrity has joined the Irish administrative staff as GM and head of all NIL funding. Perhaps as a result, Ivey and the Irish had a strong recruiting class, due to arrive this June. Plus, 2025 recruit Leah Macy, a tough power forward, will be able to start playing for the Irish. At that time, the process -- as one usually looked for -- will be re-engaged. Until then, we'll hope and support them crossing that bridge.

BTW, I do like a lot of the players we've brought in...but not in such prominent roles! But, you work the cards you're dealt....
 
oldude said:
Not tt

To all our ND friends, hang in there. This too will pass.
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JellyBean said:
Well said @oldude. Hang in there, ND fans. This too shall pass. Trust the process and believe in Coach Ivey. Stick to your core values and WIN the Day.
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You guys are much too nice. I need to provide some much needed balance 🙃. I was looking at the remaining schedule, I counted as many as 7 more possible losses 🥺
 
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Hidalgo (who else?) Drives ND to 74-66 Win Over Miami

ND was down 2 entering the fourth quarter, but outscored the 'Canes 20-10 to take the victory.
Hannah Hidalgo finished with 27 points and 10 steals for another of those "huh?" double doubles. In so doing, she set some marks:
  • Became the fastest ACC player to 2,000 pts (according to both Deb Antonelli and Nothing But Net producers)
  • Became the 7th player in ND history to reach this mark, led by one Arike Ogunbowale and Skylar Diggins
  • Speaking of Diggins, Hidalgo passed her to become the all-time steals leader at ND. (see linked article below for details).

Iyana Moore added 4 three-pointers en route to scoring 19 points.

Much-needed win for the Irish to snap a two-game losing streak. Next up: Clemson (at home, weather cooperating). Clemson is coming off a massive collapse at Va. Tech, so we'll see if that game invigorates or deflates them.

fightingirish.com

Hidalgo Breaks Records In Irish Victory Over Miami

The junior sets the ND program steals record and reaches the 2,000-point milestone
fightingirish.com fightingirish.com
 
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