For some reason, I'm least annoyed by this loss. Paige struggled but she had been super hot for the last couple weeks. I thought Ashlynn and KK played well. AE played well. It's funny, I thought the secret to this team was that Paige and Nika basically would be able to do whatever was needed game to game to push the team to victory. But it was kinda the opposite tonight. Both did not have too much of an impact on the game. Obviously Hannah Hidalgo was incredible. This was a first team all american type performance from her. Westbeld was really good as well. Nat Marshall and Sony played relatively well. I like ND's roster, I'm a bit surprised how much they struggled in ACC play.
I think the 4 guard lineup was not great, and then I thought Ice and other bigs really struggled with ball screens. It's strange to have two great defensive point guards but struggle so much againsy guards so much. Kiki Rice, Saniya Rivers, Hidalgo just seemed to have field day on us.
Overall, this loss was a bit of a gut punch in that losing by double figures at home to a team ranked less than you is not great. But I think Paige's shooting night and Nika's performance are a bit of an aberration. The only thing that slightly bugs is that in the interviews prior to the game, it seemed like the team was downplaying the rivalry. I do think this game meant something to ND, they seemed into it, as every team is to play us.