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Notre Dame

Niele Ivey claims she would beat Hannah Hidalgo in 1-on-1 in her prime

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•12/14/24•

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You can tell how good of a player’s coach Niele Ivey is the way she interacts with Hannah Hidalgo and others at Notre Dame.

A Fighting Irish legend herself, Ivey is in the middle of her fight season as the head coach of the women’s basketball team at her alma mater. Following an upset win over UConn, the presser ended with a question from senior forward Kylee Watson, who started all 31 games last season before tearing an ACL prior to the postseason.

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She asked if Ivey could be Hidalgo 1-on-1, following the latter’s electric performance against the Huskies.

“In my prime? Who would get the dub? Me,” Ivey said. Of course I’m gonna say me. I’m confident, just like you (looking towards Hidalgo).

“Just to let you guys know, I’d be all over coach Ivey,” Hidalgo responded. “We’ll duke it out.”

Ivey played at Notre Dame from 1997-2001, winning a national title in her final season. She played in the WNBA for Indiana, Phoenix and Detroit from 2001-05 before transitioning into coaching.

Hidalgo finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the home victory for the No. 8 Fighting Irish. Notre Dame pulled away in the fourth quarter thanks to her energy.

Wearing the emotions on her sleeve, Hidalgo doesn’t mind bringing the noise each and every day.

“I know I’m that energy piece for my team,” Hidalgo said. “So I try and bring it, not only for every game, but for every practice. Like what you guys see in the games is kind of what I’m bringing for practice. So I know my team needs that, and I know they feed off of that. So I’m trying to be consistent, bringing that energy.”

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Ivey acknowledged Hidalgo was a great spark for their efforts. During this three-game winning streak, the Irish also knocked off No. 6 Texas in overtime.

Hidalgo had 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists in that win. Sounds like a team leader like Ivey!

Ivey is 97-34 since taking over Notre Dame and led the Irish to three straight Sweet 16 appearances and won the ACC Tournament last season. However, Notre Dame’s been upset in that round as the No. 2 seed the last two seasons.

This year could be different with Ivey learning from experience and seeing Hidalgo come into her own.