One statistic that has defined Notre Dame women's basketball losses

There are a plethora of statistics to define the Notre Dame women’s basketball season to this point. Among them, the perfect 11-0 record at home is particularly intriguing.

That mark includes the Fighting Irish’s only two wins over currently ranked teams (No. 23 North Carolina and No. 3 NC State). It also includes six of the Irish’s nine ACC victories. Home has been where the wins are for No. 18 Notre Dame (18-5, 9-3 ACC).

Not to be overlooked, the Irish have not lost consecutive games this season. They’re 4-0 coming off a loss. None of those wins have come at home, either. Notre Dame will look to change that and push the mark to 5-0 tonight against Miami (12-9, 5-6). The Hurricanes are not the most formidable of foes, and that’s been part of the reason Notre Dame has been so successful in games after defeats.

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The combined record of teams Notre Dame has taken down immediately after a loss is 41-45. Only one of those teams (Wake Forest, 12-11) has a winning overall record. The competition has played out in the blue and gold’s favor following losses. But that doesn’t mean head coach Niele Ivey’s group hasn’t had heightened intensity in such situations.

“It’s acknowledging areas of improvement, areas we can get better offensively and defensively,” Ivey said of resetting after a loss.

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Much was made of Notre Dame’s offense in the middle two quarters of Sunday’s loss at Florida State, and rightfully so. The Irish were outscored 39-19 in those frames. It was especially discouraging considering Notre Dame scored 19 points in the first quarter alone. The Irish led by six and had the chance to play even better. The regression was alarming.

But so was Notre Dame’s rebounding. And just as there have been statistics to define the positive aspects of this Irish basketball season, there’s one that has clearly defined the negatives.

The Irish finished Sunday’s game with 30 rebounds. Florida State only had 32, so the disparity wasn’t egregious, but it was the first time the Irish finished with less than 40 since Jan. 20 at Boston College. They also lost that game. In the loss at Duke, Notre Dame had 34 rebounds. At UConn, 32. Against Georgia in the Thanksgiving tournament, 39 — in overtime.

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See a pattern? The Irish average 42.4 rebounds per game. Forty should be a benchmark. If they don’t hit it, the odds of losing increase. Ivey’s team is 3-5 in games in which the Irish don’t come down with 40 or more rebounds. When things aren’t going great offensively, good teams should also be able to fall back on defense and rebounding. Neither of those areas were commendable against the Seminoles.

Thursday’s game against Miami is a new opportunity.

Miami (12-9, 5-6) at No. 18 Notre Dame (18-5, 9-3)

When: Thursday, Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. ET

Where: Purcell Pavilion (South Bend, Ind.)

TV: Regional Sports Networks

NET rankings: Notre Dame 15, NC State 72

Last meeting: Notre Dame won 71-60 on Dec. 31, 2020 at Miami

Series history: Notre Dame leads 22-5

Notes on Miami: Miami is led in scoring by senior guard Kelsey Marshall with 13.8 points per game … No other Hurricanes player averages in double digits … Miami is 4-4 in its last eight ACC games with a pattern of win one, lose one; the Hurricanes lost North Carolina, 85-38, in their last game … Miami played No. 3 Louisville to a slim 69-66 defeat on Feb. 1 … The Hurricanes have played seven teams that were ranked at the time of the matchup and have only won one of those games, a 46-45 defeat of then-No. 15 Georgia Tech on Jan. 16.