Notre Dame women's basketball reset: Irish earn highest AP Poll ranking of season

There was something missing from the Notre Dame resumé until last week.

The Fighting Irish had ranked victories. They had Quadrant 1 wins. They even had a “signature” win over then-No. 3 NC State. But they didn’t have a single road win over a ranked team. They hadn’t shown they can beat a top-25 team away from Purcell Pavilion.

Until last Thursday night. The Irish’s 72-66 overtime victory at No. 16 Georgia Tech was monumental for head coach Niele Ivey’s team, and it didn’t matter how it happened. Notre Dame blew a 16-point lead but still walked out of Atlanta with something so vital.

“That was something we’ve been striving for this entire season,” Ivey said.

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Notre Dame lost three of its last four road games before beating the Yellow Jackets. Louisville beat the Irish by 26 just four days prior. If there was ever a time for the Irish to step up and shed the narrative they couldn’t win away from home, it was then. And they go it done. Now they’re ranked No. 14 in the Associated Press Poll as a result. That’s Notre Dame’s highest ranking of the season.

Now’s the time to peak anyway.

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This is the final week of the regular season. Notre Dame hosts Clemson, the team at the bottom of the ACC standings, Thursday and No. 4 Louisville, one of four teams ahead of Notre Dame in the ACC Standings, on Sunday. The Irish just have to win one of those games to earn a double-bye in next week’s ACC Tournament.

That is also something Notre Dame has been striving for this entire season.

“I want the team to understand the magnitude of that,” Ivey said. “Having the opportunity to start playing on Friday is huge. Being an assistant being a part of those teams with coach [Muffet] McGraw, it made a big difference. It honestly really did.

“This team has found ways to win. This team has found ways to compete, and we have grown together this year. I’m just so proud of this group and how we’ve grown. It is huge to be able to have a double-bye, especially with my numbers. My numbers are low.”

Notre Dame has had a seven-player rotation at best for much of the season. As it stands, junior forward Sam Brunelle and junior guard Anaya Peoples have been the only ones coming off the bench. Senior guard Katlyn Gilbert stepped away from the team around the new year. Senior guard Abby Prohaska has been injured on multiple occasions. Sophomore forward Natalija Marshall was lost for the year with a knee injury.

Not Notre Dame right now, the less basketball the better. That’s why it wasn’t the worst thing for the Irish when their game against Virginia could not be made up. The Cavaliers were forced to forfeit, the Irish got a win in the ACC standings — and a whole lot of rest, too. Quality over quantity for Notre Dame. That should be the motto with two regular season games left and a double-bye on the line.

Week 14 AP Poll

1. South Carolina (25-1)
2. Stanford (23-3)
3. NC State (25-3)
4. Louisville (23-3)
5. Baylor (21-5)
6. Michigan (21-4)
7. UConn (19-5)
8. LSU (23-4)
9. Iowa State (22-4)
10. Indiana (19-5)
11. Texas (19-6)
12. Arizona (19-5)
13. Maryland (20-7)
14. Notre Dame (20-6)
15. Florida (20-6)
16. Tennessee (21-6)
17. Ohio State (21-5)
18. North Carolina (21-5)
19. BYU (23-2)
20. Oklahoma (20-6)
21. Iowa (17-7
22. Georgia Tech (19-8)
23. Virginia Tech (20-7)
24. Florida Gulf Coast (24-2)
25. Georgia (18-8)

Notre Dame national team statistic rankings

• Scoring offense: 74.0 (29th)
• Scoring defense: 62.6 (155th)
• Rebound margin: 6.4 (41st)
• Assists per game: 17.3 (15th)
• Turnovers per game: 15.5 (155th)
• Assist to turnover ratio: 1.12 (34th)
• Turnovers forced per game: 17.27 (112th)

Upcoming Notre Dame schedule

Feb. 24, 8 p.m. ET: vs. Clemson (9-18, 3-13)

Feb. 27, noon ET: vs. No. 4 Louisville (23-3, 14-2)