Why Notre Dame women's basketball lost to Florida State for first time ever

Notre Dame didn’t go down without fighting.

The Irish put forth a dismal offensive effort through three quarters against Florida State on Sunday before erupting for 27 points in the final frame. They dwindled an 18-point fourth-quarter deficit to two twice in the final two minutes and had multiple chances to tie in the last 60 seconds.

It still wasn’t enough.

Unranked Florida State (11-10, 5-6 ACC) held on to win 70-65 for its first victory over a ranked opponent this season and the program’s first win ever against the Irish. Notre Dame won the first 11 meetings. The Irish played too poorly for 30 minutes to stretch that streak to 12.

“Offensively, we just didn’t have it today,” said head coach Niele Ivey, who added the Irish just didn’t play its brand of basketball until it was too late. “We turned the ball over, and we were very uncharacteristic offensively. It took us a minute to really find ourselves.”

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No. 20 Notre Dame (18-5, 9-3 ACC) actually led 19-13 after the first quarter. It wasn’t the smoothest 10 minutes of play, but there were signs that suggested the Irish would shake off their Sunday sluggishness and play better the rest of the way.

Struggling sophomore Maddy Westbeld made a couple jumpers, including her first three-pointer since Dec. 19. She had missed her last 13 attempts from deep. Freshman Sonia Citron had six first-quarter points and looked to have her game legs going. Even senior Anaya Peoples, relegated from the starting lineup to the bench the last handful of games for Citron, made a layup in transition.

Then the Irish only made four baskets from the field in the second quarter, and it got even worse in the third. Three. Two of them came in the first two minutes of the quarter, and the last was a buzzer-beating, three-point prayer heaved by Citron. It was only fitting more Irish offense came from that than any half-court set or fast-break opportunity for a stretch of over seven minutes.

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In one instance, freshman point guard Olivia Miles stood all alone in the corner. Her screams echoed throughout the Donald L Tucker Center.

“Ball, ball, ball!”

It never came her way. Senior guard Dara Mabrey pulled up for three from NBA range instead. Her shot clanked off the front of the rim with Notre Dame trailing Florida State by 10 midway through the third quarter. Mabrey finished 0-of-8 from the field and 0-of-5 from three in getting held scoreless in 29 minutes.

“We looked very tired, and we just couldn’t execute offensively,” Ivey said. “It was hard to find out composure, try to find out energy and try to find ourselves offensively.”

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Even with zero points from a starter and just six from two bench players, Notre Dame almost pulled off a miraculous comeback regardless of the opponent. The Irish trailed by 18 with less than eight minutes left. Miles and Citron accounted for all seven points on a 7-0 run, and suddenly the deficit was manageable again.

When Miles popped her second three of the fourth and graduate senior center Maya Dodson — who had her third double-double in the last four games with 15 points and 10 rebounds — completed a three-point play, Notre Dame trailed by just five with half a quarter to go. The teams traded points from then on, 12-12, which obviously didn’t work for the visitors. The hole was dug too deep.

As was the case in conference losses on the road at Duke and at Boston College, Notre Dame had a chance to tie with the shot clocked turned off inside 30 seconds to go. Ivey drew up a play for Citron to attempt and up-and-under in the paint, but the ball fluttered off her fingers to the top of the backboard. She ultimately lost it out of bounds fighting for a loose ball.

“She’s a freshman,” Ivey said. “Everyone is trying to figure out how to be in these moments, these experiences and these situations. There is a lot of growth in that. I was happy with her trying to take that shot.”

Just wasn’t meant to be.