2026 hasn’t been too kind to the Notre Dame women’s basketball team, as the program had to start the year with consecutive losses. First, it was an overtime loss against Georgia Tech (95-90), and then came the most recent one against Duke (82-68). It goes without saying that the team’s morale is presently in tatters.

And head coach Niele Ivey is now searching for clarity, trying to figure out why familiar cracks keep showing up and giving opponents room to take advantage.

“Yeah, those are two areas we focus on, we have to be tougher, be more relentless on the board because we knew that they were very physical, have really good posts. They were great on the glass. That was a big key for us, and then taking care of the ball, we have to give ourselves opportunities to really execute, and I felt like when we either turned the ball over took bad shots, they capitalized in transition. So rebounding was a big issue for us today.”

” For sure, our toughness, we talked about it, our toughness in our defense, and then again being physical and playing consistent for 40 minutes. That’s what hasn’t been shown in the last two games, but again giving up too many points, and then today was defending the 3-point line and rebounding. So toughness and rebounding and defense are three things that we’ve learned,” came the blunt answer from Niele Ivey.

After showing up in the AP women’s basketball poll for 85 straight weeks, No. 18 Notre Dame is staring at the real possibility of falling out of the rankings on Monday, after some deeper issues were exposed. Ones that could linger.

Coming into the Duke game, Notre Dame ranked third nationally in Division I with 16.5 steals per game. Against the Blue Devils, though, that identity never showed up. The Irish finished with just eight steals and went the entire first quarter without forcing a single one. They also caused only 11 turnovers overall, far below their season average of 23.5.

Transition offense, usually another Notre Dame strength, was again nowhere to be seen. The Irish entered the matchup averaging 19.5 fast-break points per game and had dominated opponents 254–89 in that category this season, including four games where they didn’t allow a single transition basket. Against Duke, Notre Dame didn’t record a single fast-break point in the first half and ended the game on the wrong side of a 19–4 gap.

On the surface, the shooting numbers weren’t alarming. Notre Dame hit 46% from the floor and 50% from three. But Duke capitalized on the small openings that appear when a roster is stretched thin. The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle 39–31, controlled the paint, and knocked down nine threes while pulling Notre Dame’s defense out of rhythm.

Duke took advantage early, ripping off a 13–0 run in the first quarter that put the Irish on their heels. Hannah Hidalgo’s three-pointer to start the third quarter briefly trimmed the deficit to six, but Duke responded immediately with an 8–0 burst and never let Notre Dame back within striking distance.

Now, these same warning signs had already surfaced in the loss to Georgia Tech. After that game, Niele Ivey spoke about what she viewed as her team’s complacency, and she looked visibly shaken while doing it. Whether it was the glare of the postgame lights or the weight of the moment, her eyes appeared increasingly watery as the questions continued.

In that Georgia Tech game, Notre Dame went on an 11–0 run midway through the third quarter, pushing its lead to 14 with 7:27 left. Ivey noted that her teams typically “kind of take off” after stretches like that. However, defensive breakdowns flipped the momentum.

Georgia Tech shot 53% from the field in Thursday’s upset, outscored Notre Dame’s bench 21–11, and won the rebounding battle 42–36. And more than half of the Yellow Jackets’ 95 points, 52 of them, came in the paint.

Depth causes a problem for Niele Ivey

Niele Ivey deserves a bit of breathing room for what she’s been asked to manage this season. Notre Dame is working with a drastically reshaped roster. The Fighting Irish lost four players to the transfer portal, including former starting guard Olivia Miles, while Sonia Citron moved on to the WNBA. That left junior Hannah Hidalgo as the only returning starter.

Ivey’s current starting group is a mix of graduate transfers, seniors, and Hidalgo, all while the team tries to survive a growing injury list. That’s not exactly an ideal setup for a program that needs rhythm, continuity, and trust as it enters the toughest stretch of its schedule.

Depth, or more accurately, the lack of it, has become impossible to ignore. With KK Bransford sidelined indefinitely due to a knee injury and freshman Leah Macy unavailable, Notre Dame’s starters have been pushed into heavy minutes every time the game gets tight. Ivey has hence been forced to navigate games with a six-player rotation.

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Still and all, there is growing concern regarding Ivey’s coaching.

In three of Ivey’s six seasons as head coach, Notre Dame’s offense and defense have revolved heavily around Hidalgo. When she’s rolling, the Irish can compete with anyone. When she’s not, the team has tended to stumble in big moments, regardless of who else is on the floor. What makes the recent losses harder to swallow is that Hidalgo did deliver, scoring 26 against Georgia and 22 against Duke, yet Notre Dame still couldn’t close the deal.

To be clear, the résumé still carries weight. Under Ivey, Notre Dame has reached the Sweet 16 in four straight seasons. Still, the timing of these underwhelming performances is starting to feel uncomfortably familiar.

During the 2024–25 season, just days before March Madness, the Irish dropped three ranked games to ACC opponents over a five-game stretch. That included a brutal 104–95 double-overtime loss to NC State Wolfpack, where things unraveled late.

Whatever Notre Dame’s identity is supposed to be, it needs to show up fast, or the remaining half of the season could get ugly. There won’t be much margin for error either. Over the next two and a half weeks, Notre Dame faces three ranked teams: North Carolina Tar Heels (No. 16), Louisville Cardinals (No. 13), and UConn Huskies (No. 1) on January 19.