Notre Dame was dragged back to earth by Michigan. Hannah Hidalgo was on the moon after her program-record 44 points and an NCAA-record 16 steals against Akron. However, three days later, they were smacked 93-54 at the 2025 Shamrock Classic by the Wolverines. The 39-point loss was the largest margin of defeat in Niele Ivey’s six-year reign at the program. According to the experts, this one game has just exposed all the preseason doubts. 

“Anytime you lose by about 40 points, it should raise some alarm bells, I think,” Sabreena Merchant said on “No Offseason: The Athletic Women’s Basketball Show”. The game was concerning because of the way the Fighting Irish went down without any spirit. They scored less than 20 points in each quarter while conceding 25+ points in two. “I felt like that was the identity of us today. We did not have any type of fight defensively,” Ivey said after the game.

“This was the first time Notre Dame had played an opponent of real consequence. And we’re starting to see all of the concerns that were laid out during the off-season about this particular Notre Dame team,” Sabreena said further. It felt like, after being the hunter for the first three games, they became the hunted. 

After her record game, the Wolverines prevented Hidalgo from having much impact. She finished with 12 points on 4-21 shooting and 0-8 from the 3-point line while committing 7 turnovers. With Hidalgo not firing, the team practically fell flat, and it just showed their lack of options outside of the star guard. 

“We have a direct comparison in these games because Michigan and Notre Dame played in the NCAA tournament just last March. And that was a 21-point win by Notre Dame, and we saw in that game all the advantages, all the players, the Citrons, the Kings, the Westbelds. We saw all those players overwhelm Michigan. They jumped out to a 20-point lead after the first quarter,” Ben Pickman said. 

Looking back at that game, Hannah Hidalgo was still the top scorer with 21 points, but she had the support of Sonia Citron (16 points) and Liatu King (18 points). A stark difference from their recent game against the Wolverines. Cassandre Prosper (17 points) and KK Bransford (15 points) combined for 37 points as Michigan stifled Hidalgo. Outside shooting was non-existent as the entire team shot 2-22 from three. 

The team has bled too many stars. Citron, their premier shooter, the physical presence of Liatu King, the young  Kate Koval, and, who can forget, star guard Olivia Miles, all either left through the portal or graduated. That is four of their top 5 scorers from 2024-25, their best creator, and their best rebounder. It feels too much to recover from. This rematch against Michigan, months after their win, was proof of Notre Dame’s troubles.  “And this was a very different kind of game because it was very much,” Pickman said, Michigan, who had all the options, all the answers.”

4 of Michigan’s starters had 10+ points. Their bench contributed with 38 points as opposed to Notre Dame’s two. It just shows how depending on a player can blow back. It reflected in their recent AP ranking, falling from No.18 to No.24. If Niele Ivey and Hidalgo can’t find solutions, this season is trending dangerously downwards.  However, it was still just one game, but they face another ranked opponent soon. Their match-up against USC will decide what fans could realistically expect from this side. 

USC Showdown Will Define Notre Dame’s Ceiling

Even after being outclassed by Michigan, coach Niele Ivey maintained that this team can recover. “That’s who I am,” Ivey said. “I know what this team can do. I believe in this team. Everything was off tonight. I don’t expect that every night — I expect them to respond, and I’m going to prepare them to respond.” They have the perfect chance to respond against the No.13 USC (week 3). 

The Trojans are 2-1 through their first three games, with their loss coming against the No.2 South Carolina. They are also missing Juju Watkins, who is recovering from an ACL tear, but they are a capable team nonetheless. They have already defeated a ranked opponent in NC State.

“I just can’t wait until they play another good game, which is going to happen real soon. They do play USC this Friday. So you’ll get to see if like this was a one-off against Michigan or if there are actually real limitations to this roster because of all of the personnel that they lost during the summer,” Merchant said. 

Sometimes, teams fall flat after a big win. It’s still early in the season, and this completely rebuilt squad hasn’t completely gelled yet. If this team falls similarly to Notre Dame, the questions about their talent will become louder. The good thing for Niele Ivey is that she has six days to prepare her squad. Almost all parts of their game need looking at. Ivey’s side lost in rebounding (50-28), outside shooting, and efficiency (17-60 from the field). Hannah Hidalgo will need to figure out how to weave around double teams since she will be targeted with a crowd of defenders again.