Notre Dame has found itself in quite a predicament after their last few games. Niele Ivey’s team has won just a solitary game against Miami while collapsing against Louisville 79-66, UConn 89-47, and Clemson 65-58, which has understandably shaken the team. Notre Dame will be on the road for their next couple of games, visiting the West Coast. Now, the Fighting Irish’s head coach has noted serious flaws within her team, and she demands some swift changes.

Niele Ivey recently joined host Tony Simeone on the “Voice of the Irish” podcast to share where she feels the team has to upgrade itself.

“I think rebounding is a big part of what we need to focus on. Both teams have great balance. Cal is a little bit more athletic. They have great size, so doing a great job on the boards is something that we’re going to focus on, so that’s one thing. Offensively, I always want to work on getting better, defensively being consistent, but rebounding is going to be a big part,” said Niele Ivey as she feels that’s one aspect where the team can improve.

The rebounding disparity is striking. In their last two losses, Clemson outrebounded them 40-20, and UConn won the battle on the boards 39-24. Moreover California Golden Bears are tall and physical. Sakima Walker, 6’5″, and Claudia Langarita, 6’4″, can cause problems in the paint if the team isn’t careful, and Ivey is well aware of that.

“Yeah its definitely the individual mindset for sure. But like early in the season, we can do more individual things. Right now, we’re doing more 5 on 5, so scrimmaging more.”Ivey clarified that the focus is shifting from individual drills to team-based scrimmages, emphasizing the collective effort she wants to instill in her players.

Hidalgo Keeps Shining Amidst  Team’s Recent Failures

Notre Dame might have found itself in a black hole, but that hasn’t affected Hannah Hidalgo’s game the slightest. The Notre Dame guard has come out as the top scorer in their last five games despite her team not being able to capitalize on her hot streak. While some are blaming Ivey, Hidalgo refuses to blame her coach.

In her last game against Clemson, Hidalgo scored 30 points, nearly half the team’s total. She also had 8 steals, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds to boot, but it all went in vain. So what is going wrong and why the sudden dip in form since January? This was the same team that was holding a 10-2 record in the season, but the following month saw a completely different story.

Niele Ivey’s team is 5-3 since January started, and as such, many are coming down hard on the coach. Hidalgo isn’t buying the accusations and making sure that her team takes accountability for the mistakes made.

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“To be clear, it’s nothing that Coach Ivey can do to bring the level of toughness to us. This is an individual thing that everybody has to bring consistently. … It’s up to us….. to bring it out of each other… You wouldn’t look at any other team, and they say, ‘We look to our coach to bring that toughness out of us.’ That’s not a thing,” Hidalgo says.

It is fairly evident that the team is very dependent on Hannah to take them through by now, and that mentality probably won’t help much when the competition gets tough. Except for Hannah, Cassandre Prosper (15.7 PPG ) and Iyana Moore (10.8 PPG) are the only ones who are hitting double figures, and that can definitely be improved because you can’t overburden anyone with extra pressure.

Coach Niele Ivey has 9 more games remaining and would hope and pray that the underlying complications are fixed as soon as possible. For now, her focus is on the upcoming West Coast swing as the first step in the team’s recovery.