Notre Dame’s 93-58 win didn’t happen simply because the shots fell. After racing to a 20-0 start, the Irish slowed, managing another 22 as Florida State scored 27 till the second quarter, from there. What does a coach do when a seemingly comfortable game suddenly tightens?

For Niele Ivey, one halftime decision flipped everything, turning a shaky stretch into a performance Notre Dame hasn’t delivered against Florida State in their entire series history.

“I felt like we were waiting for our offense to dictate our defense,” Ivey said as she recognized the problem instantly. “We talked about being better defensively because that’s how we started the game. So tried to adjust the zone offense, and then focusing on our defense.”

The adjustment worked immediately. Notre Dame regrouped after the second quarter and never let Florida State back in. The numbers showed that her tactical intervention was right. After making the changes, the Irish game improved, scoring 52 points to Florida State’s 31 combined in the final two quarters.

However, coming into this game, Ivey and her team didn’t have a sweet memory. They lost to the Ole Miss Rebels, which sparked the team to score the 20-0 start. Speaking about that run, the coach said, “Yeah, they were ready today. So it was a response. We knew that we wanted to come out strong.“

“We talked about our talked about our defensive identity being what we need to hang our hat on, and that’s what they did. Their energy was great in practice yesterday. They were locked and focused in our shoot around practices. So, I knew that they were going to come out ready defensively, and that’s where we talked about coming into this game,” the coach further added.

While Ivey’s halftime adjustments secured a historic win, the victory surprisingly wasn’t enough to prevent a slight dip in the national rankings, highlighting the unforgiving nature of the early season

Despite a big win, Niele Ivey’s squad encounters an ugly blow

Notre Dame slipped one spot in the newest Associated Press Top 25 poll, falling from No. 18 to No. 19 despite an emphatic ACC-opening win. Their narrow road loss to No. 13 Ole Miss weighed more heavily in the rankings than their dominant performance against Florida State. Even so, the Fighting Irish remain firmly positioned as a rising team with plenty of momentum.

The dip in ranking is a reminder of how unforgiving early-season evaluations can be, especially when a team is still building rhythm. Looking ahead, Notre Dame hosts Morehead State on Thursday before traveling to James Madison on Sunday, two matchups that offer opportunities to reinforce their case in the national picture.

Meanwhile, regional neighbors saw mixed movement: Michigan held steady at No. 6, while Michigan State slid five spots to No. 25. For the Irish, the path forward is to keep winning, and the rankings will follow.