The Notre Dame Fighting Irish's season came to an end in the Sweet 16 against the Oregon State Beavers, 70-65. It's been a tough season for Notre Dame as they've dealt with numerous injuries to the roster. Amid Notre Dame's March Madness loss was the issue of star freshman Hannah Hidalgo and her nose ring. Hidalgo was forced to remove the ring during gameplay, drawing a not so thrilled response from Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey after the game as per Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic.
“She's had a nose ring the entire season. I wish we'd known that earlier,” Niele Ivey said. Ivey said they were told that the NCAA was addressing the issue of jewelry beginning with the Sweet 16.
Hidalgo had to miss almost five minutes of gameplay while she removed the ring. It's possible that coming out of the game affected Hidalgo's rhythm. She shot only 4-17 from the field and 0-3 from three point range and finished with only ten points.
Ivey mentioned that Hidalgo was frustrated at times during the game and she tried to give Hidalgo encouragement and support as per Notre Dame's student publication The Observer.
Notre Dame looking forward to next season
Despite the disappointing finish to the 2023-24 season, Notre Dame has reason for optimism, one of which is another year of development from Hannah Hidalgo. The Fighting Irish should field a healthy roster next season including the return of Olivia Miles.
Ivey spoke about how she's proud of what this team was able to accomplish despite the odds and adversity they faced.
“I love my team. This is an incredible group. I'm just proud of who we are. We really battled — we found our identity and character,” Ivey said. “I feel like I won with this team because they're amazing and inspiring.”
Having Hidalgo on the roster is definitely reason for optimism. If USC's JuJu Watkins was the best freshman in college basketball, Hidalgo was a very close second. She also set a few records this year surpassing former Notre Dame legend and current WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Hidalgo appeared in 34 games for the Fighting Irish at a little over 35 minutes per game. She averaged 22.9 points per game, 6.2 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 4.6 steals with splits of 45.1 percent shooting from the field, 34.7 percent shooting from the three point line and 77.4 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Despite their injury woes, the Fighting Irish finished with an overall record of 28-7 and 13-5 in the ACC as they secured a No. 2 overall seed in March Madness.
In addition to Miles, Notre Dame was missing Kylee Watson, Cass Prosper, Emma Risch and Jenna Brown. They had only six available players during the NCAA Tournament.
This is Ivey's fourth year as head coach of the Fighting Irish. A Notre Dame alum, she replaced legendary head coach Muffet McGraw following her retirement in 2020. Ivey has led Notre Dame to the NCAA Tournament in three of her four seasons, reaching the Sweet 16 each time. In those four years she's amassed a record of 89-32.
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