Notre Dame women's basketball starts hot, finishes ice cold in loss at Ole Miss

For a quarter at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford, Miss., on Thursday you saw Niele Ivey‘s vision for this version of her Notre Dame women’s basketball team.

But only for a quarter.

Hannah Hidalgo couldn’t be stopped. She scored as many points as Ole Miss did in the first quarter. And she did so on a very impressively efficient shooting clip of 6 of 8. Her teammates spaced the floor and let her do her thing, and they were dynamite defensively. Notre Dame led by a dozen through a frame minutes as a result.

Over the next three quarters, Notre Dame only scored 10 more points than they scored in the first 10 minutes. It was every bit as ugly as that sounds. Hidalgo endured a stretch in which she only made 1 shot in 11 attempts. The Irish were brutalized on the glass, losing the overall rebounds battle 42-27 by the end of the night and having a disadvantage of 19-8 in offensive boards.

So, Ole Miss won in a runaway like Michigan did vs. the Irish last month, right? No, the undefeated Rebels only held serve at home by a final score of 69-62. The 55-36 margin in the final three quarters told the story, though. No. 13 (8-0) Ole Miss was more physical and made more shots down the stretch.

It didn’t look like much of a fair fight. That could just be what this season comes down to for No. 18 Notre Dame (5-2) when it is on the floor against NCAA Tournament caliber teams.

Sure, the Irish beat USC. But even in that 61-59 game, Notre Dame looked inept offensively for long stretches. In three games against ranked teams so far this season, the Irish scored 54, 61 and 62 points. They were out-rebounded by a combined total of 125-89. That’s not going to get it done.

Hidalgo, who finished with 28 points on 10 of 23 shooting with 5 steals, 5 turnovers, 3 rebounds and 2 assists vs. Ole Miss, was ejected with two technical fouls in the final minute. Frustration, letting the emotions of the impending loss get to her or whatever it might have been, she didn’t finish the game with her teammates. Neither did center Malaya Cowles, who fouled out the old fashioned way. Cassandre Prosper came close to joining her, picking up four personals.

That’s what happens when a team plays 40 minutes with a seven-player rotation.

Cowles and fellow transfer Iyana Moore were the only Notre Dame players to come off the bench, as expected. Cowles was good with 12 points and 5 rebounds, but Moore didn’t make a shot and had 2 steals, 1 rebound and 0 assists. That’s 15 minutes of not chipping in with many contributions. Prosper and KK Bransford, two starters, only combined for 4 points and 1 assist. Total. Between the two. That might’ve been more of a burden than Moore’s multiple 0s.

Cowles’ five rebounds were the most of any Notre Dame player. Christeen Iwuala led Ole Miss with 13. Any time the Irish go up against a team with a formidable big, this team probably isn’t going to be able to compete in the paint for four quarters. Gisela Sanchez, 6-4 like Cowles, is Cowles’ complement in the post. But she only had 1 rebound in 28 minutes. She’s not the type to bang bodies below the hoop. Notre Dame just doesn’t have enough players like that on this roster.

To make up for that, the stuff that should be easy needs to be executed as close to flawlessly as possible. The Irish were 14 of 24 on layups, and they didn’t box out satisfactorily or take enough advantage of the Rebels’ 16 turnovers, only scoring 12 points off of them.

It was back to the drawing board after losing to Michigan and it’s right back to it now after losing to Ole Miss. There will be more moments this season just like these two, too. So just be ready.