The No. 23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team lost to the No. 9 Louisville Cardinals 79-66 in a highly anticipated battle at Purcell Pavilion. The result drops Notre Dame to 12-5 on the year and 4-3 in the ACC, while Louisville improves to 17-3 on the year and an undefeated 7-0 in the ACC. The loss showcased some glaring issues for the Irish as they look to improve their form in the coming games.
The first quarter was a very back-and-forth battle, which ended 17-16 in favor of Notre Dame. The Irish mainly focused on post play by feeding graduate forward Malaya Cowles underneath as she recorded six points, all of which came from the paint. Graduate guard Iyana Moore was also very involved in the first quarter, scoring seven points, including a three-pointer and two long two-pointers. Junior guard Hannah Hidalgo was unable to get anything going early, missing two free throws and being unable to convert on the rare occasions when she got open looks. For Louisville, the leading scorer in the first quarter only had four points, but that is a great summary of how the Cardinals have played all year. They have many different weapons to utilize, as they have five different players who average more than nine points per game. Louisville head coach Jeff Walz spoke about his team's depth and explained how even though they don’t “have a Hannah (Hidalgo),” they still have 8-10 very talented weapons they can utilize. They spread out their offense very well, and they proved that in the first quarter. Additionally, Notre Dame outrebounded Louisville 12-7, which was surprising given that Louisville is ranked third in the ACC in rebounds per game, while Notre Dame is ranked 15th.
In the second quarter, Hannah Hidalgo came to life and entered takeover mode. She scored 13 of Notre Dame’s 16 points in the quarter, and she also pulled down four rebounds. The All-American became very aggressive at driving to the basket, and she was really the only source of offense for the Irish throughout the frame. For the Cardinals, they got very good production off the bench from senior guard Reyna Scott, who scored seven of the team’s 21 points. They completely dominated the post, with all their field goals being two-point shots, and they also won the rebound battle, which helped them extend the lead to four by the end of the half, entering the locker room at 37-33.
The third quarter was a completely different game for each team’s offense. In the first half, both sides relied heavily on feeding the post and driving to the basket. However, the game became much more focused on three-point shots in the second half. The third quarter was when the game was decided as the Cardinals built their lead up to double digits, receiving large contributions from their leading scorer, sophomore guard Tajianna Roberts, who had struggled in the three games prior to this one. Coach Walz talked about how impressed he was with Roberts’ contributions in the second half, as she scored eight points in each of the final two quarters. For the Irish, they entered the second half shooting 2-8 from deep, but they went 5-6 in the third quarter. Senior guard Cassandre Prosper had an off-night in the post, but she knocked down both her attempted triples in the quarter. Moore, who started the night hot, continued her form, knocking down a pair as well. Hidalgo contributed as well with seven points in the quarter. However, it seemed like every time Notre Dame knocked down a three and was about to reclaim the momentum, Louisville answered and killed the Irish’s hopes of making a comeback.
The Irish entered the fourth quarter only down six, and it seemed like they had a chance to make a comeback. However, the Cardinals came out hot, led by Roberts. She canned two momentum-killing treys that all but sealed the deal for the Cardinals. The Irish just looked uncompetitive in the fourth quarter, only scoring 10 total points, with Hidalgo being held to just two.
Overall, the game came down to Notre Dame having a lack of depth compared to Louisville. The Irish didn’t make a single substitute in the second half, and it caught up to them as they struggled to defend Louisville from outside the arc. Hidalgo talked about their limited bench in the postgame press conference, saying, “We know we have enough and whoever’s on the floor, it’s enough for us to win, and it’s just a matter of everybody buying into what we’re doing.” She also said that the defense is the “common denominator in a lot of these losses.” She may be right that the Irish have enough, even with their small reserve production, but there were certainly issues on the defensive side tonight that could be attributed to fatigue.
The Irish will have their hands full with their next opponent as they take on the No. 1 ranked Connecticut Huskies in Storrs on Martin Luther King Day. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. on FOX.
