Niele Ivey breaks through, reaches first Elite Eight as Notre Dame coach
FORT WORTH, TX ― Niele Ivey made her first Elite Eight as head coach at Notre Dame on Friday. She did it with one starter and three total players returning for last season’s roster.
“I’m so excited to be here. Obviously, everybody knows it’s been five straight (Sweet 16s), and I haven’t had a chance to get over that hump, but we did because of these two (Hannah Hidalgo and Cassandre Prosper), ” Ivey said postgame after beating Vanderbilt 67-64 on March 27 at Dickies Arena.
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“This is an incredible experience and moment, and I’m so grateful that I get a chance to share it with this group. First time in (the) Elite Eight as a head coach. I am beyond grateful and blessed.”
The Notre Dame coach had shed her Louboutin heels, which she wore during the matchup, and her earrings. Still, she wore a smile that seemed to speak volumes about what Notre Dame had been through to get to the moment.
On New Year’s Day, Ivey and the Irish lost to an unranked Georgia Tech team in overtime. The loss seemed to cast doubt on where Notre Dame’s season would go and also posed the question: Was Ivey on the hot seat? Did the offseason losses and injuries this season change the team’s identity?
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
UConn’s Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong are among the top players set to tipoff March Madness. Here’s the best players in women’s college basketball:
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
UConn’s Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong are among the top players set to tipoff March Madness. Here’s the best players in women’s college basketball:
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
It’s hard to believe Sarah Strong could top her record-breaking freshman season, but she’s one-upped herself. Strong has career highs in points (18.5), assists (4.1), steals (3.4), field goal percentage (60.1%) and free throw percentage (87.3%). She leads UConn in nearly every statical category, including points, rebounds, steals and blocks. Expect Strong to have a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament. She set the freshmen points record in an NCAA Tournament (114) last season.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts’ stats are slightly down from last season, but she’s no less dominant. She leads UCLA in points (16.4), rebounds (8.6) and blocks (1.9) per game and has 11 double-doubles. Her efforts earned her Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors, becoming the first player in Big Ten history to earn both in the same season.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Texas Longhorns forward Madison Booker has reached new heights this season earning first-team All-SEC after recording career highs in points (18.9), steals (2.3) and field goal percentage (51.6%), which she raised from 46.1% last season. Booker leads the Longhorns in scoring and has been in double-digits for all but two games this season. She’s only a junior, but she’s already climbed to No. 6 on Texas’ all-time scoring list with 1,873 points career points entering March Madness.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
UConn Huskies senior guard Azzi is shooting lights out from the 3-point line. She’s averaging a career-high 44.6% from beyond the arc and her 104 3-pointers rank second in the nation. Her field goal percentage (48.9%) also marks a career-high. Fudd has also helped anchor UConn’s top-ranked scoring defense. She’s one of three Huskies to have at least 85 steals this season, joining Sarah Strong (111) and KK Arnold (93). Fudd is also flirting with the 50-40-90 stat line — 50% from the field, 40% from the 3-point line and 90% from the free throw line.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes was named the SEC Player of the Year after leading Vanderbilt to its first 27-win regular season in program history. Blakes leads the nation in scoring averaging 27.0 points per game, including 12 games of 30 or more points. Ten of those 12 games came in conference play. Blakes has recorded double-digit points in every game this season and is currently riding a 50 game double-digit scoring streak, the longest active streak in the SEC and third longest in NCAA Division I women’s basketball. Blakes is the second Vanderbilt star to win SEC Player of the Year and the first sophomore since South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson in 2016.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Olivia Miles’ transfer from Notre Dame to TCU has been seamless if you look at her stat line. Miles is the centerpiece of the Horned Frogs’ offense and has upped her scoring average from 15.4 points last season to a career-high 19.6 points. Miles tops the nation with five triple doubles and has done so efficiently, with career highs in field goal percentage (48.7) and free throw percentage (84.4%).
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Iowa State Cyclones center Audi Crooks ended the regular season with a bang, dropping 41 points and 13 rebounds against Kansas State — shooting an efficient 16-of-19 from the field. That marked Crooks’ fourth 40-point game of the season and 12th double-double. Crooks has scored in double digits every game this season, extending her streak to 97 straight career games — the longest active streak in the nation. She became the fastest player in Big 12 history to reach 2,000 points on Jan. 28 and picked up an unanimous first-team All-Big 12 nod.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge has arrived! The sophomore guard is in midst of a breakout season. She upped her points per game from 15.4 last season to 22.8, which ranks seventh in the nation. Her field-goal percentage also increased by nearly eight points to 49.0%. She’s scored double-digit points in every game this season and became the 40th Buckeye to surpass 1,000 career points on Feb. 8 against Oregon. She’s only the fifth Ohio State player to record 700 points in a season.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
South Carolina Gamecocks forward Joyce Edwards has taken a large step this season. The 6-foot-3 forward slid into the starting lineup after senior forward Chloe Kitts was ruled out for the season with an ACL injury in her right knee. Edwards has powered South Carolina to the fourth-best scoring offense in the nation (86.3 points per game). She’s averaging a team-high 19.6 points in 34 starts, up from 12.7 points and one start her freshman year. Her stat line is rounded out by 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
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Players to watch in 2026 women’s NCAA basketball tournament
Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo has been a walking highlight reel. Hidalgo turned in career highs in points, steals, rebounds, field-goal percentage and made ACC history by winning both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. Hidalgo set an NCAA record with 16 steals in a game and scored a school-record 44 points in Notre Dame’s 85-58 win over Akron on Nov. 12. She leads the nation in total steals (173), which set a single-season ACC record.
According to Ivey, the team struggled without KK Bransford, a returner from the previous year’s roster, who had been out with an injury. The team, stacked full of transfers, took nearly a month to figure out life without Bransford and find some semblance of what it wanted to be.
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“That was a tough month. January was tough,” Ivey said. “There were games where my starters are playing 40 minutes, and it was really, really tough … Again, that’s why I love this group so much because, regardless, they came back the next day. Their faith never wavered. They came in and gave me their all, and we just weathered the storm. It’s just a special group.”
Ivey said 85 days later, the team learned a lot with their “back was against the wall,” but they fought and it’s paying off. Her players, Hidalgo and Prosper, who sat in Friday’s presser smiling ― Prosper’s face was also red and noticeably puffy from fighting back tears ― seemed to agree with her.
“First and foremost to get over the hump with these group of women is so special,” Hidalgo said. “It means so much. I spoke earlier about how I used to take just being in the Sweet 16 for granted and how I embrace it so much more now and I’m so much more grateful to be here.”
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“I’m so proud of our team. You know, it’s an honor to wear Notre Dame and to be able to play for such a great program, and to see how much growth we’ve had this past year just makes this so much sweeter,” Prosper said.
Ivey says the Irish plan to enjoy Friday’s Sweet 16 win for at least 24 hours before starting to prepare for No. 1 UConn, who they will play in the Elite Eight for a chance to advance to the Final Four. The Notre Dame coach emphasized how hard it is to make the Final Four. The program’s last appearance was in 2019, when it beat UConn 81-76 before falling to Baylor in the national championship.
“It’s a level of toughness that you have to have. The stage is even bigger than it was today,” Ivey said of playing in the Elite Eight. “You have to have a great game plan and be really tough. I think that’s the biggest thing.”
