As No. 1, Notre Dame Looks the Part in Win Over Duke

Hannah Hidalgo (3) of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish shoots against Oluchi Okananwa (5) of the Duke Blue Devils during the second half at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Indiana, on Feb. 17, 2025. Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Notre Dame claimed the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll on Monday for the first time since 2019, and the Irish followed that up with a big win over No. 11 Duke that night, 64–49.

“This is a big moment for us,” Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey told reporters afterward. “This was a game with a lot of pressure.”

Notre Dame (23–2) took the national stage at home on an ESPN broadcast of the game, and Duke (20–6) came in hungry to end the Irish’s 17-game winning streak. The Irish responded by breaking open a close game in the second half with a 17–1 run for a 46–28 in the third quarter.

“I thought this team was fantastic. They came out focused. They rose to the challenge. They played great together,” Ivey said.

Irish sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 19 points on 6–15 shooting, and she dished four assists and tallied three steals. Senior guard Sonia Citron, who delivered with 15 points plus seven rebounds and three assists, expressed amazement at how her team took over quickly in the third quarter after only leading 29–27 at the half.

“Honestly, I don’t know exactly what, but I’m going to say our defense,” Citron told reporters afterward. “We were just getting stops and playing in transition and always say that’s our best game.

“Our defense was just fueling our offense.”

Notre Dame had 11 steals and 26 defensive rebounds to spark the offense throughout. The Irish outscored Duke 14–6 in fast break points and 32–28 in the paint.

Most notably, the Irish went 6–18 from three-point range while the Blue Devils struggled at 1–9. Only senior guard Maddy Westbeld had more than one three among the Irish players as she finished with 11 points.

Notre Dame limited Duke to a .385 field goal percentage as senior guard Taina Mair was the only one in double figures with 15 points, and the Blue Devils only managed six offensive rebounds along the way. Duke couldn’t keep Irish senior guard Liatu King, who had 11 rebounds, off the glass on either end of the court.

King, who averages a double double of 12 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, only had a free throw on offense all night in 30 minutes of action. It didn’t matter in the end as the Irish spread the offense around across all eight players who saw minutes. Senior guard Olivia Miles had nine points and seven rounds, and the Irish got a spark off the bench from freshman forward Kate Koval, who had four points and seven boards.

“I just know they’re really good,” Duke head coach Kara Lawson told reporters regarding Notre Dame afterward. “There’s just a lot of talent.”

While Notre Dame had been in the top 10 for rankings all season, the ascent to No. 1 came about with UCLA’s 71–60 loss to No. 6 USC on Feb. 13. The Bruins (24–1), meanwhile, slipped to No. 3 in Monday’s poll.

“Nothing changes,” Ivey said about the top ranking. “We talked about it. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.

“They are playing great basketball. I think we have a special group.”

Ivey understands the significance of the moment for Notre Dame. She played for the Irish’s 2001 national championship team and served as an assistant with the 2018 national title squad. In addition, she was on staff for the other Final Four teams in 2015, 2017, and 2019.

Tournament time is around the corner, and the Irish were named one of the No. 1 seeds by the NCAA selection committee’s midseason top 16 release on Sunday. Ivey admitted that had some meaning though Selection Sunday for the women’s tournament is March 16.

“My heart was beating fast on that one because it’s never happened for us,” Ivey said. “The embrace and the cheers, that was different.

“This group, we’ve never experienced that. So, I thought that was a special moment.”