Notre Dame Women’s Basketball enters the 2024/25 season with sky-high expectations. Coming off an ACC Tournament title and a close loss in the Sweet 16, the Irish are preseason ACC favorites and ranked 5th/6th in the Preseason Coaches and AP Polls. The roster is easily the most talented of the Ivey-era. At full strength, their starting five will have an All American or All Conference player at every position. The bench is filled with McDonalds All Americans. Standing in their way is a brutal non-conference schedule and an ACC loaded with five other ranked teams. Head Coach Niele Ivey certainly has her work cut out for her, but that’s what you sign up for when coaching at Notre Dame. Let the games begin! (please ignore that they already did on Monday night)

Miles, Hidalgo, and Citron: Most Fun Backcourt in Basketball?

The biggest story for the Irish is the return of Olivia Miles. The 2022/23 2nd Team All-American point guard missed the end of that season and all of the following one after tearing her ACL during the 2023 ACC Tournament. Miles returned to the court in an exhibition game against Davenport and finished one assist shy of a triple double. In the regular season opener against Mercyhurst, she got that 10th assist to go along with 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fourth career triple double. While obviously not the highest level of competition she’ll face this season, Miles looks to be back to her old self. Both games included tough finishes through contact and her finding teammates for layups on the break. For more on Olivia’s return to the court, check out her interview with friend of the blog Chris Wilson.

With Miles sidelined last season, much of the offensive creation fell to highly touted freshman Hannah Hidalgo. She responded with a 1st Team All-American season where she shouldered a huge load on both ends of the floor. How Hidalgo and Miles fit together will be the thing to watch early in the season. There is some legitimate concern about having two ball dominant players on the floor at the same time, but if they get it right, the potential is limitless. Early returns on the Miles/Hidalgo backcourt look good, as Hannah scored 19 points, grabbed nine boards, and notched six steals in the regular season opener. Remember, Miles had a 20 point triple double in this game! Also remember that Hidalgo was on quadruple-double watch at times last year! During the opener, ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli mused that it’s not outside the realm of possibility for both to have triple doubles in the same game at some point this season.  They’ll need to work through some growing pains together, but these are already two of the most fun players in the sport. We’re so lucky to watch them share the court for the Irish.

Defenses focused on stopping ND’s two lead guards risk letting 2x All-ACC Team member Sonia Citron have time and space to thrive. The senior averaged 17 points on 46/36/91 shooting splits last season. With better quality looks generated by the other two guards coming this year, a 50/40/90 season is potentially on the cards. Citron added a bit of playmaking to her game last season with Miles out, so she can help initiate offense when either Miles or Hidalgo rest. She has no issues attacking a closeout to get to the rim or to pull up for a mid-range jumper. The senior is also the best FT shooter on the team and will be the calm head they try to get the ball to when icing out games at the line. Citron missed the season opener with a sore ankle, but is expected to return for Saturday’s trip to Purdue.


After the big-3, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch round out the backcourt rotation. Both picked up season-ending injuries early last season, but are healthy to start this one (sadly, injuries are a bit of a theme with this program). Prosper spent the summer with Team Canada at the Paris Olympics alongside Irish alum Nat Achonwa so she should be ready to go from the jump. She’s started the opener with Citron out, so she looks to be ahead of Risch in the rotation right now. One of the few potential weaknesses among the guards is the lack of a non-Citron knockdown three point shooter. Neither Hidalgo or Miles have been great from deep in previous seasons, but they should get better quality looks playing with each other. Improvement in this area from Miles and Hidalgo along with one or both of Prosper or Risch becoming a consistent three point threat would take the Irish offense to another level.

While the offense may draw more headlines, the way this group can defend might even be more exciting. Hidalgo led the nation in steals last season with 4.6 per game. She was good for a couple “pick-sixes” every night, no matter the quality of the opponent. With Olivia back and taking some of the offensive responsibilities off her shoulders this year, Hidalgo should have even more energy to devote to her defense. Miles is no slouch as an on-ball defender averaging around two steals per game during her career. She also has the height, speed, and basketball IQ to disrupt passing lanes when a more energized Hidalgo is hounding opposing ball handlers. Citron is another plus defender who at 6-1, is usually taller than whoever she’s guarding on the perimeter. It’s not hard to envision a disgusting full-court press led by these three generating loads of turnovers and easy transition buckets. Prosper and Rish are both over six foot as well, so even the bench options can be fairly disruptive. It’s going to be a blast to watch, and their potential at both ends is why this group might be the most exciting backcourt in basketball. To be clear, that’s not the most exciting in women’s college basketball, college basketball, or women’s basketball, it’s as good as it gets in basketball, full stop.

New Faces in the Paint

While the backcourt is all about returning stars, the interior is a bit less settled. Forward Maddie Westbeld decided to return for her final year of eligibility (and hopefully got a nice NIL bag for doing so). She’s coming off a 2nd Team All-ACC season where she averaged 14-8. Unfortunately, she had foot surgery in the summer and is targeting the start of the conference play for her return. This is a huge bummer because there are some big non-con games in late November and December (more on that later) where she’d be pretty helpful. Other returning ND bigs are also dealing with injuries. Just before the season, junior KK Bransford announced she’d be redshirting due to a leg injury. You may also recall that now senior Kylee Watson tore her ACL in the ACC Semifinal last March. She may return at some point this season but is obviously unavailable at present. Lastly, while not lost to injury, grad student Nat Marshall decided to transfer to Miami for her final season of eligibility.

Thankfully, the transfer portal provided two all-conference reinforcements. Liatu King joined the Irish from Pitt where she averaged 18-10 and earned 1st Team All-ACC honors. King also nearly beat ND by herself last season when she dropped a 34-13 line against her future team. Since joining the Irish, she had 27 and 14 in the exhibition game, and added 24 points with 11 boards in her official debut. King also seems developing a nice connection with Miles and Hidalgo after some work together in the summer.


Liza Karlen transferred from Marquette where she was 1st Team All-Big East averaging 17-7. Keeping with the theme of the program, she picked up an ankle injury in the first half of the exhibition game against Davenport. She was wearing a walking boot afterwards, and we’re TBD on a potential return date. Once healthy, both bigs should flourish with the guards demanding so much attention from defenses. At their previous schools, both faced double-teams inside on almost every possession. With the Irish, they’ll have mostly single coverage in the post and layups when running the floor (see above). Five-star freshman Kate Koval rounds out the new faces inside. She was the top post recruit in this year’s freshman class and has looked good getting up to speed in college ball scoring 18 points with 5 blocks in the opener. She’ll begin the season in the starting five due to Karlen and Westbeld’s injuries. While Koval will probably move to the bench once the team gets healthier, the early minutes should pay dividends later in the season.

Strength of Schedule: It’s Quite Strong

Despite the kind start to the season (new to D-I Mercyhurst at home is a bit easier than last year’s opener against eventual undefeated National Champion South Carolina in Paris), the Irish have a claim to the toughest schedule in the country. ND shouldn’t have too much trouble with trips to Purdue and Lafayette, PA (Oliva Miles Homecoming Game) sandwiched around a home game against JMU. That said, facing a Big Ten team on the road is notable that early in the year. The first of three huge non-con games comes on November 23rd when ND visits third ranked Southern Cal. Obviously more of football rivalry than a basketball one, this has rightfully been billed as the Juju Watkins v. Hannah Hidalgo Sophomore Showdown. Both were 1st Team All Americans as freshman point guards last season. USC lost a close game to UConn the Elite Eight in 2024 and added big time transfers to an already strong roster in the offseason. Notre Dame may be happy to face them early in the year as they may not be fully up to speed incorporating their new talent. The Trojans were fortunate to escape against Ole Miss after trailing late in their Paris opener on Monday. The game against the Irish tips at 4:00 ET on NBC leading into the surprisingly huge ND football game against currently undefeated Army at Yankee Stadium.

After SC, the Irish face two Big 12 opponents as part of the Cayman Island Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. TCU was a WNIT team last season, but added Hailey Van Lith in the transfer portal. Utah reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament and completed an LA sweep of USC and UCLA . Both opponents are near the top of the “also receiving votes” section of the polls so either could be ranked by Thanksgiving with a strong start to the year. After the holiday weekend and some time on the beach, the Irish face three very strong opponents a week. First, ND hosts #4 Texas as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge on Thursday, December 5th. Last season, the Longhorns won the Big 12 (isn’t conference realignment grand) and earned a one seed in the Dance before they were upset by NC State in the Elite Eight. While less heralded than Watkins and Hidalgo, small forward Madison Booker was another outstanding freshman last season. She won Big 12 PotY and was named a 2nd team All-American. That one tips at 7:00 PM on ESPN. A noon tip on ACCN at Syracuse in the conference opener follows on December 8th. The Orange were a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament and beat the Irish twice last season so this won’t be an easy trip to the Dome.

To finish up the week from hell, Notre Dame hosts the old enemy on December 12th. If you’re remotely familiar with the Irish women’s program, you’re well aware of the rivalry between Muffet and Geno Auriemma’s UConn the goes back to when both programs were in the Big East. After rounds of conference realignment, the two programs still face each other in non-conference play every season. The preseason #2 ranked Huskies are led by Paige Bueckers who is expected to be the top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft. The game tips at 7:00 ET on ESPN. After UConn, home dates against Eastern Michigan and Loyola (MD) should give ND a bit of a breather before the conference season fully gets underway.

The ACC schedule is somewhat backloaded with a trip to Chapel Hill to face UNC as the only ranked matchup in the first nine games. The Heels are 15th to start the season and beat ND at Purcell last year. Another game to note in the early conference slate is a trip to Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. The Hokies are rebuilding after their longtime coach Kenny Brooks left for Kentucky. All-Big East Irish alumna Megan Duffy now leads VT after a successful stint at Marquette. The reigning ACC Regular Season Champs have some talent left on the roster, but they lost a number of players to graduation and the portal when Brooks was hired away.

A much stronger second half of the league schedule begins in February when the Irish head to #17 Louisville. The Cardinals are now a legitimate rival for ND at the top of the ACC since both schools joined the conference. The Irish get a bit of respite when facing Stanford, Cal, and Pitt. While Stanford is a traditional women’s hoops powerhouse, their longtime coach Tara VanDerveer retired at the end of last season and their top players transferred to other top west coast programs, UCLA and USC specifically. How they handle a new league with a new coach and a mostly new roster is very up in the air. Cal and a King-less Pitt should be relatively easy wins after Stanford.

A home game against Duke on Presidents Day is the beginning of a tough ACC stretch run. Kara Lawson’s Blue Devils enter the season ranked 11th and are coming off a Sweet 16 run as a 7-seed. A trip to Miami for a reunion with Nat Marshall, a visit to top-10 and 2024 Final Four participant NC State, a home game against preseason #19 Florida State, and a home rematch against Louisville round out conference play. For long term planners, the 2025 ACC Tournament is in Greensboro. As always, 1st and 2nd round NCAA Tournament games are on the campuses of the top 16 seeds. Notre Dame should expect to host at Purcell. This year’s NCAA Regionals are held in Birmingham and Spokane. The Final Four will be in Tampa. Touch wood and cross yourself as you see fit.

Pressure is a Privilege

Unsurprisingly, given the talent coming back from last year’s team combined with Miles return, the Irish carry the burden huge expectations into the season. Consensus from national media is that six teams are a cut above rest: South Carolina, UCLA, USC, Texas, UConn, and the Irish. Considering Notre Dame faces three of these teams before Christmas, we’ll have a good idea of where they stand fairly early in the season. As this is her fifth season since taking over from Muffet McGraw, it’s definitely Niele Ivey’s program now. After a rough first season, the Irish have reached three straight Sweet Sixteens. In the last two years, Ivey has added an ACC regular season championship, an ACC Tournament title, and wins against UConn in South Bend and Storrs.

While that’s a bit below of the mark set by McGraw, it’s still a passing grade for someone taking over from a legend during a transitional time in the sport. Recall that Ivey’s first season was the 2020/21 season that featured cancellations, postponements, and empty arenas. Her first recruiting cycle was done over Zoom. After things got “back to normal” she had to learn to navigate the start of the NIL and Transfer Portal Era. With the program on pretty stable footing and with this collection of talent, it’s reasonable to expect the Irish to push higher this season. It’s not quite, “Tampa or Bust,” but anything short of an Elite Eight and conference championship would feel fairly disappointing. Women’s college hoops is obviously in a different place now than it was a decade ago. That said, for a program that had had five consecutive Final Fours between 2011 and 2015, five years without one is a long time. Ultimately, this team will be defined by how they perform in March. That’s a tough and not necessarily fair assignment given the unforgiving nature of the tournament, but I don’t think Ivey and her team would want it any other way. Don’t you just love college basketball?