Why Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance is special

COLUMBUS — Any team is excited about winning an NCAA Tournament game. When No. 6 seed Notre Dame women’s basketball beat No. 3 seed Ohio State 83-73 Monday, March 23 in the round of 32, the former’s celebration felt just a little different.

No victory — let alone in March Madness — is easy but the Irish’s 24 this season really haven’t been easy. After losing eight players from last year’s Sweet Sixteen squad, including TCU Big 12 Player of the Year Olivia Miles to the transfer portal and Washington Mystics standout Sonia Citron to the WNBA Draft, head coach Niele Ivey and her staff had to essentially start from scratch.

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First Team All-American and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo returned, but that was really the only sure thing when it came to consistent on-court production. Even though KK Bransford and Cassandre Prosper returned for their fourth season with Notre Dame, each had missed significant time due to injury and had been inconsistent when they were on the floor.

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They’d be the first to admit that, and they might be the last to admit how key they’ve been in the Irish’s success this season. Each has stepped up in different ways, with Prosper winning the ACC Most Improved Player award while averaging more than 13 points and six rebounds per outing and starting every game.

Bransford had a brief scare when she missed 12 games midseason due to a knee injury, but in Notre Dame’s 22 games with her on the floor, the Irish are 18-4. Filling in the rest of the gaps are four grad student transfers — Gisela Sanchez from Kansas State, Iyana Moore from Vanderbilt, Malaya Cowles from Wake Forest and Vanessa de Jesus from Duke — all of whom have stepped up on separate occasions when Notre Dame has needed them most.

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“We’re proud of each other,” Prosper said. “We’re very proud of the growth. We’re proud of every single person. It’s incredible to see the growth we have, and us screaming and being excited is because we’re so proud of how far we’ve come.”

That’s why when the Irish beat the Buckeyes Monday, Ivey celebrated a little harder than most head coaches would have.

“It’s so hard to get to the Sweet Sixteen — it just is,” Ivey said. “It’s hard to win, [and] it’s hard to get to the tournament. It’s hard to win in the first round, and to do this with this incredible group — seven scholarship players — on the road, it’s really hard to do. That’s where my emotions come in, because I’m so grateful. I know that I’m blessed.”

NOIE: Culture on display in Notre Dame women’s March Madness win at Ohio State

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Moore, particularly, has grown close with Ivey in just 10 months with the program. She said Ivey’s family-first culture mixed with 30 years of collegiate or professional experience has made it so the Irish can both care about each other as individuals and push one another when things get tough on the court.

So, when Ivey celebrated her 70th NCAA Tournament victory like it was just as important as her first, players take notice.

“No matter what win it is — we know we belong here anyway — but she still treats it like it’s a great win, because it is,” Moore said. “She believes in us, we believe in her, and we’ll run through whatever for her.”

Moore, who scored 13 points in Notre Dame’s win vs. the Buckeyes, said when playing alongside people to which she has a genuine connection, hard things become easy. Although the 2001 squad was a No. 1 seed, Ivey said the biggest similarity between that national championship team and this uncharacteristic underdog lies in just what Moore said.

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It’s not just the players who love playing for their fierce leader and have intangible chemistry. That relationship is reciprocal.

“They give me a lot of joy. I love coming to work every day working with this group,” Ivey said. “They’re such an incredible group of young women. They work so hard. They love each other.”