By John Brice
Special Contributor
Purcell Pavilion was at near-fever pitch. 7,782 fans. Almost all of them in Irish green. Packing in for a Monday matinee affair to urge on Notre Dame’s powerhouse women’s basketball program in its quest for a third-straight Sweet 16 berth. Natalija Marshall needed all of 36 seconds to help set the tone.
The Fighting Irish’s lithe, 6-foot-5 junior forward had been flattened by Ole Miss post Marquesha Davis.
Charge, Rebels.
Moments later, Marshall cashed a turn-around jumper.
4-2, Fighting Irish. Marshall fed irrepressible freshman phenom Hannah Hidalgo on a give-and-go to the rack, and Hidalgo was fouled.
Notre Dame added to its lead. The Irish Triumvirate – Hidalgo, Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld – stitched together an indomitable 56-point, 19-rebound and 11-assist performance.
Notre Dame 71, Ole Miss 56.
Hello, Sweet 16. Greetings, Albany, N.Y.
Prepare to welcome a Notre Dame squad short on bench and long on everything else: athleticism, dynamism, IQ and skill.
Just don’t forget grit. From the entire roster.
“We just needed to make sure we were all on the same page,” said Westbeld, who had a game-high 20 points, 5 rebounds and battled – omnipresent smile – through all 40 minutes on the hardwood, of a recent team meeting. “We know what this name on our chest means, and I think we just needed a reminder of what that was.
“It’s grit. It’s toughness. It’s the little things that we need to do, and it started with practice. It was just everybody being a little bit tougher in practice and setting the tone, and I think we have been on the same page since then. It took everybody, from top to bottom.”
What Marshall did early, and the ‘Big Three’ did repeatedly, likewise was mirrored in both tangible and intangible methods from Anna DeWolfe and KK Bransford.
The injured Kylee Watson from the bench, her impassioned pleas and in-game encouragement, a resident role in victory.
Precocious Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin had anticipated a four-round, err quarter, slug-fest with limited scoring and plenty of physicality.
Only Notre Dame delivered.
“I thought that they were the aggressive team from start to finish,” said McPhee-McCuin, her resuscitation of Ole Miss women’s basketball among the sport’s most notable reclamation projects in recent years. “You never know what to expect with 17- to 24-year-olds. If you had told me we would come out in the manner we came out, I would have called you a liar. …
“I thought (Notre Dame) came prepared for a fight, and I didn’t feel like we fought. I expected a game where both teams get beat up.”
Fourth-year Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey’s game plan had focused on an aggressive approach from the Irish; not only did Marshall elicit a charge call in the moments after the opening tip, but Notre Dame coerced fouls against Ole Miss 36, 4, 24 and 7 seconds into the start of each of the four quarters.
“The mindset was to attack,” said Ivey, the ACC’s 2023 Coach of the Year and leader of the conference’s reigning tournament champs. “Anything can happen in March. I wanted to be the aggressor, and I was really proud of this group for having the confidence to do that.”
The Irish harried Ole Miss into 22 turnovers; the visitors mustered just 22 made buckets on 59 attempts – four fewer baskets than the victors on seven more shots.
DeWolfe, a revelation for how she’s blended into the program and etched a role in her transfer season from Fordham, personified that swagger during a crucial third-quarter juncture.
Ole Miss, mind you, trailed by double digits for all of the game’s final 30 minutes, but it had parried any knockout-blow out of the break.
Then, DeWolfe corralled a loose-ball rebound, gathered herself at the top of the key and eviscerated the Ole Miss defense on a drive to the bucket. Her scooped floater high off the glass buoyed the Irish to their largest edge, 51-28.
“She is just fire,” Westbeld said of DeWolfe, who stymied another would-be Ole Miss charge with a mid-range jumper from the left wing. “She’s an incredible player, just an incredible presence on the floor, and it starts with her defense.
“Obviously, we feed off of that. I tell her all the time, ‘We feed off of you whenever you start.’ She’s unguardable. She’s untouchable. She’s just a different player.”
The Irish had 7 assists on 8 made buckets in the third; at one point, Citron – team chemistry personified – marshalled possession of a loose ball, arced a run-out pass, essentially without looking, to who she knew to be a streaking Hidalgo and then celebrated the uncontested layup.
“We love to share the ball,” Ivey said. “We’re always working on reads, seeing the person that’s open. It’s never a one-sided offense. This ball moves very smoothly. I give them a lot of freedom. We’ve learned how to play with each other, and I’m really impressed by the improvement of our all.
“It changes depending on the defense, but I love how we’re playing and sharing the ball.”
As the press conference concluded, Ivey navigated the dais and exited stage right.
There, new Notre Dame Athletics Director Pete Bevacqua awaited with a congratulatory embrace.
A tone set, now and for the future.