LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For many years, Louisville and Notre Dame have been two of the programs trading blows in annual battles for the top of ACC women's basketball and spots among the elite programs in the sport.
On Sunday, the third-ranked Fighting Irish showed that gap is wider between the two rivals this season than previous ones, outscoring the Cardinals 50-33 in the second half to win 89-71 in front of 11,603 fans at the KFC Yum! Center. Sophomore superstar Hannah Hidalgo finished with 34 points for the Irish, just one point off of her career high, and her team shot 55% from the field.
"We're the one chasing, which is what we talk about all the time," Walz said of his team's defensive struggles. "On offense, we want people to chase us. We want to have the tempo in our favor where, offensively, we're moving so fast and reversing that basketball that they're chasing us.
"But right now, we're the one on defense doing the chasing 90% of the time, and that's an area that we haven't had happen here in a long, long time. Because we've been pretty darn good at the defensive end of the floor."
Notre Dame became the seventh Louisville opponent to hit at least 50% of its shots against the Cardinals this season and just five opponents have shot worse than 40%. While Louisville was able to force 23 Irish turnovers, Walz's group scored just 14 points off of them. He is not seeing enough toughness or discipline on that end, whether it is in dealing with screens or following scouting reports.
"We're allowing teams to shoot 47% from the field on the season in the league play. That's just terrible," Walz said. "We do a really good job of turning people over. But the problem is, when they do get a shot, they're making 50% of them. If we could ever figure out how to guard and turn them over, get people in the low 40s, high 30s, now all of a sudden, you've got a chance to really make an impact on games."
Notre Dame guard Cassandre Prosper (8) looks for help from the defense of Louisville guard Ja'Leah Williams (12) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Louisville, Ky., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Losing the rebounding battle does not allow for a bigger impact either. Notre Dame outrebounded the Cardinals 44-29 for the game and added 18 second-chance points. The first quarter saw the Irish beat the Cards on the boards in lopsided fashion, 16-3.
"We did not rebound the ball at all," Walz said. "I mean, at the under five time out in the first quarter, we had zero rebounds, which is pretty impressive. To play for five minutes and not figure out a way to get one rebound, it could be the first time that I've seen that, and that's where they were just getting second-chance opportunities scoring."
In six of Louisville's seven losses this year, the Cardinals have lost on the glass. Just two players had more than five boards for this game: freshman Mackenly Randolph (10) and junior Nyla Harris (9).
"It's in anticipating. We're reacting," Walz said. "So, if you react to the cut instead of jumping to the ball and anticipating it, the shot goes up, you can't stand and stare at it. You got to go find a body."
That happened more in the 2nd quarter. Tajianna Roberts and Olivia Cochran combined for 24 first-half points, Louisville shot 56% from three and trailed 39-38 at the break after winning the boards 13-7 for the frame.
But Hidalgo already had 18 points at halftime and got more support later. Star guard Olivia Miles and Pitt transfer Liatu King each scored 12 points in the second half, with King also finishing with 12 rebounds for the game to get a double-double.
Throughout the afternoon though, Hidalgo continued to show why she will be a contender for National Player of the Year and the driving force behind a potential title run for this Notre Dame team. Her quickness, tenacity and toughness impacted both ends of the floor.
"She's a big time player," Walz said. "You've got to make her finish some tough shots. And she did. You've got to tip your hat to them."
"She led us and put the team on her back," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo. "She's just a dog, and she came out with such fire and tenacity, made big plays, big shots and we really fed off of her energy."
Miles and Hidalgo scored 20 of their team's 26 points in the 3rd quarter, displaying why they form what is arguably the most dynamic back court in women's college basketball.
"Me and Liv are the head of the snake," Hidalgo said. "So, it's like the team kind of goes as we go. We know that we have to put the team on our back and kind of carry the team, whether that's scoring or passing and creating for everyone else. We're here to do that because we're just here to win."
Things will not get much easier for the Cardinals to get back in the win column. Five of their last seven games will come against ranked conference foes. And for Walz, the fix to strongly come out on the other end of that stretch will need to be on the end that has been a staple of his program.
"It's not the offense, it's we got to guard somebody," Walz said. "You score 70, you should win basketball games. And we've proven that over 18 years. But right now, we're not defending like we have, and we've got to, or it puts a lot of pressure on you offensively to shoot it at a high clip."
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