Notre Dame’s 65-58 home loss to Clemson was unexpected. The Fighting Irish only made 18 total rebounds, falling 40-20 on the glass in a defeat that felt heavier than the final score.

Though the winning margin doesn't make it look like a lopsided game, the performance prompted head coach Niele Ivey to apologize to the fans at Purcell Pavillion and those watching at home. But junior star Hannah Hidalgo's response spoke volumes.

Hidalgo didn’t shy away from shouldering the blame. When asked about Notre Dame’s grit level against Clemson, her one-word response was blunt. “Nonexistent”, was all she said. But what followed mattered more.

Hidalgo owned up and stepped in to defend her coach, shifting the accountability to the players.“To be clear, it’s nothing that coach Ivey can do to bring a level of toughness to us,” Hidalgo said.

“We always have that pride of playing in front of our home crowd and playing here, and didn’t think we had that for 40 minutes,” she said. “So it’s my job to make sure we’re ready and prepared… Just disappointing. Apologize to the fans for having that type of performance”, the 2022-23 ACC Coach of the Year ended.

Hidalgo and Ivey both admitted that rebounding was the main issue. “Rebounding is a mindset. It’s an energy. It’s an effort. I feel like they were just tougher on the boards”, Ivey reflected. And the 5'6 guard echoed her words saying “We haven’t been able to string it together for 40 minutes.”

Hannah Hidalgo did her job Despite How Things Went

She scored 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting, adding 8 steals, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. The rest of the roster struggled, only making single-digit scoring attempts. Iyana Moore was the only other Notre Dame player to score in double digits, finishing with 16 points.

Yet Hidalgo's lone effort wasn't enough.

Clemson (14-7, 5-4 ACC) cornered Notre Dame (13-7, 5-4) in the third quarter. The Irish entered halftime with a five-point lead, only to collapse into a 50-39 deficit. The most staggering statistic that urged the headcoach's apology was Clemson outrebounding Notre Dame 13-1 in Q3.

Though the players and coach are sharing the blame for the loss, Notre Dame needs to regroup for its trip to California on Friday.

Written by

Fatema Kapasi

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu