LOS ANGELES — The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been hit with multiple injuries this season with Maddy Westbeld, KK Bransford, Kylee Watson and Liza Karlen all currently sidelined. The injuries have stretched Notre Dame’s rotation thin, but one thing that’s helped power the Fighting Irish to a 5-0 start and a No. 6 ranking in the AP poll is their defense.
During the Fighting Irish’s 74-61 win over No. 3 USC on Saturday, their overwhelming defense was on full display. They held the Trojans to only 10 points in the first quarter on 31.3% shooting from the field. And though USC managed to stay within striking distance, Notre Dame used another defensive surge in the fourth quarter to blow the game wide open.
Following the game, Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey spoke about how one of her group’s main goals in the offseason was to be a great defensive team.
”It’s something we’ve talked about, having a defensive identity,” Ivey told reporters. “That’s something that we’ve been focusing on and working on all season. … We came into the season saying we want to be a great defensive team, and just having the effort and relentlessness to do that and the discipline to do it.”
So far this season, the Fighting Irish are one of the nation’s best defensive teams in several categories. They’re allowing just 69.6 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 16th in the country. Opponents are shooting only 32.1% from the field against them, which is the 10th-lowest mark nationally. Notre Dame also ranks 19th in steals per game (13.2) and second in blocks per game (9.0).
At the forefront of the Fighting Irish’s defense against the Trojans was senior wing Sonia Citron. USC boasts one of the most prolific scorers in the country in sophomore guard JuJu Watkins, but Citron did an admirable job limiting Watkins for most of the game.
Although Watkins eventually got some shots to fall in the second half, Citron made things difficult for her all game. Watkins finished with a team-high 24 points, but she shot 10-for-25 from the field and missed all five of her 3-point attempts.
After the game, Citron spoke about the defensive mindset that the team has been looking to establish.
“We’re a defensive team. … We were talking about how this is just an early opportunity to show what we can do and I think that we did that,” Citron told reporters. “I think that we’re one of the best teams in the country, and we proved that today.”
Citron continued, ”This whole week, Coach Ivey, Coach [Michaela Mabrey] gave us [JuJu’s] scout. She really prepped us. So I was definitely watching a lot of film on JuJu, on USC. We were trying to deny her, just trying to make everything hard for her.”
While Citron drew the Watkins defensive assignment, sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo caused havoc defensively the entire game. Her quick hands and awareness disrupted the USC offense. She pressured USC’s ball-handlers and got her hands on multiple deflections leading to turnovers. Hidalgo currently ranks second in the nation with 5.2 steals per game and led the country in that category a season ago.
After the game, Hidalgo spoke about how her teammates look to her to bring intensity and energy, especially on the defensive end.
“I know my team feeds off that. I know they feed off when I’m diving on the floor, [when] I’m getting stops, when I’m running in transition,” Hidalgo told reporters. “I know they need that, and then everyone else raises their level of intensity. Sonia talks about when I’m picking up full court, it makes it so much easier for her. … I know that’s what they need from me.”
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Notre Dame will have a few days off before it faces its next ranked opponent in No. 19 TCU on Friday. That’s followed by matchups against a tough Utah team on Saturday and No. 4 Texas on Dec. 5. But as long as the Fighting Irish’s defense stays consistent, they’re going to be formidable.
“I think we have capable defenders. It was something we focused on all summer long. I do feel like this group is a really great defensive team,” Ivey said. “I think we’re still growing, we’re still learning, which is great that we’re only in Game 5 and we can still have areas to improve upon.”
