Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532365
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 89 those numbers. She's much more in- vested in the wins and losses, 21 of the former and just 2 of the latter as of Feb. 10. She transferred to Notre Dame knowing a record like that was a pos- sibility, not to be an all-conference per- former. "I finally feel really at peace with my role," Karlen said. "I didn't come here to score my numbers at Marquette, and I knew that. I came here because I be- lieve that this team could win a cham- pionship. Finally understanding my fit within all of that has been really nice for me." Even stars of the show like sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo have sacrificed some. She averaged 5.5 assists per game as a true freshman. That was without backcourt mate Olivia Miles in the mix. The graduate student came back from sitting a whole season out, and she's the "floor general," as dubbed by Ivey. By way of that, she leads Notre Dame with 6.4 assists per game. If you asked Hidalgo how she feels about averaging an assist and a half fewer per game than she did as a first- year player, though, she'd probably tell you she doesn't care. Just like senior guard Sonia Citron could be the best player on 90 percent of the teams in col- lege basketball, but she takes a back seat to Hidalgo and Miles at Notre Dame. She'd be more than a 13.0 points per game contributor for, say, Texas or USC or some other top-five team. That's what she's good for at Notre Dame, though, and it's plenty. With that, and with Hidalgo's 25.9 points per game, Miles' 16.5, so on and so forth, Notre Dame ascended to No. 2 in the Associ- ated Press poll Feb. 10. It marked the Fighting Irish's first top-two ranking since 2019. That predates Ivey's teams as head coach. She's been working for half a decade in charge of the team to have the Irish in a position like this. Were losses to TCU and Utah always part of the plan? Of course not. If Ivey had it her way, Notre Dame would have started this season 23-0. Not 21-2. Maybe even more important in pursuit of the championships Karlen men- tioned, though, is that the Irish had not lost a single conference game in their first 12 cracks at ACC competition. As in any sport, you'd rather lose early than late. And, ultimately, you'd rather not lose at all. Post November and into mid- February, Notre Dame hadn't. That's a good place to be. "We're not looking ahead," Citron said. "We're not looking forward. It's game by game. We're always preparing like the biggest game of the season is the one we're playing right now." ✦ Senior guard Sonia Citron, who ranked third on the team with an average of 13.0 points per game, has helped the Fighting Irish earn their first top-two ranking since 2019. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER 2024-25 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 4 Mercyhurst W, 105-61 Nov. 10 at Purdue W, 102-58 Nov. 13 James Madison W, 92-46 Nov. 17 at Lafayette W, 91-55 Nov. 23 at Southern Cal W, 74-61 Nov. 29 vs. TCU^ L, 76-68 Nov. 30 vs. Utah^ L, 78-67 Dec. 5 Texas% W, 80-70 (OT) Dec. 8 at Syracuse* W, 93-62 Dec. 12 Connecticut W, 79-68 Dec. 15 Eastern Michigan W, 118-49 Dec. 22 Loyola Maryland W, 97-54 Dec. 29 Virginia* W, 95-54 Jan. 5 at North Carolina* W, 76-66 Jan. 9 Wake Forest* W, 100-64 Jan. 12 at Clemson* W, 67-58 Jan. 16 Georgia Tech* W, 81-66 Jan. 19 SMU* W, 88-64 Jan. 23 at Boston College* W, 89-63 Jan. 30 at Virginia Tech* W, 77-61 Feb. 2 at Louisville* W, 89-71 Feb. 6 Stanford* W, 96-47 Feb. 9 California* W, 91-52 Feb. 13 at Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Feb. 17 Duke* (ESPN) 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at Miami* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Feb. 23 at NC State* (ESPN) 12 p.m. Feb. 27 Florida State* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Mar. 2 Louisville* (ESPN) 12 p.m. Mar. 5-9 ACC Tournament$ TBA ^ Cayman Islands Classic at George Town, Cay- man Islands; % SEC/ACC Challenge; * ACC game; $ at Greensboro, N.C.