Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 NOV. 15, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TY HORKA S hock the world, Fairleigh Dickinson and Notre Dame should only be used in the same sentence in one context; the Knights somehow taking down the Fighting Irish, which would indeed be one of the biggest shockers in women's basketball history. Shocker (sarcasm): they didn't come close in the 2025‑26 season opener, losing 98‑52 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend Nov. 5. But yet, here we are actually using the phrase "shock the world" in the same sentence as Fairleigh Dickinson and Notre Dame. Irish head coach Niele Ivey brought it up in her postgame press conference in relation to 6‑4 Kansas State transfer Gisela Sanchez, who had a career‑high 12 rebounds to go along with her 14 points. "I loved her versatility," Ivey said when thinking back to recruiting Sanchez out of the transfer portal. "Scouting her, I was like, 'She plays with a lot of pace. She's smart. She has that Euro flare.'" Ivey did her homework on Sanchez and came away feeling she got a home run addition from the portal. The same can be said about three other players on this year's Notre Dame roster. Another one from that group notched a notable career high versus Fairleigh Dickinson; Duke transfer Vanessa de Je‑ sus scored 22 points. Her highest total in a single game with the Blue Devils was 17 on two occasions. FDU didn't offer the highest level of resistance defensively, but Duke had some gimme games in her time there just as any other program with pedigree does early in seasons. She still never hit the 20‑point threshold. It only took her one game to do so at Notre Dame. She knocked down 4 of 6 threes. "Vanessa is a great player," junior point guard Hannah Hidalgo said. "She's a great leader. Playing alongside of her, just us in the backcourt, I think it's going to be very dangerous. She's just such a smart player. She brings that seniority to our team. It's what we really need." Sanchez and de Jesus have combined to play 184 college basketball games in‑ cluding their Notre Dame debuts. Wake Forest center transfer Malaya Cowles and former Vanderbilt guard Iyana Moore didn't make theirs in the season opener, but they should both be available some‑ time in the month of November, accord‑ ing to Ivey, coming back from minor sur‑ gical procedures earlier this semester. When they do, that's another 186 games worth of experience Notre Dame is adding to the lineup. "We're looking forward to reintro‑ ducing them to our team," Ivey said. "They're going to bring dynamics that we need. Iyana's a sharpshooter. She's very smart. And then Malaya gives us presence inside, and she's a great re‑ bounder, great screener." Notre Dame made 9 threes against Fairleigh Dickinson without Moore, who's made 201 of them in her career at a 35.4 percent shooting clip. There will be a lot of options for teams to worry about in terms of potential shooters when she gets healthy. FDU did hurt Notre Dame down low more than a team as mismatched as it was should've with 9 offensive rebounds and 28 points in the paint. Cowles' larg‑ est responsibility will be making it more difficult for teams to get to those to‑ tals. For all Sanchez is capable of with her length, she's not a true center like Cowles. They'll work well as comple‑ ments, whether that's on the floor at the same time or subbing for each other. Ivey has some different lineups she can draw up when Cowles comes back. Along those lines, Ivey might have more to work with in general than some thought given all of the offseason de‑ partures Notre Dame endured; four players to the transfer portal and three to the WNBA Draft. Is the 2025‑26 team as talented across the board as that of 2024‑25? No. Not even close. But it's possible this squad embraces who it is and Notre Dame ends up being better than the sum of its parts. Nobody should draw that conclusion af‑ ter one win against FDU, but in addition to Sanchez and de Jesus playing better than ever in varying capacities return‑ ees KK Bransford and Cass Prosper were steady contributors in their own right. Bransford had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in her first game action since the 2023‑24 season. Prosper had 15 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Including the exhibition, she's 2 of 2 in stuffing the stat sheet. Speaking of stuffing the stat sheet; Hi‑ dalgo had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Aside from only shooting 1 of 7 from three‑point range, she was her usual self. And by now we know her usual self isn't going anywhere. If it's ac‑ companied by useful efforts from all over like it was in the season opener, Notre Dame could be working with something special this season after all. Whether it is or isn't, it'll take time to figure out for sure. "This group is still a new group. They're still learning each other, work‑ ing through the chemistry," Ivey said. ✦ Irish Could Be Better Than The Sum Of Their Parts In 2025-26 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Junior point guard Hannah Hidalgo compiled 27 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the Fighting Irish's season-opening 98-52 win over Fairleigh Dickinson Nov. 5. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS 2025-26 NOTRE DAME NOVEMBER/DECEMBER SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Nov. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson W, 98-52 Nov. 9 Chicago State (ACCNX) 3 p.m. Nov. 12 Akron (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Nov. 15 vs. Michigan! (NBC) 4 p.m. Nov. 21 Southern Cal (ESPN) 6 p.m. Nov. 24 Central Michigan (ACCN) 9 p.m. Dec. 4 at Ole Miss^ (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Dec. 7 at Florida State* (ACCNX) 2 p.m. Dec. 11 Morehead State (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at James Madison (ESPN+) 4 p.m. Dec. 21 Bellarmine (ACCNX) 5 p.m. Dec. 29 at Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 6 p.m. ! Shamrock Classic at Detroit; ^ ACC/SEC Challenge; * ACC Game