Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 OCT. 31, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN O n a freshman-heavy, guard- dominated Notre Dame wom- en's basketball roster getting ready to launch its season, forging chem- istry is all about becoming a family. Apparently literally. According to fifth-year guard Kelly Ratigan, Princeton graduate transfer Madison St. Rose is the mom. Three-time All-American and senior Hannah Hidalgo is the dad. Ratigan herself is called "grandma." And then sophomore forward Leah Macy has been des- ignated, at least by Ratigan, as the "weird uncle." "You've talked to her," Ratigan insisted with a smile, digging in on the designation. Even more adamantly, the South Bend native has cast Louisville transfer center Anaya Hardy in the unconventional role of … surprise. The good kind of surprise. And it's a notion seventh-year Irish head coach Niele Ivey wholeheart- edly cosigns, with her team quickly approaching its Nov. 1 season opener against Villanova in Rome, Italy. "Because," Ivey said of the 6-foot-3 junior, "the last several weeks she has improved every day. She's had some of her best practices the last three prac- tices. "I think it's about being comfortable. This role is big. This role is massive. She knows that I'm really going to lean on her to be that frontcourt presence for us. And her role is going to be bigger than her role was in the past. And I think she's embraced it." Hardy has long been an elite athlete. She was dunking in practices by her junior season at Detroit Renaissance High, and the mechanical engineering major routinely does it in warmups be- fore games. More important than doing it in games, which is a goal this season, is evolving into an elite basketball player whose skills match her athleticism. And Ivey pushed her chips into the middle of the table betting that would happen, building a team designed to uptempo you to death on offense and press you until you're exhausted on defense. At the heart of it all, a center who could run the floor like a track star. And Hardy says there's only one player on the entire Notre Dame roster who's faster than she is — Hidalgo. What Ivey is counting on seeing in large doses in games this season is what Hardy showed in smaller and less con- sistent stretches last season at Louis- ville. She played in 35 games and started 27 but averaged only about 11 minutes of playing time in those games. Hardy's bottom line was 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds, with a 66.7 percent field goal percentage, which translates to averaging a double-double — at least mathematically — if she had played the kind of minutes (27.8) last year's starting center, Malaya Cowles, logged. But it's not just about increasing the volume. It's about expanding her skills. Like developing a post-up game this summer, refining her footwork and learning when to leap to block a shot — and when to stay grounded and play positional defense. "I definitely have a lot of athletic ability," Hardy said, "but you have to find a way to put it into playing basketball and being structured and being strong with the ball. Fo- cusing and knowing the right rota- tions on defense and everything really plays a part. "I feel like they really do grow players here. Notre Dame has lots of players in the WNBA that are thriving and succeeding. I feel like Notre Dame can take those steps to get me there as well." Ivey loves the thought of Hardy doing most of the heavy lifting at center, even if it means bucking the blueprint of national powers that favor size in the post over speed. The trade-off, of course, will come when Hardy is asked to hold her own against the kind of traditional, physical post players that populate the nation's elite teams. "We always try to traditionally look for a 6-5 post," Ivey said. "But for what we've gathered in the makeup of our team, I really love it. I knew I was bring- ing in some hybrid 4s who could play both the 4 and the 5. "I just felt like being more athletic with more depth, and being a little bit different, being harder to defend off the bounce with our athleticism was going to be something that could be very spe- cial this year." And that confidence grows as Hardy grows into her new role. "She's starting to become comfort- able within the system, understand- ing the system," Ivey said. "The game is starting to slow down for her in our system. And I think she's definitely go- ing to be a surprise. I know everybody sees the videos of her dunking. But she's doing other things. "She's defending on the perimeter. She's rebounding. She's our best shot blocker. She's starting to do a lot of things on both sides of the ball, which is really impressive." And becoming part of the family. ✦ Louisville Transfer Could Be Notre Dame's Biggest Surprise WOMEN'S B A S K E T B A L L Anaya Hardy, who averaged just 4.9 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Cardinals last year, is poised to take on a big role for the Irish as their starting center this season. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS