Despite losing Olivia Miles, Notre Dame coach has high hopes for Hannah Hidalgo's Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were one of the most exciting teams in all of college basketball last season. Unfortunately, they couldn’t close out the deal in the tournament.

To add insult to injury, they lost one of their best players. Olivia Miles’ shocking decision to transfer to TCU sparked rumors of a potential beef with fellow star Hannah Hidalgo.

However, while making up for such a big loss will be easier said than done, Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey still has high hopes for her program in the upcoming campaign.

Notre Dame coach likes where the program is at right now

“I feel like every year is kind of like it’s a new team, it’s a new energy and it’s a blank canvas,” Ivey said. “And I’m really excited to be able to create a masterpiece for next season. Just having new pieces, new additions and even the players that we’re bringing in right now. They’re so motivated. They wanna win. They wanna be part of something special and they know that’s something we’re going to build.”

Hannah Hidalgo

Notre Dame didn’t rest on their laurels, landing the likes of Malaya Cowles, Gisela Sanchez, and Vanessa De Jesus in the transfer portal, and most of their core will return as well.

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Of course, plenty of their success will have to do with Hannah Hidalgo, who dominated with averages of 23.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 steals, and 3.6 assists in 32 games last season.