Niele Ivey, Maddy Westbeld speak after Notre Dame beats Pittsburgh

“It’s really grateful to be able to coach in a game like this. … This is a game where we always feel like this is more than basketball. We’re honoring breast cancer survivors, those that are still fighting, those that we lost. So it’s always a really emotional game and just something that we’re really grateful to be a part of, so just really happy that we can honor all of the survivors that were here and supporting us.

And then, just collectively, I thought we had a great game. I thought the second half was even better than the first half, just the way that we were clicking. Just getting a win in the ACC, bringing a win to the community. It’s really important to us playing for our fans, and I thought our team did that today.

A couple of dominant performances: Hannah (Hidalgo is) the first player to reach 500 (points) the fastest. Maddy did a great job of leading us, had a double-double: 15 points, 14 rebounds. We had 17 assists and nine turnovers, which is something – a great stat that I love to see. Had four in double figures, so a lot of balance on the team, and again, healthy bodies, so I was really appreciative and just grateful to be in this type of game to get the win at home.”

“I think that we’re getting there. We still have areas where I always try to fine-tune ’cause I guess as a coach, you’re never really satisfied. You don’t want to get satisfied, but we’re definitely trending in the right direction. Their focus is amazing. Our practices are really purposeful. They’re doing a great job with recovery. Just being locked in, and I just love the energy of our team, and I credit Maddy to getting us ready all the time ’cause she has been locked in all season, but the team is really relying on her to get us ready every game and every practice.”

“I’ve been practicing, I’ve been working out a lot in it, so just trying to get more comfortable every day, but it’s to the point where I almost don’t feel it, so it’s pretty good.”

“Absolutely. We all had names on our jersey to start the game. (Team trainer) Anne Marquez, literally the soul of our team, is a survivor. My aunt Michelle, Melissa Fortner. I could go on and on about just different names, especially that’s in the fan base. Just so many names, so many people and lives who have been affected by it that we go out and play for, so it’s a big game for us like Coach said. It’s a huge way to give back to our community.”

“I talked about playing to our standard. I felt like there were moments where we had empty possessions, giving up offensive rebounds and not being as dominant as I would have liked, so I talked about fixing those things. Luckily, we can watch film and show them. And then again, just playing to our standard, and our standard is being aggressive defensively, getting out, running in transition, and I felt like they responded to it.”

“I just try to do whatever my team needs at the moment. So yeah, we were trying to find our flow offensively, so just trying to stay more aggressive as well as being more aggressive on the floor. So we were kind of struggling a little bit in both areas, and I think one leads to the other, so just trying to focus on whatever my team needs.”

“I’m not sure. I’m gonna ask if it’s gonna wash out ’cause I’m not sure. (laughs) But that was pretty though.”

“My aggressiveness. I think also just I’m in a really good spot as far as my shape and just staying just tip-top of my diet, everything, and my activity level when I play. I’ve really seen an increase in being able to compete for 40 minutes. I think just doing the little things. Like Coach said, we’re really locking in on our recovery and locking in on the things off the court that are helping us. So that’s what it’s gonna be.”

“I’m just trying to do the little things, do the little details and be a leader by example and just doing whatever I can to just show them that it takes the little things.”

“First day, just even her freshman year stepping on campus, us coming at the same time, she’s been an impact player from the beginning, and she’s someone on leaned on right from the beginning. I put her to fire as a freshman, and she’s just gotten better every season, every year. She was fortunate to learn under players such as Maya Dodson, Dara Mabrey, and she’s kind of created her own way of leading. Everyone’s different the way that they lead. So it’s been incredible to watch her growth and watch her confidence. She’s blossoming every year. She just does something. She’s always been incredible, but I feel like she’s just blossoming. Every year, she’s learning different ways to be effective and impactful with our team, and this year, it’s scoring and being a presence and rebounding. So she’s doing a lot of things that I feel like she’s kind of learned by some incredible seniors – and (Lauren) Ebo – that had gone through the program. So I love her growth and her development throughout the year and her willingness to do whatever it takes for us to win.”

“I would say my focus for this year. A lot of credit to my mentors, a lot of credit to my coaches. And specifically, (player development program director) Carlos Knox has really been helping me just with everything, the mental side of the game. I’ve really been just locking in on the focus. That is something that I’ve always been trying to focus on. … It’s something that I’ve always been working on, but yeah, he’s been great to me.”

“Definitely just one game at a time. And now, our focus is recovery and at Louisville, a really tough environment. And then, February’s a tough stretch for us, and we understand that. We know February’s gonna be really challenging, but it’s literally one game at a time. We’re gonna watch some film on things that we can fix from today. We’re gonna enjoy it, but then tomorrow, we’re right attacking the game plan for Louisville, and we just have to take it day by day and game by game.”

“Yeah, she’s a gamer. She’s somebody that’s always, no matter what, she’s gonna be competitive. I thought she was a little frustrated in the first quarter but found her way in the second half, and her teammates were (doing) a great job of trying to settle her down and encouraging her on the court. She’s a freshman at the end of the day, so even with her maybe not making the shots and free throws that she normally makes, she still ends with 22. So just her being a dynamic player, she’ll still find a way to be impactful, but she’s always just gonna, you know, wear her heart on her sleeve, and go as hard as she can on the floor.”

“Yeah, especially the last time we played them, we struggled. We got in foul trouble unfortunately, and I thought (Liatu) King – I mean, she’s the leader for that team. She’s their glue. So we were locked in on trying to limit her touches. I thought Maddy did a great job in the first half. She got loose a little bit off of offensive rebounds, but it was something we’ve been working on all season, especially the last couple of weeks. So credit to them that they did a great job on the boards, and that’s something we’re going to continue working on.“

“Yeah, absolutely great. It’s really important, and to have an opportunity to play the entire team is what I love to do. Again, just a little bit more rest for Thursday. They’ve been playing high-volume minutes all season, and we had about four that played 40 minutes, vs. UConn, so giving other people opportunities to play is always something that’s a positive, which I love. And again, just foul trouble really dictated that a little bit. So (I’m) just happy we only had one person foul out. Hopefully, (that) doesn’t happen anymore, but sometimes, it happens. Like, I’m a feel coach. I’m feeling the game and figuring out the rhythm, the flow of the game, so it just happens that the minutes look the way they do, but it’s always great to get rest.“