KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Somebody forgot to hand that “fan” in the green long-sleeve T and the blue and gold cap in the second row of stands behind the east basket a Notre Dame women’s basketball roster.
Learn it. Know it. Please.
He — we — had to put names to the numbers that he was shouting at various stretches of a comeback that wasn’t impossible as it was improbable. After what the No. 18 Irish pulled off Wednesday in an arena that grew quieter with each minute gone by in the fourth quarter, the names of those five on the floor and what they did are certainly worth remembering.
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Down three starters to injury, down 16 points on the road in as intimidating a place to play as there is in the country (orange is everywhere), down and basically out at the start, Notre Dame had zero business beating No. 20 Tennessee (74-69) in an ACC/SEC Challenge at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Until Notre Dame made it its business.
This one wasn’t about how the Volunteers coughed up the ball and opportunities to grow a bigger lead in a staggered second half as much as it was the Irish deciding to go ahead and take it from them. Like porch pirates. The win was right there, gift wrapped for the Vols. Until it wasn’t. It was Notre Dame’s. And look, just the right size, too.
It all started to swing at halftime. That’s when the Irish gathered in a locker room that was more focus than frustration. Notre Dame reached the conclusion that the first 20 minutes of this one looked nothing like Notre Dame basketball should look and looked of late, but it also had 20 more minutes to rewrite the script.
Out went the original with all the scratch-outs and scribblings and in came the rewrite. What a read it was.
“We had kind of a glazed-over look,” coach Niele Ivey said of the start. “I just talked about playing our game. We weren’t playing the right way.”
That would be moving the ball better, spacing the floor better and, oh, yeah, getting in a stance and guarding and getting some stops. First half, that rarely happened. Second half, it rarely didn’t. The second half was about three Irish program cornerstones — trust, confidence and poise.
They all showed.
“We just had to really stick together in this,” said sophomore guard KK Bransford. “Just sticking together was super important. We just kept chipping away.”
Noter Dame climbed back into this one by doing something they hadn’t done in long stretches of the first three quarters — doing the tough stuff, withstanding physicality, shrugging off the bumps and the body blows and the whistles and the hard falls and everything that comes with a game that resembled a bare-knuckle brawl in a back alley.
Wayward elbows and shivering forearms were everywhere. And omnipresent.
“I love physicality,” said Irish senior forward Nat Marshall, whose physique doesn’t scream “bruiser.” “It was super fun for a post player. Like we said, poise. We did a good job in that area.”
This one wasn’t easy on the eyes. Games that feature 24 turnovers, 32 fouls and 37 free throws rarely are, but the end looked pretty darn good from the 574 perspective as Notre Dame improved to 6-1 with as satisfying (surprising) victory (74-69) as this program has had in years.
This wasn’t a season saver as much as a season maker. When times get tough down the road, and they will for a program that already has had an avalanche of adversity hit, they can point to this game and remember this game. Down 16 in Knoxville? To that program? If they can handle that, they can handle whatever’s lurking down the line.
As the comeback was being capped with big play after big play, big free throw after big free throw, that Notre Dame fan got loud. Annoyingly loud. When Bransford, making her first start of the season in place of Cass Prosper, out for an extended time with what Ivey described as a lower leg soreness (she had a walking boot on her right foot), made two clutch free throws, the Irish fan yelled “Let’s go 14! Let’s go 14!” (Bransford’s number).
When guard Anna DeWolfe, who looked overwhelmed the first time she played a Southeastern Conference school this season (two points against South Carolina) delivered 10 points, including three key free throws late, it was “Let’s go 13! Let’s go 13!”
Come on, man, at least know the roster. Fail.
It was more than Nos. 13 and 14 for Notre Dame. It was No. 15 (Marshall) who had 15 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes. It was No. 3 (Hildalgo) doing No. 3 stuff as the freshman finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. It was steady No. 21 (Maddy Westbeld) finishing with a double double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
It was anyone and everyone who played, maybe the way that this must be until (if?) Prosper and fellow guards Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles return from their injury issues. Until then, it’s patchwork lineups (look, three Irish bigs on the floor at once) and prayers, both of which worked and were answered Wednesday.
“We know that with our numbers being down, everybody has to step up,” Ivey said. “Everybody understands that we need balance from everybody. Everybody’s going to have to do a little bit more.
“Whatever that is.”
On Wednesday, it was whatever was needed. Rebound. Defend. Believe. Persevere.
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Staggering still was that Notre Dame pulled this one off at the arena named “The Summit” – for Pat − without benefit of a single 3-pointer. The Irish took nine and made none. When’s the last time that happened? Against a ranked team? On the road? And the Irish won?
Ascending any summit isn’t guaranteed even in perfect conditions. Nothing about Wednesday was perfect. In climbing terms, there was wind and there was snow and darkness was closing quickly. There was ice and other issues. Nothing about this one was perfect.
Until the end.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact: (574) 235-6153.