After consecutive ranked losses, Notre Dame is struggling .
Things went downhill fast after the Fighting Irish landed its first No.1 ranking in six years. First, the team heartbreakingly lost a double-overtime game to NC State . Then, Florida State, once down by as much as 15 points, came storming back to lead at halftime. Eventually, Notre Dame couldn't keep up as the nation's leading scorer, Ta'Niya Latson , and crew took over.
"After they made that (12-0) run, it kind of put us on our heels," head coach Niele Ivey said Thursday evening. "I felt like we were kind of chasing after that. Didn't feel like we were getting the stops we were getting before." The defensive stops, typically created by lightning bolt Hannah Hidalgo (and punctuated by Sonia Citron or Olivia Miles), fell flat as Hildalgo's current slump continued.
How does Ivey fix the team when the sky is seemingly falling?
"We've got to get back to work," she somberly explained. "We have to have a will that we're not having for 40 minutes. We have to get back to the grind."
But is it really that simple? Well, no. It likely isn't.
Ugly habits die hard, and this is not when you want them to start rearing ugly heads. March Madness is approaching, and every team is bringing its best. Notre Dame can't rely solely on its talent to get it to a national championship. However, Ivey knows that and hasn't hit the panic button―yet.
"We have to learn from it. We gotta turn the page because we have one on Sunday," she told the media.
"We're grateful that we have another opportunity to play another game ... But we really have to fix our defense, and we just have to have that will in order to get over this hump ... You gotta fix it."
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Niele Ivey isn't panicking after Notre Dame's recent losses
