Niele Ivey Reflects on the Unique Feeling of Notre Dame’s No. 1 Ranking

The Notre Dame head coach didn't downplay the significance for the proud program

Feb 17, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Niele Ivey enters the Purcell Pavilion before the game against the Duke Blue Devils. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Monday was a special day for the powerhouse Notre Dame women's basketball program as it was voted to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for the first time since January of 2019 early in the day.

Hours later, newly crowned No. 1 Notre Dame played host to No. 11 Duke in an ACC showdown.

Thanks to a 17-1 run to start the second half, and lockdown defense that held Duke to just 22 second half points, Notre Dame cruised to a 64-49 win.

Head coach Niele Ivey is a Notre Dame lifer. She was a star on the 2000-2001 team that won the program's first national championship and was a longtime assistant coach for the legendary Muffet McGraw.

Ivey has seen a lot in her basketball career, but when asked after the game about the significance of being voted No. 1, didn't give some run-of-the-mill coachspeak, and instead gave a meaningful answer.

Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey, right, embraces guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) as Hidalgo comes off the court during a NCAA women's basketball game between No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 11 Duke at Purcell Pavilion on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I was like ‘Okay, game.’ You can feel it for a second and then realize there’s a big task ahead of you. But that’s a special moment I’ll always have with this team,” Ivey said after Notre Dame's victory.

“My heart was beating fast on that one because it’s never happened for us,” Ivey disclosed about being voted No. 1. “The embrace and the cheers, that was different. This group, we’ve never experienced that. So, I thought that was a special moment.”

Notre Dame is four wins away from a perfect regular season in ACC play with the first of those games coming Thursday night at Miami.

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