SYRACUSE, N.Y. — There’s no place on the field where Olivia Miles doesn’t demand attention. When she rolls in the paint, it becomes everything. Hannah Hidalgo also requires close monitoring, especially while waiting on the wing for her own shot or to destroy an opponent’s.
They are dazzling, breathtaking and tough playmakers who carry on the legacy of Notre Dame’s “Guard University.” There isn’t a game going on in which they aren’t Globetrotter in their own way in the highlights rolls or in a few extra points at the end of the terms. Add in WNBA prospect Sonia Citron and that’s a backcourt few in the country can rival.
A trio cannot and cannot win games alone in this era of women’s basketball. Not even though the three stars average two-thirds of their team’s offense and opened ACC play at Syracuse, each of them recording double-doubles of 20 points.
The Fighting Irish No. 8’s oft-overlooked frontcourt has held strong through the first month of the season despite being decimated by injuries that forced them to rely almost solely on two newcomers. They will be the deciding factor in another top-10 matchup when rival and runner-up Connecticut (8-0), with their elite guard duo of Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, travel to South Bend on Thursday (7 p.m. ET on ESPN).
In a matchup of powerhouse backcourts that could cancel each other out, eyes will be on Notre Dame (7-2) freshman Kate Koval and graduate transfer Liatu King against UConn’s Sarah Strong and Ice Brady. In Koval and Strong, two of the top recruits in the freshman class, the coaches spotted traits their storied programs hadn’t seen in a long time.
Injuries force Notre Dame newcomers into starting roles
Notre Dame hasn’t completely moved past the ongoing injury bug that impacted the 2023 matchup with UConn. The Fighting Irish are without their two-year starting frontcourt tandem of fifth-year forwards Maddy Westbeld and Kylee Watson.
The 6-foot-3 Westbeld, who has started all but one game of her career, was hoping to return from offseason foot surgery before a conference game so she could be back soon. Watson, 6-4, tore her ACL during the ACC tournament and could be out for the season. Liza Karlen, a graduate transfer from Marquette, left the Oct. 30 exhibition game with a foot/ankle injury and is wearing walking boots.
They turned to Koval and King as mainstays and the only true forwards in a group of seven available players.
“This group is resilient,” said Irish head coach Niele Ivey. “Everyone does what it takes to help us win, which I really appreciate when our backs are against the wall. … We have so many people stepping up and doing whatever is necessary. When you have a selfless group like that, it’s great to work with them.
Koval, the No. 5 recruit in the 2024 class, is on track to break the program’s blocked shots record with an average of 3.7 per game, second best in Division I. It surpasses Ruth’s 3.3 Riley in 1998-99. Only four players have averaged at least 3 per game in Notre Dame history.
“We haven’t had someone with his confidence, his presence, his strength (and) his physicality in a very long time,” Ivey said. “He is a person who is a sponge. She has a very high IQ. And it just keeps growing and blossoming.
Notre Dame doesn’t need massive double-doubles from the 6-5 McDonald’s All-American, but it does need her to stay out of foul trouble so she’s there to deliver when defenses try to follow or overtake one of their guards. His best performance came in the season opener against Mercyhurst, scoring 18 points while shooting 81.8 percent (9 of 11) with seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists. Against then-No. 3 USC, she scored eight points (4 of 6) with seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
“She plays like she’s not a freshman,” Hidalgo said. “Liatu, what is she?” Six feet? She plays bigger than that. We just have a lot of heart.
King, who stands at 6 feet, transferred to Notre Dame in-conference from Pittsburgh, where she posted career highs – 18.7 points on 52.3 percent shooting with 10.3 rebounds, 1 .8 steals and 1.5 blocks. The reigning ACC Most Improved Player and First Team All-ACC selection raised her game with 11 rebounds (eighth) and 2.8 steals per game. She has four double-doubles, including one against then No. 1 4Texas.
“King has the experience,” Ivey said. “She has a lot of confidence and is excellent in the mid-range. She plays much bigger than her size and has a lot of versatility.
Although King hasn’t attempted a single 3-point shot in her 115-game career, Hidalgo said to keep an eye on him because they saw her flash it in practice over the summer. This versatility and Koval’s presence gives Notre Dame freedom and flexibility so guards can work within the offense, and the quality depth will only improve when their experienced starting forwards return.
But they face a tall task in their first UConn game.
UConn sees strength in freshman forward
The Huskies are further down a rocky road that still led them to a 2023 Final Four berth despite only eight players available. Fudd, their star shooting guard, has joined fellow No. 1 recruit Bueckers and graduate transfer point guard Kaitlyn Chen in the backcourt, but she is likely out for the Notre Dame game. She sprained her knee in the Champions Classic against Louisville on Saturday and it will be “day to day,” head coach Geno Auriemma said Tuesday.
With her available, “Obviously you’re looking at a Final Four team from last year that’s much improved,” Auriemma said. “Unfortunately, so do a lot of other teams.”
Strong is a key enabler following a line of great UConn forwards. The No. 1 recruit in the class who committed the morning after UConn’s Final Four loss brings a dimension Auriemma said he hasn’t had on his roster in nearly a decade.
“I don’t know if anyone has had the offensive skills that Sarah has since Stewie (Breanna Stewart) has been here,” Auriemma said after another 20-plus point outing from Strong at the Champions Classic on Saturday. “They are completely different players. They are built differently. They play the game differently. But they accomplish pretty much the same things.
Unlike Stewart, she was asked to contribute a lot immediately to one of women’s basketball’s elite powers due to injuries from the previous season and the departure of Aaliyah Edwards to the WNBA. A month into her career, the 6-2 freshman looks like a veteran upperclassman who attacks the basket, stays calm and reads the game.
“We brought in a lot of kids and immediately made an impact as freshmen,” Auriemma told reporters last week. “The difference, a lot of times, was that there were a lot of upper-class men that they could just (learn from). …. She is in a unique situation.
Strong averaged 16.3 points per game while shooting 57.3% and 35.7% from 3, just on the heels of or better than Huskies leader Bueckers (18.9 points per game, 56.3%, 42.1%). She has made the second most 3-point attempts and adds 7.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.
“Sarah is more like a guard than any of the post players I’ve played with,” Bueckers said.
Brady, a 6-3 redshirt sophomore, is more efficient than her freshman year when she came off the bench in all but three games. Auriemma can now turn to the bench for the size of 6-foot-5 center Jana El-Alfy after signing up early in 2023 but missing her freshman season due to a torn Achilles during the offseason during the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup.
Although a line can’t win games alone, Auriemma called his Huskies’ best three-pronged teams. The pinnacle, Auriemma said, was having the best point guard in the country (Renee Montgomery), the best center (Tina Charles) and the best player in the country (Maya Moore).
“When you can address people with those three things, then you have a chance to win every game you play,” Auriemma said. “And we’re lucky to have something like this (now).”
