Notre Dame HC Niele Ivey drops 1-word reaction for Seattle Storm star Skylar Diggins’ game winner vs Atlanta Dream

Notre Dame women's basketball coach Niele Ivey was hyped after former Irish star Skylar Diggins-Smith hit a clutch game-winner for the Seattle Storm. Diggins drove to the basket and finished with a layup with 3.4 seconds remaining, sealing an 80-79 win over the Atlanta Dream.

Ivey reposted a video of the moment on Instagram story along with the following caption:

“Yep🔥”

Credit: IG/@irishcoachivey

Skylar Diggins, who scored 11 points in the game, did so while battling an illness, as revealed by her Storm coach.

“She’s been sick for the last few days. She didn’t practice (on Wednesday or Thursday),” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said.

“Coming into Atlanta … we were unsure if she was going to be able to play just because of her energy level and still working through her fitness.”

Niele Ivey and Diggins are Notre Dame legends but played in different eras. Ivey starred for the Fighting Irish from 1996 to 2001, winning their first NCAA title in 2001 as the point guard. She returned years later as an assistant and became the head coach in 2020. She has since continued the program’s elite standard and helped produce several WNBA talents.

Diggins, meanwhile, followed years later and left her own mark, representing the program from 2009 to 2013. She was a four-time All-American, led the Irish to three Final Fours and finished her career as the school’s all-time leader in points and steals.

After playing for the Dallas Wings and the Phoenix Mercury, Diggins joined the Storm on a two-year deal in 2024.

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Niele Ivey enjoying her role with the national team

Niele Ivey will be an assistant coach for the USA Basketball Women's U19 National Team at the 2025 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup in the Czech Republic, which will take place from July 12-20.

On July 2, South Florida basketball women’s coach, Jose Fernandez, who's also a part of the coaching crew, shared a picture of the coaches after a training session via X.

Niele Ivey responded to this post, expressing how she felt about working with the group of coaches.

“🙏🏾🇺🇸 So honored to work with this amazing group !!,” Ivey wrote on X, quoting the original post.

It marks her second time serving in this role, having been an assistant coach for the 2024 U18 National Team.