"A very disappointing performance": Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey apologizes to fans while reviewing Hanna Hidalgo & team's play

Niele Ivey was dismayed after No. 3 Notre Dame was unable to muster up enough fight to overcome No. 24 Florida State on Thursday. The Seminoles defeated the Irish 86-81 at Purcell Pavilion, ending their unblemished home record this season.

Ivey took responsibility for the loss as she addressed the fans first in her postgame press conference.

"My apologies to the fans. I thought the fans were as they’ve always been, extremely supportive," Ivey said. "I’m grateful for them being out here. A senior night, it’s hard having a game like this.

"I always feel like senior nights are supposed to be an opportunity to honor our seniors. I talked about that right when I walked in the locker room ... Just grateful for the fans to come out. Was a very disappointing performance. We got to get back to work."

One of the key reasons the Seminoles triumphed over the Irish was their ability to contain Hannah Hidalgo, the nation's second-leading scorer behind Florida State's own Ta'Niya Latson.

Hidlago struggled to find her shot, finishing with just 16 points on 4-of-18 shooting.

"Just trying to get her to the next play. Watching film after games," Niele Ivey said of Hidalgo's shooting slump. "She's a high-level scorer, so sometimes with those types of scorers they kind of shoot their way back in the game. But they just weren’t falling for her tonight."

Niele Ivey's squad determined to bounce back strong in ACC race

Despite two straight losses dropping Notre Dame to 15-2 in conference play, the Fighting Irish remain firmly in contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

They were on top of the AP Poll before the recent skid knocked them down to the No. 3 spot. Niele Ivey's Notre Dame rode a 19-game win streak and had not lost a single game in the ACC prior to their loss to No. 9 NC State on Feb. 23.

"We're grateful we have another opportunity to play, another game," Ivey said postgame. "We put ourselves in position as far as winning 15 straight. But we really have to fix our defense and we have to have that will in order for us to get over this hump."

The Irish defense has been a real issue as of late — they’ve surrendered 95 points on average over their last two games, up from 58.4 points per contest across their first 15 ACC matchups.

The Fighting Irish will host No. 25 Louisville in their final conference game on Sunday.