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No. 10 Notre Dame handed No. 4 Texas its first loss of the season with an 80-70 overtime win on Thursday night. It was a game filled with drama, but the Fighting Irish survived to snap a two-game losing streak.

"They played with their hearts," said Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey. "They played with passion and fire. I'm just really proud of this group."

It really did take a lot of mental strength to pull off the victory after a tough end to regulation. Olivia Miles drove to the basket and hit what appeared to be the winning layup for the Irish with just two seconds remaining, but then there was a whistle.

Notre Dame's Liatu King moved her arm up and made contact with Texas' Rori Harmon. Officials called a foul with just a second to play, and Harmon tied the game and sent it to overtime by making two free throws.

The crowd at Purcell Pavilion was audibly unhappy, but Notre Dame remained focused. Texas got the first bucket in overtime, and then never scored again.

Hannah Hidalgo led the winning effort with 30 points while going 11 of 20 from the field along with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Miles and Sonia Citron were also key contributors and added 18 points apiece. Citron registered a team-high seven steals. Meanwhile, King completed a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. 

It's been quite a season for the Irish, who upset then-No. 3 USC on Nov. 23, but then lost back-to-back games against TCU and Utah last week. There is not much time to celebrate because they take on Syracuse on Sunday and have a date with No. 2 UConn next Thursday. 

But before we get too ahead of ourselves, here are some of the key takeaways from Notre Dame's win against Texas:

Shorthanded Notre Dame has the nation's best backcourt

Now 6-2 on the year, Notre Dame took down a very talented Texas (7-1) roster with just six players. Yes, only six players saw the court on Thursday because of that pesky injury bug that kept Miles out for well over a year. 

It's a hard thing to achieve, but Hidalgo saw it coming. Ahead of the season, she warned CBS Sports that Miles' return would significantly open up the floor for Notre Dame and the Irish would play "fast and furious." Hidalgo and Miles have proven to be a dynamic duo from the beginning, as both know how to create opportunities for themselves and their teammates by playing smart and not forcing anything. 

Individually they are both elite players, but what makes them so dangerous is how well they play with each other. Just think of how much chemistry you need to have with your teammate to pull off a no-look, over-the-head assist while sitting on the floor:

That was obviously the highlight of the night, but there were many other good examples of Hidalgo and Miles working together, including this one:

Notre Dame's defense made a huge impact

Texas has a lot of guard depth and entered Thursday's game as the No. 1 team in the nation in offensive rating, but Notre Dame's zone defense gave the Longhorns plenty of issues. Texas only scored 12 points in the second quarter, which was the lowest total in a quarter for Vic Schaefer's team so far in the 2024-25 campaign. 

The Irish held the Longhorns to just four points in the paint through the first two quarters -- despite the fact that Texas is typically a solid team in the paint. 

What kept Texas from falling too far behind in the first half was its three-point shooting, which was unexpected as the Longhorns arrived to this game averaging just 2.9 3-pointers per contest. Shay Holle had made a total of six 3-pointers through the first seven games of the season, but she made four in the first half against Notre Dame.

Texas also had 23 turnovers, which is well above its average of 14.1 per game. 

Freshman Cassandre Prosper was the lone bench contributor for Notre Dame and only played 16 minutes, but even she got a nice defensive highlight on Thursday:

Madison Booker was hooping despite loss

Booker rose to the spotlight last season after Rori Harmon suffered a season-ending injury and she had to take over at the point guard position as a freshman -- a tall task for a player who was a wing in high school. Harmon is back, but Booker's basketball IQ is still on full display when she is on the court with how vocal she is and how she gets things done no matter what.

As a team, it was clear Texas was struggling against Notre Dame's defense, but Booker managed to put up a team-high 20 points along with eight rebounds and five assists.