When in Rome do as the Romans do.

Win and conquer.

The Notre Dame men’s team rallied to stun Villanova 74-72 and the women’s team rolled from start to finish to beat the Wildcats 99-75 to cap off an incredible week in Rome for the Irish in the Eternal City Tip-Off.

Shrewsberry’s Irish open season with big win

Brady Koehler led Notre Dame with 16 points, icing the game with two free throws in the final five seconds as the Irish men’s basketball team tipped off the college basketball season with a come-from-behind 2-point win over Villanova.

Gonzaga transfer Braeden Smith also scored 16 for Notre Dame, which rallied from a 6 point deficit with 3:56 remaining to win.

A Koehler dunk pulled Notre Dame within 1 with under two minutes to play and the Irish then took the 70-68 lead with 1:08 remaining on a Logan Duncomb 3 pointer. It was one of nine 3-pointers for the Irish on the day.

It’s a huge win for head coach Micah Shrewsberry to start the season after a mass exodus of Notre Dame’s top talent from last year with Markus Burton, Jalen Haralson and Cole Certa all transferring.

One player Shrewsberry knew would not transfer was his son Braeden, who scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out three assists.

Villanova led by as many as 10 points when they went ahead 60-50 with just over 10 minutes left in the game but the Irish, playing loose on the floor, refused to go away and made the comeback.

Notre Dame will return stateside for the home opener Thursday night at 7pm when they host Mercyhurst.

Hidalgo leads Ivey’s Irish to easy win

Hannah Hidalgo scored 32 points, dished out 8 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds as the 13th ranked Irish women’s basketball team cruised to a 99-75 win over Villanova.

Leah Macy had a fantastic college debut with 27 points and 14 rebounds for Notre Dame.

All five Irish starters finished in double figures. Madison Rose scored 17, Jenica Lewis 11 and Jacy Abii 10.

Notre Dame led 20-13 after one quarter and 45-26 at halftime.

Niele Ivey’s Irish host Stonehill Friday at 7pm.

The doubleheader capped an incredible trip to Italy that included an audience with Pope Leo, a Villanova alum, on Saturday.