Just a few weeks ago, Notre Dame was the No. 1 team in the country in women’s college basketball. But entering the NCAA Tournament, the Fighting Irish had lost three-of-five games and fell to a No. 3 seed in the bracket.
Notre Dame bounced back emphatically on Friday afternoon with an opening round win over No. 14 Stephen F. Austin, 106-54, where Sonia Citron and Hannah Hidalgo each scored 24 points apiece.
The Irish now move on to the second round where they’ll face No. 6 Michigan, but it’s unclear if they’ll be at full strength. All-American point guard Olivia Miles exited Friday’s victory with 8:44 to play — and Notre Dame leading by 39 points — with a left ankle injury.
After being attended to by teammates and trainers in the immediate aftermath of the injury, Miles was able to walk off the court on her own, but did so with a bit of a noticeable limp.
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey didn’t have any details about Miles’ status during the postgame press conference, but said Miles told her she was “OK.”
“Yes, ankle injury,” Ivey said. “Stepped on someone’s foot. Going to be okay. But she got to get treatment.”
Miles didn’t shoot all that well in the game, finishing with just two points on six shot attempts from the floor. However, according to ESPN, Notre Dame made 64 percent of their shots that came off passes from Miles and she finished with eight assists. The Irish were +31 when Miles was on the court, according to USA Today.
Citron was optimistic about the outlook for Miles, telling the Athletic: “When we were all with her when she was down, she was cracking smiles. She’s a soldier, she’s a warrior. We know she’s gonna be good.”
Notre Dame last played Michigan on Dec. 3, 2020, losing by 10 points at home.
Miles, a redshirt junior, is averaging 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season while shooting a career-best 40 percent from 3-point land. She missed all of what would have been her natural junior season while rehabbing a knee injury.
With her, Notre Dame has arguably the best trio of guards in the country. Without her, it will be difficult for the Irish to realize its goal of contending for a national title.
