NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The No. 21/18 Notre Dame women’s basketball squad (10-2, 2-0) will enjoy a nice 2-0 start in ACC standings when the league schedule ramps up after the holiday season. On Sunday afternoon, the Fighting Irish cruised to a 85-59 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers (8-4, 0-2) inside Purcell Pavilion, achieving win No. 10 on the season. The Irish also improved to 6-0 at home as well.
Olivia Miles lit up the stat sheet with 21 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and a career high six steals. She also just had one turnover in 31 minutes of play.
As a result, Miles notched her third double-double over the last five games and fifth overall on the year. In addition, Miles is the fourth Irish all-time to join the 20-point, 10-assist club, etching her name alongside Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jackie Young and Marina Mabrey.
Fellow freshman Sonia Citron added 15 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Maddy Westbeld poured in 13 points to go with her seven boards. Then Sam Brunelle rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points.
“Really ecstatic with the way we started. We focused on bringing the energy today and we accomplished a lot of our team goals we set. Incredible contributions from so many people,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Family head coach Niele Ivey said.
How It Happened
Notre Dame started the game on a 10-0 run over the first 3:28, as Miles, Westbeld, Dodson and Citron all scored. The Irish ended the quarter up 17-10, primarily thanks to a hot start from Citron who tallied eight points on 3-of-4 shooting.
The Irish got hot from beyond the arc in the second quarter, where they converted 5-of-10 from three. In fact, the home squad recorded a 13-2 scoring spree over a three-minute stretch in which Westbeld, Miles and Mabrey all hit from deep.
Ultimately, the Irish took a 42-24 lead into the locker room at the break. Both of Notre Dame’s freshmen, Miles and Citron, were in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. As a team, the Irish were 8-of-17 from three-point range.
The third quarter featured a 14-0 Irish run which spanned three minutes. In that run, Brunelle recorded a stretch in which she scored six straight. In fact, Brunelle scored 10 points in the quarter on 4-of-5 shooting, lifting the Irish to a 30-point advantage heading into the final period up 73-43.
Notre Dame closed out the game with the 85-59 win. Nat Marshall added five of her eight points in the fourth. The Irish finished with 11 made three-pointers and 17 steals – both season highs. Irish also registered 22 assists on 30 made field goals.
Up Next
Notre Dame will compete in its last non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Dec. 22, when the Irish travel to the Windy City to take on DePaul. That contest will air nationally on FS1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
— ND —