Irish Advance to Second Round with 89-78 Win over UMass

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NORMAN, Okla. – Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Niele Ivey earned her first NCAA Tournament victory at the helm of the program on Saturday night, advancing past 12th-seeded UMass, 89-78. The Fighting Irish had four players in double figures, highlighted by Olivia Miles’ triple-double in her NCAA Tournament debut. 

Miles recorded a statline of 12 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists – the 18th triple-double ever in a women’s NCAA tourney and second from an Irish player (Skylar Diggins-Smith achieved the feat versus Maryland back in 2012). Miles also became the third Irish player to record multiple triple-doubles and joined Jackie Young in doing so in the same season. 

Dara Mabrey went 5-of-8 from three to tally 18 points. Maddy Westbeld poured in a team high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, while fellow post player Maya Dodson added 18 of her own. All-in-all, the Irish totaled 50 points in the paint and shot 64.3 percent from two. 

Up next, the Irish will play the winner of fourth-seeded Oklahoma and 13th-seeded IUPUI on Monday, March 21, at a soon to be determined time. 

How It Happened

On the first three Notre Dame possessions, Mabrey knocked down back-to-back three-pointers then dished out an assist. In fact Mabrey and Dodson combined for 13 of the team’s first 15 points, jumping out to a 15-9 lead at the under-five media.

The Irish later recorded a 10-0 run under a two-minute span, getting six points from Prohaska during said stretch. The Irish shot 12-of-19 in the quarter to build a 32-17 advantage, its most in a first quarter this season.

Notre Dame continued its hot hand into the second where they built their largest lead of the half, up 17 (45-28) with 3:16 remaining. However, UMass mustered some momentum by closing the half with a 13-4 run over the final three minutes, which ended with a half-court buzzer-beater from Sam Breen. 

Thus, the Irish led 49-41 at the break, shooting 19-of-32 (59 percent) in the first half. Mabrey led with 12 points, followed by 10 from Dodson and eight each from Miles and Westbeld. 

Notre Dame and UMass traded blows in the third, 18 points each to be exact. Therefore, the Irish entered the fourth with a 67-59 lead. Dodson led in the third with seven points, followed right behind by Westbeld with six.

The Irish switched to another gear to kick off the fourth, firing off a 9-0 scoring run via Miles, Mabrey and Citron. In fact, Citron registered all nine of her points in the final quarter, all in a four-quarter span. The Irish defense then closed it out to advance to the second round.  

— ND —