It was a balanced offensive effort for an Irish team that had recently struggled to create scoring opportunities across the board. Five players finished with 10+ points — Sonia Citron (24), Hannah Hidalgo (24), Liza Karlen (13), Maddy Westbeld (12) and Liatu King (10). It is Citron’s fourth 20-point NCAA Tournament game of her storied career. She went 4-6 from deep on Friday.
Additionally, Karlen had her first double-double of the year with 10 boards, and Olivia Miles had 8 assists. Kate Koval had 4 blocks, and Hidalgo had 5 swipes.
To start the game, the LadyJacks hit back-to-back treys before Notre Dame rattled off 10 consecutive points and went on a 24-5 run. Karlen came in off of the bench with a relentless persistence, notching 7 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter. Hidalgo led the Irish with 8 points, and Miles had 4 assists. Notre Dame had Stephen F. Austin doubled up after the first frame, 26-13.
It was more of the same for an Irish team that kept its foot on the gas with 20 points in the second quarter, 8 of which came from Citron. Notre Dame took a 45-26 lead into the locker room after shooting 50 percent from the floor in the first half and notching 10 offensive rebounds.
The defense took it up a notch in the third quarter. Steals by Citron, Hidalgo and Koval led to back-to-back-to-back buckets for Notre Dame, who expanded the lead to 37 at the end of the Q3. That lead stretched as high as 55 points with 2:35 left after walk-on Luci Jensen hit a triple with a defender in her face for the first points of her collegiate career. Both Sarah Cernugel and Bella Tehrani also scored for Notre Dame, giving every Irish player in uniform at least one bucket on the afternoon.
The Irish finished with 18 steals, topping the previous season-high of 13 at Syracuse.
Notre Dame will play No. 6 Michigan in the second round on Sunday. The Wolverines beat 11th-seeded Iowa State 80-74 on Friday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.