- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 398,557
- Reaction score
- 43
SOUTH BEND – Any suspense − or doubts − ended about 21 minutes before tipoff Sunday for No. 3 seed Notre Dame women’s basketball.
That's when the starting lineups for the second-round NCAA Tournament game against Michigan were released. The second starter on the Notre Dame list was the most important one - second-team All-American guard Olivia Miles.
Miles was the third player to sprint down the tunnel and onto the court maybe a minute after the starters were made official. Her left ankle sure looked fine.
Noie: Friday was a first in March Madness for this veteran Notre Dame women's basketball player
Thirty-five minutes before tip, with many eyes on the tunnel that leads to the Irish locker room, Miles appeared from the opposite tunnel, in full uniform and seemingly running at full strength. The only sign of anything different was the black brace she sported on her left ankle. She still wore her usual low-top sneakers.
Noie: A Notre Dame women's basketball standout returns for March Madness in a different role
She did sprints width-wise across the court for three minutes before leaving for the locker room and acknowledging the cheers from the stands.
Miles left Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament opener against Stephen F. Austin early in the fourth quarter after rolling her left ankle and collapsing to the court. It was the same ankle she tweaked in the March 8 loss to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals loss.
Irish head coach Niele Ivey said following Friday’s game that she expected Miles to play Sunday against No. 6 Michigan. Ivey reiterated that belief Saturday afternoon in the Irish locker room lounge. She also said that if Notre Dame had a game on Saturday that she expected Miles would play.
“I know that Liv is going to try and get on that floor,” Ivey said. “We’ll see. She’s going to try to do whatever she can to compete for us (Sunday).”
The 5-foot-10 Miles is one of only two Irish (junior swing Cass Prosper) to appear in all 32 games this season, her first back after missing 617 days with a serious right knee injury suffered toward the end of the 2022-23 season. When it comes to the Irish starting lineup, only one player has started all 32 games.
Miles, who averages 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.
Graduate student forward Maddy Westbeld had no doubt Saturday that her teammate – her roommate – would give it a go in what likely is the final home game of her collegiate career. Miles has another season of eligibility remaining if she wants it, but she also may want to be a top five pick in the upcoming WNBA draft.
“Every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘I’m playing,’” Westbeld said. “She’s just a hooper. She just wants to play the game.”
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Olivia Miles injury update: Notre Dame women's basketball star status
Continue reading...
That's when the starting lineups for the second-round NCAA Tournament game against Michigan were released. The second starter on the Notre Dame list was the most important one - second-team All-American guard Olivia Miles.
Miles was the third player to sprint down the tunnel and onto the court maybe a minute after the starters were made official. Her left ankle sure looked fine.
Noie: Friday was a first in March Madness for this veteran Notre Dame women's basketball player
Thirty-five minutes before tip, with many eyes on the tunnel that leads to the Irish locker room, Miles appeared from the opposite tunnel, in full uniform and seemingly running at full strength. The only sign of anything different was the black brace she sported on her left ankle. She still wore her usual low-top sneakers.
Noie: A Notre Dame women's basketball standout returns for March Madness in a different role
She did sprints width-wise across the court for three minutes before leaving for the locker room and acknowledging the cheers from the stands.
Miles left Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament opener against Stephen F. Austin early in the fourth quarter after rolling her left ankle and collapsing to the court. It was the same ankle she tweaked in the March 8 loss to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals loss.
Irish head coach Niele Ivey said following Friday’s game that she expected Miles to play Sunday against No. 6 Michigan. Ivey reiterated that belief Saturday afternoon in the Irish locker room lounge. She also said that if Notre Dame had a game on Saturday that she expected Miles would play.
“I know that Liv is going to try and get on that floor,” Ivey said. “We’ll see. She’s going to try to do whatever she can to compete for us (Sunday).”
The 5-foot-10 Miles is one of only two Irish (junior swing Cass Prosper) to appear in all 32 games this season, her first back after missing 617 days with a serious right knee injury suffered toward the end of the 2022-23 season. When it comes to the Irish starting lineup, only one player has started all 32 games.
Miles, who averages 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game.
Graduate student forward Maddy Westbeld had no doubt Saturday that her teammate – her roommate – would give it a go in what likely is the final home game of her collegiate career. Miles has another season of eligibility remaining if she wants it, but she also may want to be a top five pick in the upcoming WNBA draft.
“Every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘I’m playing,’” Westbeld said. “She’s just a hooper. She just wants to play the game.”
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Olivia Miles injury update: Notre Dame women's basketball star status
Continue reading...
