Notre Dame’s path to its third national championship just got a lot tougher. After two-and-a-half weeks of speculation, the worst fears about [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag]’ availability for the NCAA Tournament have come true. Despite the best efforts of the Irish’s medical staff, the team will be without its best player for March Madness:
After consulting with the medical staff and undergoing treatment and examinations by our physicians, All-American guard Olivia Miles will miss the remainder of the season.
— Notre Dame WBB (@ndwbb) March 16, 2023
This is the second season-ending knee injury for the Irish in an otherwise excellent season. [autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag], another leader, went down for the season in January. While the Irish have done fine without her and and won a single ACC Tournament game without Miles, who suffered her injury in the regular-season finale, this team suddenly looks a lot more vulnerable.
There is little doubt that this will take some of the wind out of the Purcell Pavilion atmosphere when the Irish begin tournament play against Southern Utah. However, they have no choice but to press on. While this news definitely lowers the ceiling for this year’s team, especially with South Carolina likely looming later in Greenville Regional 1, you never know what could happen. That’s what this time is about after all.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89