SOUTH BEND – It was understandable if anyone was having doubts about Notre Dame after [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] was lost for the season. However, those same people might have forgotten one thing: The Irish still have some pretty darn good basketball players. That was on full display in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Southern Utah. In front of a mainly partisan crowd at Purcell Pavilion, the Irish owned the Thunderbirds throughout an 82-56 victory.
This game practically was over from the beginning as the Irish (26-5) rattled off 16 unanswered points at the start. Their offense found easy baskets almost at will, and their defense was as smothering as it’s been all season. The Thunderbirds (23-10) couldn’t respond with anything better than a 7-0 run. While they proved capable of being a tournament team at times, the Irish quickly erased those moments and asserted their authority as a third seed.
[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] was the Irish’s dominant offensive force, scoring 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] also picked up Miles’ slack with 14 points, six points and three steals. [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag], playing in her first tournament game for the Irish but not her collegiate career, showed her experience with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] shot a perfect 6 of 6 for 12 points to go with seven rebounds, [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] finished with nine points and eight boards, and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] grabbed 10 of her own rebounds.
Given all of that, it should be no surprise that the Irish held a 53-25 rebounding advantage and a 50-18 edge in points in the paint, not to mention winning the second-chance points battle, 14-4. It’s unlikely every tournament game will be this easy, especially at the rim, but that didn’t make this win any less of a thrill. It’s why the Irish will play one final home contest this season with a trip to Greenville Regional 1 on the line.
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