SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Never mind that it was a Monday afternoon. Notre Dame fans packed Purcell Pavilion in droves one final time this season to see the Irish play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Ole Miss. The Irish didn’t want to let their fans down, and they accomplished that with a 71-56 win that placed them in their third straight Sweet 16. They next will play Oregon State in the semifinals of Albany Regional 1 on Good Friday.
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There never really was a moment in which the Irish (28-6) were seriously threatened by the Rebels (24-9). Once [autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] hit back-to-back 3s to end the scoring in the first quarter, they never led by less than double digits. They had good looks both inside and out on offense, and their defense not only forced the Rebels to make mistakes but unnerved them into unforced errors. The result was a lead that grew by as much as 23.
In what could have been her final game in South Bend, Westbeld made it count with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and the game’s only two blocks, both coming in the first quarter. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] was just behind Westbeld with 19 points, and she also collected four steals.[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] advanced her reputation as perhaps the Irish’s best all-around player, achieving a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds to go with a game-high six assists.
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