The Notre Dame women’s basketball team got off to a tough start over Thanksgiving weekend as they fell on the road to Ohio, 86-85, despite entering the fourth quarter with a 65-62 lead.
Better news came in the form of new head coach Niele Ivey’s first career win as the Irish bounced back by trouncing Miami (Ohio) on Sunday, 88-68, and moving to 1-1 on the young season.
Sixth-year-senior-guard Destinee Walker paced Notre Dame with 24 points while freshman Maddy Westbeld added 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block.
Notre Dame got out of the gates quickly as they took a 45-30 lead to halftime and cruised to a fairly easy victory.
Ivey was cleared excited to get win number-one out of the way on what was an understandably emotional day.
“This was a dream, something I visualized, something I’ve prayed about, just to be able to say that I can get a win,” Ivey said, sounding both relieved and thrilled. “To be the head coach and walking into Purcell Pavilion was an absolute dream.”
Ivey and the 1-1 Fighting Irish return to the court on December 3 when they host No. 24 Michigan on Thursday night.