[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] only is a sophomore, and she already has the makings of one of the best players in Notre Dame history. Moments like her final act against Louisville only will add to her legend. The Irish had a chance to move back into a tie for first with Duke in the ACC, but the Cardinals did not make it easy at all. Miles made sure her team grabbed that chance when she hit a shot at the buzzer for a 78-76 overtime win, sending Purcell Pavilion into a frenzy.
This game featured 14 ties and 13 lead changes, and it was just as thrilling as it sounds. The Irish (21-4, 12-3) bounced back after the Cardinals (19-9, 10-5) held a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] tied it at 68 with 1:13 left in regulation, then made a go-ahead layup roughly half a minute later. Hailey Van Lith then knotted it back up at 70 for the Cardinals, and [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag]’s missed layup out of a timeout made overtime necessary.
Overtime didn’t feature a lot of offense, but layups by [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] and [autotag]Cassandre Prosper[/autotag] gave the Irish a four-point lead with 15.1 seconds left. Prosper’s layup came on a foul and appeared to ice the game for the Irish, but she missed her free throw. That allowed Van Lith to get the rebound and easily run back the other way for a layup to cut the lead in half. Miles was trapped upon receiving the subsequent rebound and she lost the ball out of bounds, giving the Cardinals the ball. Olivia Cochran hit a layup out of a timeout to tie it at 76 with 3.8 seconds to go.
The Irish were able to advance the ball after calling a timeout, and that set up perhaps the biggest play of the season. Miles began the play in the backcourt and received a flip from Watson. She then hustled toward the right wing and fired a shot inside the 3-point line that went in. The bucket gave the Irish their first win over the Cardinals since 2019.
Miles finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 18 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Watson led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-8 shooting. Citron scored 15 in 44 minutes, and [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] added 10.
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