Niele Ivey, Olivia Miles and Kylee Watson discuss Notre Dame win

The Irish speak about their win in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS — Notre Dame’s 90-79 win over California at the Shamrock Classic in St. Louis came tougher than anticipated. Still, a win is a win, and to have it come live from the Enterprise Center on NBC made it all the more special. The opportunity for [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to do it in her hometown was among the topics covered in her postgame news conference with [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag]. Here is some of what they said:

Notre Dame overcomes foul trouble to win Shamrock Classic over Cal

A bit tight, but still a win.

ST. LOUIS — [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag]’s St. Louis homecoming could have gone a lot smoother. She didn’t plan on so many key players having to sit at a crucial time so that could be on the court at the end of the Shamrock Classic. Still, she gladly will take a 90-79 win over California.

The Irish (2-0) led by as much as 14 in the third quarter, but three players ([autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag], [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] and [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag]) had four fouls before the end of that frame. With Ivey forced to go to her bench as the fourth quarter began, the Bears (1-1) whittled the deficit down to three. Fortunately, the Irish were able to calm themselves down, and the reserves were able to tread water before the foul-plagued starters could return. Once that happened, it was relatively smooth sailing.

[autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag] led the Irish with 16 points before fouling out. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] had 15 points and a game-high seven rebounds. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 14, Miles achieved a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists, and 12 points came from Westbeld.

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Notre Dame prepares to face California in Citi Shamrock Classic

The Irish will be part of history in St. Louis.

It could be argued that [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] is looking forward to this game more than any other in which she’s been Notre Dame’s head coach. She’ll be coaching the Irish in her hometown of St. Louis for the Citi Shamrock Classic against California, which is coached by fellow St. Louis native Charmin Smith. This also is the city where Ivey won the 2001 national championship with the Irish as a player.

There are many reasons to be excited about this game. The Irish will enter it with confidence after their season-opening win over Northern Illinois. This will be the first time a women’s basketball game is broadcast live on NBC, so you can flip over to this after the football team’s contest with Navy is finished.

Most importantly for us, we will be on location to cover this game. Our thanks to Ashton Pollard of Fighting Irish Media for making this possible. We look forward to being part of what should be a great day.

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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