Tag: Kylee Watson

Notre Dame dominates Southern Utah in first-round NCAA Tournament game

Can’t start the tournament any better than that.

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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Notre Dame wallops Georgia Tech on senior night

Nice showing in the season’s final home game.

Senior night for Notre Dame began with honoring [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] and the injured [autotag]Dara Mabrey[/autotag]. Once the game tipped off though, the script started to flip. Georgia Tech scored eight unanswered points out of the gate, prompting [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to take an early timeout. Fortunately, things more or less corrected themselves from there, and the Irish won, 76-53.

The Irish (23-4, 14-3) had trouble holding off the Yellow Jackets (13-15, 4-13) for a bit, only taking a six-point lead into halftime. That changed in the third quarter as the Irish opened it with a 14-4 run. The Yellow Jackets never seriously threatened after that, only getting as close as 14 early in the fourth quarter. In short, it was a typical Irish victory for the final regular-season game at Purcell Pavilion this season.

[autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] led all scorers with 13 points. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] completed a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] also scored 12, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] contributed 11 points and a game-high five assists. Ebo had eight points in her final regular-season home game, and [autotag]KK Bransford[/autotag] scored 10 off the bench.

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Olivia Miles lifts Notre Dame over Louisville at overtime buzzer

Has there been a bigger moment this season? Unlikely.

[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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Niele Ivey, Maddy Westbeld speak after loss to Duke knocks Irish out of first

Read some inside thoughts on the defeat.

SOUTH BEND – The good news for Notre Dame is there’s plenty of time to reclaim first place in the ACC after Duke claimed it.

The bad news is the 57-52 loss the Blue Devils handed the Irish means [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] will have to figure out how to play catch-up. That’s not where a team wants to be with less than a month to go before the ACC Tournament. Alas, the Irish have no choice.

[autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] played the entire game and had 15 points and seven rebounds. But she contributed to the Irish’s 2-of-13 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter, missing all three of her shots. In fact, the six points [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] scored in that frame were all the Irish produced. [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] surely could have helped stop the bleeding had she been available, but we’ll never know for sure.

Here is some of what Ivey and Westbeld said about the Irish’s toughest loss this season:

Notre Dame defeats Western Michigan in final nonconference game

Just a ho-hum victory before Christmas.

Notre Dame passed its final test before ACC play begins in earnest, defeating Western Michigan, 85-57, in an early Wednesday game. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] was the key player with game highs of 23 points and eight rebounds. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 16 points, and [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] had 10 on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] also shined with 12 assists, two shy of her career high.

The Irish (9-1) enjoyed considerable advantages in many areas, including rebounding (44-20), second-chance points (13-0), fast-break points (16-3) and points in the paint (48-20). In short, it was just what one would expect of a fifth-ranked team against a Mid-American Conference opponent. Even a win in which the Irish squeaked by would have been concerning, but that wasn’t the case.

It’s nothing but conference opponents from here on out for the Irish, and that really will be a test of how good they really are. Until that happens, here are some photos from their latest win:

Notre Dame suffers first loss on Maryland buzzer-beater

That was gut-wrenching.

There are ways to pick up your first loss of the season that don’t break your heart. That won’t be the case for this year’s Notre Dame squad thanks to how its final ACC-Big Ten Challenge game ended. No. 20 Maryland’s Diamond Miller scored the final two of her game-high 31 points on a pull-up jumper near the left elbow off a screen just as time expired. The basket gave the Terrapins a 74-72 win and prompted Miller to shush the Purcell Pavilion crowd.

It was a game that went back and forth until the very end. [autotag]Olivia Miles[/autotag] completed a three-point play with 48 seconds left to give the No. 7 Irish (6-1) a 70-69 lead. Miller immediately followed that with a basket in the paint, prompting [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] to call a timeout. After the huddle broke, Miles missed a layup that [autotag]Lauren Ebo[/autotag] couldn’t rebound cleanly, and the Terrapins (7-2) called a timeout to maintain possession.

Miller was fouled after the subsequent inbound pass, but she only was able to split two free throws. Ivey called her final timeout to draw up a play to tie the game or potentially give the Irish the lead. Miles inbounded the ball and found a wide-open [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] for a game-tying layup. The Terrapins took a timeout after that, setting the stage for Miller’s heroics.

Miller did a lot more than hit the game-winner at the buzzer. In addition to being the game’s leading scorer, she had a game-high 12 rebounds and a team-high five assists. Only Shyann Sellers joined Miller in double-digit scoring with 17 points.

Citron completed a double-double for the Irish with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Miles scored 14 and had a game-high seven assists. [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] scored 10 and blocked three shots.

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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 coach Niele Ivey speaks at ACC media day

Think the Irish have another deep tournament run in them?

Entering her third season as the legendary [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s successor, Notre Dame coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] has every reason for optimism. She went from .500 in her first year at the helm to 24-9 and an appearance in the Sweet 16. But for a late Irish collapse against NC State in their final game, the Final Four would have been within their reach. Alas, neither Ivey nor her team could be disappointed by how far they had come.

All of that is history now, and Ivey is ready to see what she can do with this year’s Irish. She answered questions about it during the ACC’s media day Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina:

Notre Dame women make two additions via transfer portal

The Irish have some needed post help now.

Notre Dame has benefited from the transfer portal with the addition of two veteran post players. One is 6-foot-4 forward Kylee Watson, who comes to South Bend after two years at Oregon. The other is Lauren Ebo, who gives the Irish their only true center at the moment. After two years at Penn State, she heavily contributed to Texas making back-to-back Elite Eights.

[autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] had this to say about Watson:

“Kylee is one of the most dynamic and versatile posts in her class. She can score at all three levels and is extremely explosive in transition, either running the floor or igniting the break. What I love about her most is her motor and toughness.”

Ivey also commented about Ebo:

“She brings a wealth of experience with deep runs in the NCAA Tournament the past two years. She is a true leader on and off the court. She’s a force inside and is a perfect fit for our team and our culture.”

The Irish also have added Stanford’s Jenna Brown from the portal. Here’s hoping both players can help Ivey make her first run to the Final Four as head coach.

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