Photos of Notre Dame’s second-round victory over Ole Miss

See how the win appeared at Purcell.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – One never wants to say an NCAA Tournament is going to be easy. Sometimes though, the result of a game becomes impossible to ignore. Notre Dame dominated Ole Miss in the second round, 71-56, and will play in the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. Up next is Oregon State in the Albany Regional 1 semifinals.

There could be no more games at Purcell Pavilion this season after this game, and the Irish certainly went out on a high note. Even when the Rebels threatened to make the game close in the second half, it was little more than a passing threat, and the Irish’s lead never fell below double digits once it got there late in the first quarter.

It’s understandable if your job kept you from tuning into this game on a Monday afternoon, but that’s why there are photographs. Here are some that were taken at this game:

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Notre Dame goes back to Sweet 16 with second-round win over Ole Miss

Make your plans for Good Friday.

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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Pete Bavacqua officially takes over as Notre Dame athletic director

A new age has dawned at the university.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] era at Notre Dame officially has come to an end. Taking over as athletic director starting Monday was [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag], and the athletic department was quick to recognize that on social media:

The only athletic event on the Notre Dame schedule for the day was the women’s basketball team’s game against Ole Miss for the second of the NCAA Tournament. Fittingly, it took place at Purcell Pavilion. It served as a reminder of how much Notre Dame athletics thrived under Swarbrick and what Bevacqua has to build upon.

We don’t know what the future holds for the university’s athletic programs, but we know that overall, the outlook is as rosy as it’s ever been. So for the moment at least, Bevacqua deserves the benefit of the doubt as he settles into his new role. Best of luck to him, and we can’t wait to see how the programs do under his leadership.

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Photos of Notre Dame’s first-round NCAA Tournament win vs. Kent State

See how the Irish’s first tournament game looked.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After Notre Dame wrapped up its final regular-season game, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] addressed the Purcell Pavilion crowd. While she didn’t say so directly, she more or less pleaded with the NCAA Tournament selection committee to give the Irish a top-four seed so that they could host the first weekend. Just to remove any doubt, the Irish won the ACC Tournament, and it became impossible for the committee to ignore them after that.

The Irish ultimately earned a No. 2 seed, so their fans fans found themselves back where they were three weeks ago. They provided a tough environment for Kent State in this first-round game, and the Irish rode that to an 81-67 win. That means they’ll get to see the team one final time this season in Monday’s second-round game and surely will be no less vocal.

If you missed the start to the Irish’s latest quest for their third national championship, here are a few examples of what it looked like:

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Notre Dame knocks out Kent State to begin NCAA Tournament

One down, five to go.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A No. 2 seed never had lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame had no intention of becoming the first team to do that as it battled Kent State at Purcell Pavilion. With most of the crowd backing them, the Irish held a comfortable lead almost the entire game and advanced to the second round with an 81-67 victory.

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Unlike last year’s first-round game against Southern Utah that pretty much was decided from the opening tip, the Irish (27-6) allowed the Golden Flashes (21-11) to score the first basket of this game and even keep the lead for the first three-and-a-half minutes. But the Irish were finished with generosity after that and proceeded to score 18 unanswered points with sound offense and forcing tough shots on defense.

The Irish mostly coasted from there, leading by as much as 21. There was a brief scare in the fourth quarter when the Flashes cut that lead to 12, but it was a passing threat at best. This wasn’t going to be anything but an Irish victory, especially with them scoring 23 points off 16 Flashes turnovers.

[autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] was by far the Irish’s best player with a game-high 29 points. Several of her buckets came on passes from [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag], who achieved a double-double in her first NCAA Tournament game of 14 points and 11 assists despite shooting only 5 of 14 from the field. She also had six steals, five of them coming in the third quarter.

[autotag]Anna DeWolfe[/autotag] scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half, providing an early offensive spark along with Citron. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] flirted with her own double-double with nine points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

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Purcell Pavilion sold out for Notre Dame’s first NCAA Tournament game

Hope you have your ticket already.

After Notre Dame played its final regular-season home game at Purcell Pavilion, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] hoped to be back for the NCAA Tournament. Thankfully, she coached the Irish to the finish needed to make that happen. And now on top of that, their first-round game against Kent State has been sold out, so Ivey will get that loud South Bend crowd she loves so much:

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It’s not known how much of that sellout crowd will stick around to watch Saturday’s second game between Ole Miss and Marquette. But for the first game at least, a loud partisan crowd will be on hand, so the Golden Flashes will have more than only the Irish to deal with. That’s just what the Irish have been playing for all year, and they have the luxury for the second straight year.

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Watch: Notre Dame reacts to getting No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament

Think they’re happy?

It’s unknown exactly how much Notre Dame pays attention to outside noise. If it does, it would have known it needed to do pretty much it did over the past few weeks to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, and that was keep winning. So it’s not known exactly how much that knowledge, if it existed, played into the team’s reaction to earning a No. 2 seed in the tournament:

Even with the unfortunate news of Kylee Watson’s torn ACL, it appears little could have be done to dampen moods on this particular night. All the worries and anxieties associated with March Madness can wait for another day. Right now, there is cause to celebrate as the Irish will get to play at least one more game at Purcell Pavilion this season and possibly one after that. This is the time to let it all soak in before the daunting task ahead.

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Notre Dame moves up to No. 3 seed in latest ESPN bracketology

You want want to start making plans to be at Purcell Pavilion in a couple of weeks.

Notre Dame has become impossible to ignore during its seven-game winning streak late in the season. Because of it, all signs point to the Irish hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament as a top-four seed. Now, simply getting to the ACC Tournament championship game appears to have helped them even more.

ESPN’s Charlie Creme updated his bracketology before the title game and bumped the Irish up to a No. 3 seed. The move was noticeable enough that Creme devoted his paragraph at the top of his bracket to them:

“Notre Dame looks like the best team in the ACC and has reached the championship game of the ACC tournament. With wins over Louisville and Virginia Tech in Greensboro, Notre Dame has jumped to a No. 3 seed. The Irish were just outside looking in during the NCAA tournament selection committee’s two reveals of the top 16 seeds. But now, they’ve won seven in a row since losing to NC State – their opponent in Sunday’s ACC tournament title game. Notre Dame was the biggest mover on a Saturday that saw most of the remaining favorites win and hold their spots.”

For what it’s worth, Her Hoop Stats projected the Irish as a fourth seed in the update it published before the Irish won their semifinal game. Regardless, it would be a shocker at this point if the Irish aren’t an NCAA Tournament host. In that case, there needs to be a serious overhaul of the selection process. Hopefully, that discussion won’t be necessary in a week’s time.

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Ivey, Hidalgo, Citron, Westbeld speak after Notre Dame win

Hear what the victors had to say about this game.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – There’s no doubt Notre Dame wants to have one or two more games at Purcell Pavilion this season. The Irish have been playing even better lately, most recently with their 74-58 win over Louisville. It all depends on what the NCAA Tournament selection committee thinks of its resume. We’ll save that discussion for another day though.

The discussion right now is this latest victory, which [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] was happy to talk about afterwards. After a win like that though, it wasn’t enough to bring in the usual one or two players. She brought in her three best, and they all deserved it.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] did her usual thing with 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 17 points, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Fighting Irish Wire was on hand during this postgame news conference, and here is some of what was said:

Notre Dame clinches ACC Tournament double-bye with win vs. Louisville

Great way to end the regular season.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Hopefully, Notre Dame has not played its final game at Purcell Pavilion this season. That depends on how the selection committee for the NCAA Tournament feels about giving the Irish a top-four seed. Regardless, the Irish continued to make their case in front of a packed house with a 74-58 win over Louisville, giving them a double-bye for this week’s ACC Tournament.

The first half was very much even until the Irish (23-6, 13-5) saw the Cardinals (23-8, 12-6) take their biggest lead at seven going into halftime. The third quarter was a much different story though as the Irish became as red-hot from the field as the Cardinals became ice-cold, though the Irish’s defense also had a hand in that. The shooting numbers in that quarter told the story: 11 of 13 for the Irish, and 2 of 17 for the Cardinals.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] had a trademark game of 26 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals. [autotag]Sonia Citron[/autotag] scored 17 points, [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag] added 10, and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] achieved a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards.

With the victory in their final regular-season game, the Irish didn’t need to worry about Wake Forest having to upset NC State. They now get to go straight to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. That extra rest will do wonders for a team that has had depth issues all season. We’ll see how much it pays off.

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