If Notre Dame had lost to Massachusetts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, no one would have been surprised. After all, two No. 5 seeds already had fallen, so it would have been forgivable not to bat an eye at seeing it happen again. But it didn’t happen this time, and the Irish are into the second round after an 89-78 win in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Irish (23-8) got off to a fast start, going up by as much as 17 in the first half. The Minutewomen (26-7) cut that lead by more than half going into the break when Sam Breen hit a buzzer-beating half-court shot. When the lead was whittled down to six in the third quarter, another No. 12 seed looked like it was on its way to victory. Instead, the Irish went on an 11-0 run, and that was all she wrote for the Minutewomen.
It was a historic game for Olivia Miles, who achieved the second triple-double of her collegiate career: 12 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists. She joins Skylar Diggins and Jackie Young as the only players in program history with two triple-doubles. While she also had six turnovers, no one will remember that.
Maddy Westbeld led the Irish with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. The Irish also got 18 points apiece from Dara Mabrey and Maya Dodson.
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