SOUTH BEND, Ind. — One by one, the Notre Dame women’s basketball players trickled out of the Irish locker room at Purcell Pavilion, just inside of an hour before the 1 p.m. EDT scheduled Sunday tipoff.
Except Olivia Miles.
What was evolving as a hopeful storyline in Notre Dame’s second-round matchup with 6 seed Michigan (23-10) on Sunday appeared to take a sour turn. Until it didn’t.
Roughly 20 minutes later, Miles emerged and tested her heavily taped left ankle by running sprints on the court. She was then listed in the official starting lineup for the Irish (27-5).
The second-team All-American suffered a left ankle injury early in the fourth quarter of third-seeded Notre Dame’s 106-54 romp over Stephen F. Austin Friday at Purcell, when she inadvertently stepped on the foot of SFA guard Harmanie Dominguez. Irish head coach Niele Ivey expressed confidence both after the game and in Saturday’s meeting with the media that she expected Miles to be available to play.
Miles had two points, eight assists and two rebounds in ND’s first-round win. She came into Sunday averaging 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and a team-leading 5.9 assists. Her scoring and rebounding averages both rank second on the team.
The winner of Sunday’s game advances to the Sweet 16 Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.
Except Olivia Miles.
What was evolving as a hopeful storyline in Notre Dame’s second-round matchup with 6 seed Michigan (23-10) on Sunday appeared to take a sour turn. Until it didn’t.
Roughly 20 minutes later, Miles emerged and tested her heavily taped left ankle by running sprints on the court. She was then listed in the official starting lineup for the Irish (27-5).
The second-team All-American suffered a left ankle injury early in the fourth quarter of third-seeded Notre Dame’s 106-54 romp over Stephen F. Austin Friday at Purcell, when she inadvertently stepped on the foot of SFA guard Harmanie Dominguez. Irish head coach Niele Ivey expressed confidence both after the game and in Saturday’s meeting with the media that she expected Miles to be available to play.
Miles had two points, eight assists and two rebounds in ND’s first-round win. She came into Sunday averaging 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and a team-leading 5.9 assists. Her scoring and rebounding averages both rank second on the team.
The winner of Sunday’s game advances to the Sweet 16 Saturday in Birmingham, Ala.
