Notre Dame crushes Stephen F. Austin in first game of NCAA Tournament
Notre Dame crushes Stephen F. Austin in first game of NCAA Tournament
Notre Dame was on a mention to prove its late-season slump was an outlier. It did that at least for one day in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Stephen F. Austin. The Irish advanced to play Michigan in the second round after dominating the Ladyjacks, 106-54.
The Irish (27-5) saw the Ladyjacks (29-6) take a quick 6-0 lead on a pair of 3-pointers. The score soon became 8-2, but that was as bad as it got for a team that had the backing of a packed Purcell Pavilion. The Irish outscored the Ladyjacks, 24-5, the rest of the quarter, and the lead just continued to balloon from there.
Everybody who got in the game for the Irish got in the scoring column, including walk-ons Bella Tehrani and Luci Jensen, the latter of whom got her first collegiate points on a 3-pointer. Both players' baskets set off joyous celebrations from the Irish starters on the bench:
Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron tied for the game's scoring high with 24 points apiece. Hidalgo's game-high five steals were one more than the Ladyjacks had as a team.
Liza Karlen had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Maddy Westbeld scored 12 points, and Liatu King added 10 in her first NCAA Tournament game.
Olivia Miles suffered an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter but was able to walk off the court under her own power. Before her afternoon ended, she dished out a game-high eight assists but was held without a field goal for the first time in her collegiate career.
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More: Notre Dame alum has the perfect bracket for March Madness 2025
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