NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Olivia Miles had a triple-double help No. 5 seed Notre Dame to an 89-78 win over No. 12 seed Massachusetts on Saturday in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament.
Miles had 12 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the 18th triple-double in an women’s tournament game and the 10th in school history.
Maddy Westbeld scored 19 points and Maya Dodson and Dara Mabrey each added 18 for the Fighting Irish (23-8), who will play No. 4 seed Oklahoma or No. 13 seed IUPUI on Monday in the second round.
Sam Breen, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, matched her career high with 31 points for UMass.
Mabrey opened the game with two 3-pointers to set the tone for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish led 15-9 before going on a 12-2 run. Notre Dame led 32-17 at the end of the first quarter after shooting 63.2% from the field.
UMass settled in during the second quarter and hung tough. Notre Dame’s largest lead was 17 with just over three minutes left in the second quarter, but Breen banked in a desperation shot from near halfcourt at the buzzer to cut Notre Dame’s lead to 49-41. Breen scored 19 points in the first half.
UMass held Notre Dame scoreless for more than three minutes to start the third quarter, but the Minutewomen shot poorly during that stretch and couldn’t take advantage. Notre Dame took a 67-59 edge into the fourth quarter.
Miles took over early in the final quarter. She made a driving layup for her 10th point, then got a defensive rebound on the other end for her 10th rebound. She then found Mabrey for a 3-pointer to give her nine assists and make it 72-59. She later passed to Westbeld in the corner for a 3-pointer, giving Miles 10 assists and the triple-double.
BIG PICTURE
UMass: The Minutewomen will have all offseason to think about their poor start. They hung with the Fighting Irish for much of the game after the end of the first quarter, but never caught up. UMass got outrebounded 36-22.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish were extremely efficient, shooting 57.6% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range. They committed 14 turnovers, which helped UMass stay in the game.
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