No. 5 seeded Notre Dame left no doubt as they made it to the Sweet 16 on Monday night.
The Fighting Irish knocked out No. 4 Oklahoma 108–64 at the Sooners’ Lloyd Noble Center in the Bridgeport area of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. A winning lead of 44 points is the most for a team seeded at or under the opponent. according to ESPN statistics and information. It is the first women’s or men’s team to defeat the top seeded team by at least 40 points. according to StatsPerform.
Four of the five starters scored double figures, and three reached the threshold of 20 points. The Fighting Irish assisted 24 of 41 baskets and went from 7-7 at the two-minute mark to 35-12 within one quarter.
The only starter to miss double figures was freshman point guard Olivia Miles, who was too busy pitching 12 of those passes. She was again on a triple-double but finished the short shooting 4-of-9 with nine points and seven rebounds.
“In the transition, they kind of spread over the paint, that’s how I found Dara. [Mabrey]find Sonya [Citron] and Maddie [Westbeld]Miles said. “It seems to me that when we advanced in the passage, and I could see the floor, we were able to spread them out. We were throwing punches – I just kept hitting the hot hand.”
Miles had nine points, seven assists and seven rebounds going into the fourth quarter as the Fighting Irish led 85–47. The passes available were too good to give up, and Miles missed his second straight triple-double in as many NCAA appearances. This would be the second consecutive triple-double behind Stanford’s Nicole Powell. Powell did it on March 16 and 18 during the first two rounds of the 2002 NCAA Tournament. The only other player to have two tournament triple-doubles is Oregon star and New York Liberty point guard Sabrina Ionescu.
The NCAA Mabrey Show Continues
Dara Mabry provided Notre Dame with the best offense in the first half, continuing the unofficial tradition of the Mabry sisters playing for the Irish in the NCAA Tournament. The older sister Marina Mabrey participated in two championship team games. Their older sister Michaela also visited Notre Dame.
The story goes on
Mabry led all scorers with 29 points and overtook Oklahoma City before the half. She was 11 of 19 overall and 7 of 12 on the three-point line. She has six rebounds and three assists. Seven three-pointers brought Marina the most points in a tournament game.
“Honestly, when you shoot like that – I felt like I passed out – at some point I didn’t think,” Mabry said. “I just knew when I caught him I was going to let him go and he came in. to come in.”
Mabry said confidence and positive energy are “spreading like wildfire” and showing growth.
“Our team is maturing, so it’s easiest to spread that confidence when you’re confident as a leader,” Mabry said. “I think they did just that. I landed those shots and then everyone started scoring.”
Sonya Citron added 25 points, scoring 7 of 13 and making all 11 free throws. She had six rebounds, four of the team’s 16 steals, and three assists. Maya Dodson scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting and added three rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Maddie Westbeld had 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists. The team was 51.9% from the floor and 40% (10 out of 25) from 3.
Oklahoma’s top crime went silent
The Irishman closed one of the highest scoring offenses in the country this year. Oklahoma averaged 83.2 points per game, ranking third behind DePaul and Iowa. Taylor Robertson led the Sooners with 19 points. Liz Scott had 11 and eight rebounds, and Skylar Vann had 11 points off the bench with nine rebounds. Oklahoma turned the ball 28 times and converted 32.3% of shots (21 of 65).
Notre Dame head coach Niel Ivey said she spoke to the team about lifting defensive efforts as they played at Oklahoma’s home court. And they accepted the challenge.