On Monday, No. 2 Notre Dame (28-6) used a stifling defensive performance and 50 perfect shooting performance from the floor to shut down No. 7 Ole Miss (24-9), 71-56. In doing so, The Irish advanced to the program’s third Sweet 16 in as many years and 20th overall in program history.
The “Big 3” led the way for Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey. Maddy Westbeld went 8-13 from the floor and dropped 20 points in an NCAA Tournament game for the second time in her career. Hannah Hidalgo had 19 points, and Sonia Citron put up her first double-double of the season with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Hidalgo and Citron were a combined 13-15 from the charity stripe.
As far as game flow goes, the Irish set the tone early and didn’t allow Ole Miss to crawl back within single-digits.
Notre Dame started hot, going 3-4 from the floor and putting together an 8-0 run against a stout Ole Miss defense. They made the Rebels uncomfortable on the other end of the floor and held them to a 2-7 start. Also of note, Ole Miss starting center Rita Igbokwe had a pair of fouls less than 5 minutes into the game.
The Irish kept their foot on the pedal to close out the first frame, going on an 11-3 run capped off by a Westbeld 3-pointer. She also had 2 blocks and 2 steals in the first 10. Ole Miss shot just 23.5 percent in Q1 and had 7 turnovers.
Ole Miss struggled to score to start the second quarter, as the Irish held them scoreless for 4 minutes. The Rebels started to see shots fall, but Notre Dame always had an answer. It was 43-26 in favor of the home team at the half, and the Irish made 16 of 27 shot attempts. Westbeld led all players with 14 points, while Citron and Hidalgo had 9 each. The nation’s steal leader, Hidalgo had 3 swipes at the break and had drawn 4 Ole Miss fouls. Three of the Rebels’ starters had 2 first half fouls.
The momentum carried out of the locker room as Citron drained a long 2-pointer on Notre Dame’s first possession. Notre Dame opened up the half 4-6 from the floor while holding Ole Miss to just two field goals in the first 5 minutes of play. The Notre Dame lead stretched as big as 23 before Ole Miss went on an 8-0 run of its own.
Back-to-back fast break layups with near-coast-to-coast passes from Citron to Hidalgo got the crowd on their feet as they erupted for Notre Dame’s 19-point lead with 1:30 left in the third. The Irish took a 61-42 advantage into the final frame.
Despite some late foul trouble, Notre Dame ran the clock in the fourth quarter and held on for the 15-point victory, 71-56.
The Irish will head to Albany later this week for a Sweet 16 clash against No. 3 Oregon State (26-7). The game will be Friday and the time is TBA.