SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With a little over 100 seconds remaining in another Notre Dame women’s basketball rout, senior guard Olivia Miles walked off the floor to an appreciative crowd and into the arms of her coach, Niele Ivey, for a lengthy, warm embrace.
It was a special afternoon for both of them.
In 29 minutes of a 95-54 victory over visiting Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Virginia on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion, Miles recorded a career-tieing 14 assists along with 10 rebounds and 11 points for her second straight triple-double and sixth of her career to tie an ACC mark shared by Maryland’s Alyssa Thomas.
The rebound total put her over 500 for her career to become the third player in program history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. She joins Lindsay Allen and Skylar Diggins-Smith.
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For Ivey, about one-third into her fifth season as head coach, after replacing a legend who has a statue in front of the Joyce Center, it was her 100th victory against 34 losses that included a 10-10 first season.
Miles couldn’t play a year ago as she recovered from knee surgery, but this season she has been a force from game 1. She came in averaging 17 points — shooting at a 50% clip from the 3-point line — 6.5 rebounds and 6.7 assists, the latter stat ranking sixth in the NCAA.
“It's special,” Miles said of the milestones. “It's even more special coming off a year where I just sat on my butt and didn’t play. So, it's a testament to my rehab, the work that I put in.
“It's definitely not an easy thing to do — to sit out — but I learned so much, and it's enabled me to come out and do what I do.’’
The No. 3-ranked Irish improved to 11-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC. Virginia is 0-2 and 8-6 overall.
The Irish put Virginia away early. After a basket at the 5:13 mark of the first quarter, the Cavaliers didn’t score again until a free throw at 5:17 of the second quarter and didn’t register another field goal until 3:33 remained in the half.
The 28-0 Irish run was led by sophomore Hannah Hidalgo, who finished with 28 points — she came in averaging 25.8, second in the country — and led the Irish with 12 in the first half.
Senior guard Sonia Citron, who sat out the Dec. 22 win over Loyola Maryland due to soreness, had 25, including 14 in the third quarter, and finished 5-for-9 on 3s.
“I’m just full of gratitude for this game, for this moment,” Ivey said about her 100th win. “I just talked to [seniors] Sony and Liv about how special they are and how they believed in this vision of mine right from the beginning. And just to see the crowd (9,149), to see what we've manifested with this program, is just unbelievable.
“I'm just really lucky to be the coach of this group … I love them so much. So this is a huge moment for me personally. And professionally, I'm just really grateful for this opportunity and for this moment.’’
Notre Dame shot 51.4% from the field, a bit over its season average, despite nine missed layups, and 38.5% on 3s (10-for 26), a bit below its nation-leading 43.4 mark coming into the contest.
Ivey, who played and starred for her predecessor, Muffet McGraw, has followed a lot of the blueprint McGraw established.
She has built the program on defense, the transition game and team play.
And it was all there to see Sunday.
The Cavs were held to 20 points under their scoring average and shot just 29.7% from the field. The Irish had 39 fastbreak points and totaled 32 assists on 38 field goals.
That assist total, especially, says something about what Ivey has built.
“It's a credit to this team. They're so unselfish,” Ivey said. “Our point guards, our wings, everybody's trying to find the open person. It’s something we work on a lot.
“Our chemistry is just really great, and just shows the way that they love to share the ball. There's no one here that wants to get the credit. They're always searching for someone else to make it easier for each other. So, just a credit to their heart, their love for each other in the way that they play.”
Virginia’s 18-point scorer Kymora Johnson was limited to 12 points (5-for-13 shooting) by a combination of man defense and some zone.
The Irish had 54 rebounds to Virginia’s 31, including 17 offensive rebounds.
And the Irish are becoming less reckless overall – the 10 Irish turnovers Sunday is five below their average.
Freshman center Kate Koval returned to action after missing a couple games with soreness and contributed 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
The Irish front line should be even deeper soon. According to Ivey, veteran Irish standout Maddy Westbeld, a 6-3 forward, is getting closer to a return from a leg injury that has kept her on the bench all season.
“Day-to-day,” according to Ivey, who didn’t commit to Westbeld joining the Irish next Sunday against No. 17 North Carolina in Chapel Hill at 1 p.m. (ESPN).
It all bodes well for the health and future of the women’s program under Ivey.
“She's fantastic behind the scenes, just, you know, a leader,” Miles said of Ivey. “She has so many admirable traits that I look up to and want to emulate as I grow up and as I follow in her footsteps here at Notre Dame. She's just a very powerful, inspiring person. .. So it's just amazing to be led by someone of her caliber.
“She's just an incredible coach and an even better person,” Citron added. “And I really do consider myself lucky to be coached by her. I feel like ‘What you see is what you get,’ and she's just such a loving person. She's almost like our mom away from home.
“And I really appreciate that, just because you know how much she loves us, and no matter how she's coaching us, you know it's always coming from a place of love, which I think is just really special.”
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