SOUTH BEND, Ind. — For the first time since she crumbled to the floor in Notre Dame’s 110-52 domination of Northwestern in the Irish women’s basketball home opener more than four months ago, Sonia Citron played Saturday with an unencumbered right knee.
No brace the size of a small nation. No compression sleeve. No flashbacks to the knee sprain sustained on Nov. 15 that wiped out 7 ½ weeks and nine games of her junior season.
“I think she was feeling pretty good,” interjected Maddy Westbeld Sunday of her teammate’s 29-point performance, tying a career high, in 2 seed Notre Dame’s 81-67 dismissal of 15th-seeded Kent State, Saturday at Purcell Pavilion in the team’s NCAA Tourney opener.
“Definitely feel like I'm back to my pre-injury self,” the 6-foot-1 guard said, “so it's a good feeling.”
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No. 7 seed Ole Miss (24-8), Notre Dame’s second-round opponent, is determined to make that feeling short-lived, as well as put an end to a nine-game win streak by the Irish (27-6). The two teams meet for the first time ever, Monday at Purcell Pavilion (2 p.m. EDT; ESPN), with a trip to the Sweet 16 in Albany, N.Y., and a Friday matchup with third-seeded Oregon State (26-7) on the line.
The Beavers got by 6 seed Nebraska, 61-51, in a second-round game, Sunday in Corvallis, Ore.
The Rebels even have a clever name for their strategy — Dictate and Destruct — and it’s not unique for how they plan to attack the Irish and their limited roster, diluted by injuries.
“We try to wear everybody down, no matter what,” said Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, whose team did just that in Saturday’s second game at Purcell, a 67-55 victory over 10 seed Marquette in which the Rebels squelched the Golden Eagles by an 18-9 count in the fourth quarter.
“That is our style of play. 94 feet,” McPhee-McCuin continued. “Like I said yesterday, it seemed like Marquette was in charge of the pace, but really they weren't because that's not how they play.
“So, what we try to do is make teams adjust to how we play, which is up and down, fast, and really make you have to work for every single bucket that you get. I think naturally it wears teams down.
“We've played some really elite-level 3-point shooting teams, and as you could see last night, they just didn't have the legs when they really needed it. And that is because of the work we put in the first 30 minutes of the game.”
The Irish, though, have shown resilience and toughness in knocking off five ranked opponents during their nine-game surge that started after a 59-43 home loss to NC State on Feb. 15 that led to a players-only meeting, called by Westbeld.
And Citron epitomizes both the Notre Dame resurgence and its collective mettle.
“I have to give that to my brothers and my cousins,” Citron said. “Growing up, I was two, three, four years younger than all of them, but we played in the backyard every single day, and they never, ever took it easy on me. Whether it was soccer, basketball, handball, they would treat me like I was one of the guys.”
Ole Miss, a team seven transfers and size, lost to all four ranked opponents it played this season — Louisville, No. 1 South Carolina and defending national champ twice. The Rebels also have a seven-game losing streak to ACC teams and are 13-17 all-time against the conference of which ND is a part.
But just last season the Rebels took down a No. 1 seed, Stanford, on its home court in the 2023 tourney’s second round.
“Listen, I know [the Irish] have got six, seven players,” McPhee-McCuin said, “but they just won a conference championship. And I've got 12, and we didn't. We're not going to make this as if they're the underdogs. They're the 2 seed, we're the 7 seed. As far as we're concerned, they have the pressure, we don't.”
Miles now and moving forward
Junior point guard Olivia Miles, a second-team All-American last season, is physically able to come off the bench and reinforce Notre Dame’s shrinking roster.
But she’s committed to making her re-entry into college basketball, now 13 months removed from a season-ending knee injury, next season. That doesn’t mean she’s not contributing in other ways to Notre Dame’s 29th NCAA Tournament run.
Friday, the media got to see her practicing for the first time, something Irish coach Niele Ivey said Miles has been doing full tilt, 5-on-5 for about two months.
“I mean, she definitely makes us better,” Citron said. “I think no one wants to guard her. So, when she is the player I have to guard, she definitely challenges me and challenges all of us.
“She's an amazing player. When she's on the other side, it's definitely something that we all, I don't know, it just helps prepare us for like whoever we are playing.”
“For sure,” Westbeld added. “She's one of the best players in the country. Just having that to prepare against, we can prepare against anybody we've got to play against.”
Ivey said the progression back to full practices started four months ago with Miles playing in some 1-on-1 situations, then 2-on-2 and so on until it reached 5-on-5.
“When I see her on the court, honestly it warms my heart and brings a smile to my face,” Ivey said, “because she worked really hard to get in this position and to get back to be in great shape, to be feeling good, feeling confident. And I'm looking forward to her being actually back on the floor with us.”
Miles averaged 14.3 points and was the team leader in rebounds per game (7.3) and assists per game (6.9). Freshman Hannah Hidalgo stepped up in Miles’ absence and became just the fourth/fifth freshman in women’s college basketball history (with USC’s JuJu Watkins) to garner Associated Press first-team All-America honors.
And Ivey can’t wait to see that combination on the court together next season.
“I think she's so dynamic, and I think Hannah and Liv playing together is going to be something special for college basketball,” Ivey said. “So it wouldn't be a problem at all. I mean, Liv, she knows my system. She knows exactly what I'm looking for.
“She knows how to run a team. She knows how to score, so not a problem at all. And I'm excited for them to be together.”
Students of the game
Westbeld was unaware until it came up in the press conference that Saturday’s student-ticket showing for the Kent State game was the largest for any game in the program’s history.
But she’s definitely felt support building for the team on campus.
“I think historically, we've had kind of an older demographic for our fan selection,” Westbeld said, “which is great, and everybody is extremely loyal.
“And it's amazing to hear that we have more students coming, and yeah, like walking around campus. I've noticed more students have been coming up to me, and noticing who I am, and just really excited about women's basketball in general. So it's really, really awesome to hear that.”
Another record in sight
In 1987, Virginia guard Donna Holt set an ACC record with 164 steals in her junior season, and no one had been able to get to within 30 of overtaking her — not even Holt herself as a senior (131).
Until now, 37 years later.
Irish freshman Hannah Hidalgo, the nation’s leader in steals at 4.64 per game, is just 12 away from breaking that record. With 153, the Irish would likely have to reach the NCAA Tourney Elite Eight on Easter Sunday for Hidalgo to have a shot at it.
“Sometimes TV lies to you, so I'm excited to see her in person,” Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee McCuin offered. “I haven't had a chance to watch her in person, obviously, because we're not in the same conference.
“A lot of times they play when they play, so this is the most film I've really been able to watch on her, just because we really had no reason to do so before. But I do know that she's a dog, and she's deserving of everything that she's gotten. I don't think they would be where they are without her.”
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