SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Nothing fair about this fight.
Notre Dame’s women’s basketball opponent Saturday afternoon in Purcell Pavilion — Merrimack — didn’t have a player on its roster taller than 6-foot-1. The school from North Andover, Mass., that has drawn fewer than 100 fans a game in four home games, is in the final year of transitioning to Div. 1 and came in with a 1-7 record, one of those losses an 88-40 bouncing by Southern Cal.
The starting five for the 8-1 Irish had scoring averages totaling 61.1 points. Merrimack’s first five on the floor was at 36.4.
Yikes.
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So, the No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish figured to be able to take it in any direction they wanted in front of the 4,670 fans on hand before a week off for final exams.
It was mostly a layup/free throw fest in a 108-44 romp and checked off the requisite boxes before meeting No. 7-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Dec. 18.
“I'm just super proud of this group, super proud of their growth and where we are right now,” said Irish head coach Niele Ivey. “I’m excited for what's to come.’’
Star point guard Olivia Miles drives this bus and had another terrific, but hardly surprising, performance, notching her third career triple-double — 13 points, 14 assists, 13 rebounds. Miles became the first player in program history to record three triple-doubles.
“I’m just excited for her and her success,” Ivey said, “and what she's doing for our program. Just a remarkable accomplishment.”
Miles knew she was close to the rare achievement.
“(Assistant coach) Michaela (Mabrey) is really good at kind of keeping me posted,” Miles said. “I was kind of looking because I'd gotten a lot of rebounds at the start. I was like, ‘Oh, I could possibly do this.’ So I was just keeping track. Then I lost track until like the third quarter and then Coach Michaela helped me.’’
She had the assists and rebounds locked up by the third quarter. Her two free throws were points No. 10 and 11 at the 9:44 mark of the fourth quarter.
From the start, there were plenty of play stoppages with fouls, especially around the basket where Merrimack’s height limitations led to contact.
The Irish were 13-for-14 from the line in the first quarter and finished 34-for-38 (89.5%). Lauren Ebo, a 6-4 center, drew five of those fouls and was 9-for-9 from the line, finishing with a team-high 17 points.
“I've been telling them, finishing layups and making free throws is something that we need to do,” said Ivey, her team coming in shooting 71.1% from the line. “We've been working on it in practice, kind of throwing them (free throws) in here and there. So just nice to see the improvement. The focus is just really phenomenal.”
The Irish wound up with seven players in double figures, the most noticeable of the group Natalija Marshall’s career-high 13 points. The 6-5 junior has battled injuries in previous years but has been solid off the bench this season.
Noting the injuries, Marshall said, “I think this is probably the most confident I’ve been since 2019. So that's a really good feeling. My teammates and the coaches, they keep me confident and motivated and encourage me every day. So I'm really excited to get into conference play.”
Notre Dame outscored Merrimack’s bench 47-7 and had 58 points in the lane, compared to the Warriors’ 12.
“It's amazing to get the experience and to get so much incredible contribution from the entire team,” Ivey said. “For our entire team to get a lot of experience and a lot of minutes is what I want at this point.”
Notre Dame had at least three rebounds from eight different players and totaled 57 to Merrimack’s 24. It also had nine blocks, three each by Maddy Westbeld (12 points) and Sonia Citron (13 points). Dara Mabrey was 4-for-7 on 3-pointers for 14 points and KK Bransford had 10 points and six rebounds.
Now it’s time to get some rest and prep for final exams.
“The biggest emphasis is taking time for their mental health and also taking time for their academics,” said Ivey, who will give her club a few days off from practice. “Being a student athlete, it's really a grind being able to balance schoolwork with basketball and our travel schedule.
“We'll get back at it Wednesday and start preparing for Virginia Tech. … It's gonna be a great matchup down in Blacksburg.”
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