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Still walking the walk and dancing the dance as Irish storm into Sweet 16

Notre Dame guard Dara Mabrey (1) launches one of her seven 3-pointers against Oklahoma, Monday night in an NCAA Tourney second-round game in Norman, Okla.
Notre Dame guard Dara Mabrey (1) launches one of her seven 3-pointers against Oklahoma, Monday night in an NCAA Tourney second-round game in Norman, Okla. (Mitch Alcala, Associated Press)

As a high school senior verbally committed to Virginia Tech at the time and cheering for sister Marina, Dara Mabrey sat among the Notre Dame faithful at the 2018 Final Four and soaked in an Irish national championship as well as a valuable takeaway that came with it.

“I learned a lot, what it takes to be in the tournament,” Mabrey said back on Selection Sunday.

Four years and a transfer later, Dara Mabrey is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time herself. And now the student is the teacher, with her fifth-seeded Irish teammates following the senior’s lead.

Monday night in Norman, Okla., she fueled a 20-0, first-quarter run with four 3-pointers, and the Irish went on to storm into their 18th ever Sweet 16 with a 108-64 mauling of 4 seed Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center.


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It was the most points ever scored by the Irish in an NCAA Tournament game, nine more than the previous record. And it was paired with a masterful defensive game plan by former Sooner assistant and current Irish associate head coach Coquese Washington, that coaxed the nation’s No. 3 scoring team into 32 percent shooting from the field and 28 turnovers.

According to StatsbyStats, the Irish are the first team in men's or women's NCAA Tournament history to beat a better-seeded team by 40-plus points.

Notre Dame (24-8) next gets the Bridgeport Regional’s top seed, in ACC rival NC State (31-3), Saturday at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. Tip time is 11:30 a.m. EDT. ESPN has the telecast/stream.

The Irish handed the Wolfpack one of their three losses, 69-66, back on Feb. 1 at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.

“This is something I prayed about, something I knew could come to life,” an emotional second-year Irish head coach Niele Ivey said of Monday night's NCAA tourney romp. “And I'm so over the moon. I mean, I'm so proud of this team. I'm so proud of our journey. I'm so proud to see where we've come since last season (10-10, no tourney bid).

“We worked so hard in the summertime, preseason to get to this point. We've had a lot of highs and a lot of lows this season. And it's just incredible for me to see them blossom, to blossom in front of my eyes.”

Mabrey followed an 18-point performance in the first-round win over UMass Saturday with a season-high 29 against the Sooners (25-9). She was 12-of-19 from the field, 7-of-12 from the arc with her seven 3-pointers tying Marina Mabrey’s tournament record for the Irish and one behind Sheila McMillen’s school-record eight for all games.

“Okay whatever Dara ate for breakfast is my pre game meal all finals in Australia,” tweeted sister Marina, who’s spending her WNBA offseason playing professionally for the WNBL’s Perth Lynx.

“Marina, if you hear this, I'm going to break your record at some point,” Dara said with a smile.

“That type of confidence spreads really easily, like wildfire. It's positive energy, confidence, and just — our team is maturing.

“Therefore, it's easiest to spread that confidence when you're confident as a leader. I think that they did exactly that. I hit those shots and then everybody started scoring.”

Freshman Sonia Citron added 25 points, including an 11-of-11 showing from the foul line, and had four of Notre Dame’s 16 steals. Maya Dodson scored 20 and Maddy Westeld 13 to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.

Olivia Miles, a game after becoming the first freshman in men’s or women’s tournament history to record a triple-double, wasn’t that far removed from an encore. She finished with nine points, seven rebounds and 12 assists.

The 12 assists tied the Irish tourney record for the most in a single game shared by Marina Mabrey and Skylar Diggins-Smith.

“I feel like when we pushed in transition and I was able to see the floor, we were able to spread them out,” Miles said. “We were hitting shots — I just kept hitting the hot hand.”

Oklahoma's Kennady Tucker (4) shoots a layup as Notre Dame's May Dodson (0) Anaya Peoples apply pressure in a second-round NCAA Tourney game, Monday night in Norman, Okla.
Oklahoma's Kennady Tucker (4) shoots a layup as Notre Dame's May Dodson (0) Anaya Peoples apply pressure in a second-round NCAA Tourney game, Monday night in Norman, Okla. (Mitch Alcala, Associated Press)

Taylor Roberston, the nation’s leader in 3-pointers made per game (3.67), led Oklahoma with 19 points, including 3-of-10 from the arc.

Well, I thought Notre Dame was phenomenal,” Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “And if they can continue to do that, watch out, everybody.”

The Irish led 35-12 at the end of the first quarter and 60-25 at the half. Ivey got key defensive contributions off the bench from Anaya Peoples and Abby Prohaska, the latter in just her second game back after an eye-socket injury sidelined her for six weeks.

“Just an overall great team effort,” Ivey said. “I thought everybody played well, and I feel like that was our first time to have that in 40 minutes.

“We've had great halves, great quarters, but we dominated (Monday) for four quarters. That was awesome, awesome to be a part of, and I'm super proud of the maturation process of this team.”

BOX SCORE

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