Why Notre Dame women's basketball win over Pitt was reason to celebrate
Olivia Miles leaned back in her chair and thought about it.
The Notre Dame freshman point guard tried to remember when she committed her only turnover against Pittsburgh at Purcell Pavilion on Sunday. She couldn't do it.
"I don't [remember]," Miles said. "When was it?"
Second quarter. Miles secured a defensive rebound but was out of room under the basket. She stepped on the baseline and gave the ball back to the Panthers. It was a minuscule moment of error for Miles in an otherwise superb showing for the young player.
Miles notched her fifth double-double of the season in No. 21 Notre Dame's 85-59 no-doubt, wire-to-wire win over Pitt.
Miles scored 21 points and dished out 11 assists. She also came away with six rebounds. She hit a three during Notre Dame's 10-0 start and went back to the bench screaming, "That's how you start a game!"
The Irish have had trouble out of the gates in recent games, particularly against Valparaiso and Purdue-Fort Wayne. That wasn't an issue against Pitt.
"We always said we have to start with a punch but we never actually did it," Miles said. "So I just told my teammates before the game, 'Let's start off well.' It just was rolling for us. We need that spark because against tougher teams, we can't start out slow and dig ourselves in a hole."
Those tougher teams are coming up on the schedule soon. Sunday was Notre Dame's second ACC game of the year. The Irish improved to 2-0 in those conference tilts and 10-2 overall. Head coach Niele Ivey made it known to her players that the 10 wins already matches last year's season-long total.
And it's not even Christmas yet.
"I celebrate every small victory, so I wanted to share that with them," Ivey said. "I'm so excited about it. With not having a small victory last year, I celebrate everything."
Ivey celebrated her team's effort from up and down the roster, too. Four different Irish players scored in double figures. Freshman Sonia Citron had 15 points off the bench. Junior Sam Brunelle had 12 in 26 minutes, the most she has played since totaling 24 in Notre Dame's other ACC win at Syracuse on Nov. 14.
Sophomore forward Maddy Westbeld reached double-digits for the third game in a row with 13. Westbeld and the Irish showed flashes of what they can be when playing at their best. They hit a season-high 11 threes. They came away with a season-high 17 steals. They capitalized on those in outscoring Pitt 33-6 in points off turnovers.
"I just have a lot of talent on this team," Ivey said. "It's exciting to see each game someone else stepping up. They all feed off each other. They all have incredible chemistry. They all celebrate each other. That's why I love being a part of this group."
Notre Dame goes on the road to face DePaul in Chicago on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. before getting a week off for the holiday break. ACC play resumes at Virginia on Dec. 30.
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