Notre Dame Women’s Basketball win first round of NCAA tournament

NORMAN, Okla. -- Notre Dame Women’s Basketball defeated UMASS 78 to 89 in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Bridgeport Regional.

The number five ranked Irish are took on the number 12 seed UMASS on the dance floor.

“Soo happy! Our first tournament, my first tournament win as a head coach and my first tournament win with this group. I thought we set the tone early right from the beginning," said Head Coach Niele Ivey.

The Irish pulled off the big win against UMass, with four out their five starters finishing with double digits.

“Four of our starters in double figures. I thought we shared the ball really well. So they sat off and really tried to clog the lane. And I felt we did a great job of making the extra pass,” she added.

Senior guard Dara Mabrey left it all out on the court, getting five three in the books to finish with 18 points.

“We knew what type of shots we were going to get, and I practiced those shots all week,” added Mabrey.

Freshmen guard Olivia Miles was also outstanding in her first March Madness appearance and finished with triple double to help lead the team to the win.

“I told Dara and I told Maddy, I was like I need one more assist, like one of y'all are going to get it for me. And then a few minutes go by, and I hit Maddy on a wide open three and she knocks it down. And that feeling was just so great,” added Miles.

 The Irish are set to hit the hardwood again Monday to take on Oklahoma at 6 pm EST.