No luck needed on St. Patrick’s Day for Notre Dame in round one of the NCAA tournament

SOUTH BEND, Ind – Notre Dame advances to the round of 32 with an 82-56 win over Southern Utah.

Notre Dame came out strong, setting the tone for their 26-point win.

“I'm just really proud of my team, proud of the way we came out. We came out with a dominant find mindset. 16-0 run right from the beginning really set the tone,” said Head Coach Niele Ivey.

The win came on the back of Maddy Westbeld’s hot start in March with 15 points in the first half and 20 to finish the game.

Westbeld couldn’t miss from anywhere on the floor.

Floater, fade away, three-point range, you name it, she had it in the bag today.

“It started on defense. And that's what she has been emphasizing, just getting on a running transition, getting stops early, getting rebound and running,” said Westbeld.

“We had incredible performance by Ebo and Maddy had four double figures, 24 assists and ten turnovers, just really overall incredible performance. I'm so proud. I am excited to be able to play on Sunday,” Ivey added.

Lauren Ebo joined the dominant performance with 14 points and 10 rebounds to snag double-double in the win over the Thunderbirds.

“I thought she did a great job. We scored 50 points in the paint. It kind of shows her dominance. She has a strong personality. They really look to her and when she's playing this way and affecting the game the way she does in a positive way, I think it's awesome,” Ivey added.

Notre Dame will face Mississippi State Sunday in round two of the NCAA tournament.