Notre Dame Women's Basketball prepares for first round in NCAA Tournament

 

NORMAN, Okla. -- Right now Notre Dame Women’s Basketball is suiting up to take on UMASS in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Bridgeport Regional.

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

The Irish are fighting to move on to the second round of the NCAA  tournament as they take on the UMASS Minutewomen in the first round.
Head Coach Niele Ivey says they’re ready to hit the dance floor.

“After the selection show on Sunday we had the opportunity to really work on UMass, work on things that we need to prepare for them and also continue to work on work on ourselves, but having that much time was really really beneficial with such a grind of a season this year,” said Ivey.

Notre Dame players like Freshman guard Olivia Miles and Stanford transfer Maya Dodson, who have both put up big numbers for the Irish all year, say they plan to lay it all out on the hardwood.

“I’ve been to March madness two times before, so it’s just about knowing that I have experience and just kind of helping my younger teammates along the way," said Dodson.

“We are more eager to play since it’s been that long, so our focus has always been there practice yesterday has been really good and the days before so we’re just really locked in," said Miles.

Notre Dame and UMASS have only met two other times, with Notre Dame getting the win in both match ups.

This evening they’re hoping to add another to that list to advance to the next round and play the winner of Oklahoma and IUPUI.