No. 10 ND clinches ACC

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Initially stunned by an injury to its best player, Notre Dame regrouped with impressive maturity and resolve to earn a conference title and provide Olivia Miles a welcome cheer-up.

Sonia Citron scored 27 points, including four key free throws in the final 1:20, and the No. 10 Irish overcame the loss of Miles to a knee injury to beat Louisville 68-65 on Sunday and clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.

Miles, who leads the Irish with 14.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game, was hurt with 2:35 remaining before halftime while diving for a loose ball. The sophomore became emotional and pounded the floor while being examined by medical personnel. Miles was able to flex her knee and eventually limped off the floor without assistance to applause as she made her way to the locker room.

As Miles was being examined, Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey sought to maintain her team’s focus.

“It was just to stay together and just for us to know that when one person, when our sister goes down, everybody has to step up,” Ivey said. “Everybody just basically just went after it, competed and knew that we’re playing for a little bit more with Olivia out.”

As for Miles’ status, Ivey added, “We’re in the dark on that, not sure what’s going on with her knee. But it was encouraging that she walked off the court. We’ll find out the next couple of days about her.”

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: Duke’s loss to North Carolina opened the door for the Irish and they took advantage to gain the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament and a double bye. They were picked to finish fourth, three spots below Louisville. That wasn’t easy considering Miles was sitting on the bench with injury, but their underclassmen showed amazing resolve as she looked on.

“With Liv down, I had to take the point,” Citron said. “So that’s a big adjustment. I think our team just did a great job of just focusing possession by possession, not looking at it like, just get a stop score. We’ve been in that position before, we knew what we had to do and it was on defense.”

Louisville: The Cardinals’ loss spoiled the home finales for seniors Morgan Jones, Chrislyn Carr, Norika Konno, Liz Dixon, Josie Williams and Mykasa Robinson (nine points, six rebounds, five assists). One consolation was earning the No. 4 seed and a double bye that delays their ACC Tournament debut until Friday, like it had been for a while.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame will face the winner between the No. 8 and 9 seeds in Friday’s quarterfinal of the ACC Tournament.