Notre Dame guard starting vs. Michigan in Women’s March Madness

Olivia Miles will start for Notre Dame in its second-round Women’s NCAA Tournament matchup against Michigan. The star guard injured her ankle late in the Fighting Irish’s opening-round win over Stephen F. Austin, but she tested the ankle in pregame warmups Sunday and will be good to go for Niele Ivey’s squad.

A minute into the fourth quarter of the Stephen F. Austin game, Miles fell to the floor after appearing to turn her left ankle. She stayed down for a bit while being attended to by the training staff, but eventually walked gingerly back to the locker room under her own power. The injury happened with 8:44 to play and the Irish up 82-43, which led to questions of why Notre Dame had their best players still playing in the fourth quarter with the game decided.

Women’s March Madness 2025: Printable NCAA Tournament bracket with Sweet 16 action underway
CBS Sports Staff
Women’s March Madness 2025: Printable NCAA Tournament bracket with Sweet 16 action underway
While Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron had strong performances to lead the Irish to a 106-54 win, scoring 24 points each, Miles had just two points on 0 of 6 shooting. Miles did lead the team with eight assists, but it’s possible Ivey was trying to get her into a rhythm in the fourth knowing they’ll need her offense going forward if they’re going to contend for a national title. The senior, a top WNBA draft prospect, came into the tournament averaging 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game on 49.6/40.6/80.0 shooting splits.

Ivey spoke with reporters Saturday and said she expected Miles would “try and get on that floor” for Notre Dame’s second-round matchup with Michigan, and that ended up coming to fruition.

“I know [Olivia Miles] is going to try and get on that floor.”

Niele Ivey provided an update on the star guard who tweaked her ankle against SFA.

The No. 3 #Irish face No. 6 Michigan on Sunday (1 pm) for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen. pic.twitter.com/HqEIwdjENv

— Bennett Wise WSBT (@BennettWiseWSBT) March 22, 2025
The Irish host the Wolverines at the Joyce Center at 1 p.m. ET, and the winner will head to the Sweet 16.