Olivia Miles injury update: Notre Dame star ‘going to try’ to play vs. Michigan in Women’s March Madness

For the first 31 minutes of Friday’s Women’s NCAA Tournament first-round game between Notre Dame and Stephen F. Austin, the Fighting Irish fans that packed Joyce Center in South Bend experienced nothing but joy. The No. 3-seeded Irish doubled up the 14-seeded Ladyjacks in the first quarter and kept their foot on the gas, taking a 37-point advantage into the fourth quarter. 

However, a minute into the fourth quarter the celebration turned into concern when star guard Olivia Miles fell to the floor after appearing to turn her left ankle. Miles 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. 

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 coach Niele 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. 

Unfortunately, the concern now isn’t just getting Miles in rhythm, but having her healthy going forward in the tournament. It is hopefully not a significant injury, but Notre Dame fans will be holding their breath waiting for the update on her status going into Sunday’s second-round game against Michigan. 

Ivey provided an update after the game, saying Miles is “going to be OK” while adding she hadn’t heard any information from the trainers regarding the guard’s status for Sunday. 

On Saturday, Ivey spoke with reporters and said she expected Miles would “try and get on that floor” for Notre Dame’s second-round matchup with Michigan, but did not have a firm update on her status. 

The Irish will host the Wolverines at the Joyce Center at 1 p.m. ET, and hope to have their star backcourt playing with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line.