SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame senior guard Olivia Miles told coach Niele Ivey that she's "OK" after sustaining a late-game ankle injury in the Fighting Irish's 106-54 win over Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the women's NCAA tournament Friday.
According to Ivey, Miles stepped on another player's foot underneath the Ladyjacks' basket. The guard went down grabbing her left ankle and was surrounded by teammates and a trainer for several minutes before she was able to stand up and walk off the floor under her own power, albeit with a limp.
Miles briefly visited the Irish's sideline before walking back to Notre Dame's locker room. She sustained the injury with 8:44 to play and the Irish ahead 82-43.
Miles did not return to the game.
The Irish's second-leading scorer (16.2 points per game) was limited to two points (0-6 field goals) in Notre Dame's dominant opening-round win but helped the Irish shoot 64% off of her passes, according to ESPN Research. The last time Miles scored two points was Feb. 26, 2023, at Louisville, when she exited the game early with a torn ACL.
Ivey said Miles gave her verbal confirmation that she's "OK" and that her injury would require treatment before Notre Dame hosts Michigan in the Round of 32 on Sunday. Without having information on the full extent of Miles' injury at the time of Notre Dame's postgame news conference, Ivey said that the point guard "should be OK" to play against the Wolverines.
Miles' teammates expressed similar sentiment.
"Of course, if it's not serious, you know, [Miles is] gonna play," Irish senior forward Maddy Westbeld said. "You know, she's an incredibly tough player. She's, she's very mentally tough with, you know, with the knee injury that she had to deal with coming back from that. So she's just an incredibly mentally tough human, mentally tough player when she can get through anything. So, I'm not worried at all."
Notre Dame's 106 points are its second-most in an NCAA tournament game (108 points in 2022 vs. Oklahoma). The Irish are the first non-1-seed team to score 100 points and win by 50 points or more in an NCAA tournament game.