Miles' status uncertain as Notre Dame hosts Michigan

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles is questionable for Sunday's game against Michigan after she got hurt during the Fighting Irish's runaway victory in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament.

Miles, the only player in the country with three triple-doubles this season, injured her left ankle in the fourth quarter of Friday's 106-54 win against Stephen F. Austin. The senior guard, a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, fell to the court under a basket before limping off and going to the locker room.

Miles told Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey that she feels “pretty good” going into the matchup with the sixth-seeded Wolverines. But Ivey is waiting to consult with a trainer before determining whether Miles can play.

Miles averages 15.8 points, 5.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds. If Miles is unable to suit up for the third-seeded Irish, or is limited, Ivey still has plenty of healthy talent on her roster.

First-team AP All-American Hannah Hidalgo averages 24.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals. Hidalgo would take over the No. 1 point guard role if Miles is on the bench.

“It’s a little different than when I’m playing the two and it’s a score-first mentality,” Hidalgo said Saturday. “Now it’s me, I’m handling the ball. I have to get everyone involved."

Notre Dame (27-5) also has Sonia Citron, who averages 14.2 points a game. Liatu King averages 11.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, and Maddy Westbeld averages 7.8 points.

“We’re going to have a problem at some positions,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “They have multiple people that can score and it is, it’s pick your poison.”

Michigan (23-10) rallied for an 80-74 victory over Iowa State in the first round. Jordan Hobbs led the way with 28 points.

Freshmen guards Olivia Olson (16.2 points a game) and Syla Swords (15.9) lead the Wolverines. Mila Holloway averages 9.9 points.

Swords thinks that Michigan’s frequent reliance on a five-guard attack will suit the Wolverines well against a Notre Dame team that likewise is guard-oriented.

“Us being such a guard-heavy team, I think that we can really match up well with them and see what we can do to be tested and show what Michigan women’s basketball can do against the best of the best,” Swords said.

Home-court advantage

Barnes Arico understands the challenge of trying to beat Notre Dame on its home court.

“It definitely is an advantage. They’re going to have a sellout crowd, whatever, you know, all the things," Barnes Arico said. "And it will be interesting to see when it’s all said and done this year how many teams are able to advance that host.”

Barnes Arico said she doesn’t have an issue with the top four seeds hosting the early action in the women's NCAA tourney.

“I do like the host thing,” Barnes Arico said. “If you get to host, I mean, it’s amazing. We got to host a number of years ago. I don’t think there’s anything greater than to be able to have your fan base there. If it did go neutral would people travel? I don’t know. I think we’re close. We’re getting better and better every year. Eyes are on the game more and more. I think it would definitely help the game and definitely provide more upsets if it were neutral.”

Helping out

Hobbs said the Big Ten's addition of four West Coast schools — UCLA, Southern California, Oregon and Washington — helped prepare the Wolverines for the NCAA Tournament. Each of the conference's new members reached the NCAA tourney, and UCLA and USC are No. 1 seeds.

“It makes our conference tougher, which I really appreciate," Hobbs said. "There’s no game that you can take off in the Big Ten. That’s why we got 12 teams into the tournament this year. ... At the end of the day, I think it’s really good for women’s basketball to have such a competitive conference.”

Bright future

Former Notre Dame star Natalie Achonwa, who has represented Canada in four Olympics, will be on the Michigan bench as an assistant coach.

Ivey predicts a bright future for Achonwa, whether she’s coaching at the collegiate level or for Team Canada.

“Knowing Nat, she’s very high IQ, very passionate, very detail-oriented and she’s a great teacher, a great mentor,” Ivey said. “She’s in the beginning stages of her collegiate career, but even just as a leader, one of our captains, she was the most vocal on the court. She has that confidence. She’s always had that as a player so I always felt like she was somebody that can really make an immediate impact in coaching."

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