Olivia Miles' status for March Madness is uncertain as the sophomore star from Notre Dame continues to try to get back to full strength. She has been out indefinitely ever since she went down with a knee injury during the Irish's 68-65 win over Louisville on Feb. 26.
“We’ll know more this week,” Irish coach Niele Ivey said Sunday. “She’s gonna be with the doctors a little bit more this week, but she is progressing.”
Miles followed up a stellar freshman campaign with a strong 2022-23 season. She averaged 14.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game before her injury and was playing like a national player of the year candidate before going down versus Louisville.
Losing Miles has been a huge blow for Notre Dame, who also lost Dara Mabrey for the season after she fractured her tibial plateau and injured her ACL.
Notre Dame will host Southern Utah in the first round of the NCAA tournament despite Miles' continued absence. Alexa Philippou from ESPN reported on Twitter:
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee chair Lisa Peterson told ESPN Notre Dame said it's uncertain whether Olivia Miles would play in March, but they didn't say she *wouldn't* be playing in March, so they went under the assumption she is “b/c we weren't told any different”
Southern Utah forward Maddy Westbeld said her team is getting ready for anything at this point.
“I think we’ve just kind of been preparing for everything, with or without (Miles),” Westbeld said. “It’s just one day at a time, but we’re just approaching practice at every angle.”
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