What they’re saying: Sports world reacts to Notre Dame women’s basketball historic win over Oklahoma

On3 imageby:Tyler Horka03/22/22

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Notre Dame has won nearly 70 NCAA Tournament games. Never had the Fighting Irish emerged victorious in the fashion in which they did Monday night against Oklahoma.

Never had any team won that way in the NCAA Tournament — men’s or women’s.

The No. 5 seed Irish set a tournament record for largest margin victory by a lower-seeded team in a 108-64 triumph over the No. 4 seed Sooners. They also put up at least 100 points for the first time in program history in the Big Dance. All those wins, and Notre Dame had never scored as many points in the tournament as they did Monday.

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Naturally, the Irish’s best performance of the season and one of the best performances of the program’s storied NCAA Tournament history got the sports world talking on Twitter. Here are some of the best tweets about Notre Dame women’s basketball from the Irish’s statement victory sending them to the Sweet 16.

On Notre Dame freshman point guard Olivia Miles

Saturday, Olivia Miles became the first freshman ever — again, men or women — to post a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament. Monday, she nearly did it again.

Miles scored nine points, secured seven rebounds and dished out 12 assists. The last of those three statistical categories have people abuzz. Miles makes plays her peers simply can’t, and that’s because she’s arguably the best facilitator in college basketball. She ranks second in the country in assists per game (7.3) behind National Player of the Year contender Caitlin Clark of Iowa.

You’d be hard-pressed to find dimes like this even on Clark’s highlight reel, though.

“I hadn’t seen a full game yet, but I’m an Olivia Miles fan now,” tweeted Sydney Colson, a former Texas A&M great and national champion with the Aggies in 2011 who most recently played for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA in 2020.

“I need whatever prescription Olivia Miles’ sports glasses have immediately for my contact lenses,” tweeted The Observer’s J.J. Post.

“ESPN2 is out here talking about Olivia Miles in the same category as Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. I’m presenting this without further context on purpose,” tweeted BlueandGold.com’s Ashton Pollard.

On Irish senior guard Dara Mabrey

As good as Miles was Monday, the night belonged to Dara Mabrey.

The third of three sisters in the family who have suited up for Notre Dame, Mabrey knocked down seven three-pointers. She tied one of her sisters, Marina, for the most threes made by a single Irish player in an NCAA Tournament game. Unsurprisingly, she finished with a game-high 29 points.

Marina, currently playing professionally in Australia during the WNBA offseason, took notice.

Marina didn’t stop there, later tweeting, “I don’t even know who to tweet about because they’re all going crazy” with two shamrock emojis.

“Is there a Mabrey family statue somewhere on the Notre Dame campus yet? @ndwbb was a buzzsaw tonight vs. Oklahoma,” tweeted ESPN reporter Mechelle Voepel.

Mabrey’s postgame TV hit with the ESPN broadcast crew caught waves, too. She was lauded for her personable approach and obvious love for her teammates and Notre Dame as a whole.

“I would listen to Dara Mabrey talk about anything I’m pretty sure. What a like … peaceful voice & demeanor. Even after THAT game. Incredible. Such a humble presence even while talking about her ND team ‘dripping in confidence.’ Inexplicably rare,” tweeted sports reporter Marilyn Payne.

Tweets from former Notre Dame women’s basketball players

Marina Mabrey wasn’t the only former Fighting Irish star adding commentary on Twitter. Several Irish greats were throwing in their two cents.

Skylar Diggins-Smith also tweeted, “ND was under-seeded and the ACC seems to reign supreme so far in this tourney (at least in the round of 32).”

There are four ACC teams in the Sweet 16, including Notre Dame and NC State who will play each other in Bridgeport, Conn., on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET. The other two ACC teams remaining in the field are No. 5 seed North Carolina and No. 1 seed Louisville.

A national champion with Notre Dame in 2018, Arike Ogunbowale simply tweeted nine shamrock emojis. A former teammate of Diggins-Smith at Notre Dame, Devereaux Peters tweeted, “Whew I am AMPED. I been waiting for this version of the squad to show up for a minute.”

If that version of Notre Dame shows up in the Sweet 16, the Irish will have a good chance of beating NC State for the second time this season.

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