NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - SOUTHERN UTAH VS NOTRE DAME

March 17, 2023

Niele Ivey

Maddy Westbeld

Lauren Ebo

Purcell Pavilion

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Media Conference

Notre Dame, 82 - Southern Utah, 56

NIELE IVEY: Well, just ecstatic about this win. It was a dominant performance. Again this is one of my dreams is to have an opportunity to host at home, and so taking advantage of that opportunity today. I thought the crowd was amazing. And I'm just really proud of my team, proud of the way we came out. We came out with a dominant find mindset. 16-0 run right from the beginning really set the tone.

We had incredible performance by Ego and Maddy had four double figures, 24 assists and ten turnovers, just really overall incredible performance. I'm so proud. I am excited to be able to play on Sunday.

Q. Lauren, we talked yesterday, and you said one of main things that you had to do I think is what you emphasized is you had to punch them early. Did that meet with your satisfaction today? And what goes into doing that?

LAUREN EBO: Yeah. I think as I told you yesterday, we had to come out -- come out strong. And Coach made that emphasis. I'm glad we were able to translate that from a practice to the game.

Q. Then Maddy, you guys scored on nine of your ten possessions. What was going well for you today especially early as well as throughout the game?

MADDY WESTBELD: Like she said, 16-0 run is really tough. It started on defense. And that's what she has been emphasizing, just getting on a running transition, getting stops early, getting rebound and running. So that we did a really good job at the beginning, and I think that's just what set the tone early.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Lauren. Thank you, Maddy.

Questions for Coach Ivey?

Q. Coach, throughout this season with all of the hardships you guys have faced, what has this team taught you about anything, the resilience, anything?

NIELE IVEY: That was the word I was going use, the resilience. I know coming in the season, I talked to and challenged the team about what is our identity, what are people going to say about you after they play you and I talked about that a lot early on.

And to see where we are now with the adversity, but the resilience of this group, the toughness that they have shown over the last month, several weeks with our injuries, I'm super proud. You have to kind of trend that way.

Every year you have a different -- the makeup of the team is different. And last year, totally different team, a lot of the same core pieces, but this year adding Ebo and adding Kylee, adding KK, just a different dynamic, different group. I'm just really proud that our identity is our resilience and our toughness and something that we have matured into.

Q. 16-0 start, how important was that to kind of get out and set the tone and not really leave any doubt in this one?

NIELE IVEY: Yes. I thought it was imperative we came out that way. We have not played in two weeks, and it showed the growth over the last two weeks what we have worked on, but again establishing who we are. You know, this is a different team, somebody running the point. And we are establishing who we are. And to do that on the defensive end, and again like Anthony said, we scored nine out of ten possessions shows our dominance on both sides of the ball. I was really proud of that.

Q. You looked kind of winded at the end of first half, and you got right back at it as you started the second half. Do you think you just needed a breather?

NIELE IVEY: Yeah. Again just different rotations, different things that we were trying. Again we have not played in two weeks. And this week was spring break. So I think, you know, their legs kind of got tired.

I'm still pushing pace and really emphasizing trying to get out and run. I think their legs got a little tired. But then again that was really fortunate that I had a chance to play so many players and got so much great balance from so many different people. I think that really helped us.

Q. You mentioned yesterday that you wanted to kind of have a point guard by committee, but Sonia I believe had a season nine six assist. I think four of them came in the first quarter.

Can you talk a little bit about what you saw from her as a facilitator?

NIELE IVEY: Yes. So proud of her. She's been working really hard the last couple weeks being in that position and understanding my message and understanding what I want to run.

We sat aside yesterday, you know, gave her kind of the plan like this is exactly why I want you to run. The fact she can come kind of turn into that position, something that she's never done before is just remarkable, just shows you who she is as a player. She could receive information and translates it right away.

I thought she did an incredible job of pushing pace. Again she's in a position that she's never really had to be in. And I'm just really proud of the growth in the last three weeks. And I thought she had a phenomenal week last week, put a lot of pressure on her, put her in a lot of decision making scenarios. She did a really good job.

Today I thought it may be one of her best games as being a facilitator. That just shows you the growth of Sonia, but also how impactful she is as a player.

Q. Building off the last question, without Olivia, obviously you are looking for ways to get the ball in other players' hands. I think five players with at least three assists. Is that kind of the vision for this team without Oliva is just really play making, moving the ball around and kind of spreading the ball around that way?

NIELE IVEY: Absolutely. I have talked a lot about playing the right way for me is being unselfish and finding the open player. Teams are going to do a lot of different things against us, sometimes double team. So being aware of that and finding the mismatches, again just playing unselfish. And I thought we did a great job of that today.

And I was really impressed by the way we started the game and the way that we pushed pace today. That was a big emphasis for me. I'm forcing KK, Cass and Jenna to be in those position making positions that they didn't have to be before with Olivia just dominating the ball in a really positive way. It's really great to see them comfortable making decisions. I was really proud of the way we improved today.

Q. You would have benefited from that shot Sarah at the end?

NIELE IVEY: That would have been awesome. I love the energy of the crowd when she came in. She's just a selfless worker. She is a crowd favorite. She is an incredible addition to the team. She's family. She works just as hard as everyone else and she gets us prepared and gets us ready. That would have been amazing if she made that shot. She got a really big steal, so that was great too.

Q. I want to ask you about Lauren. Obviously she always has a physical presence on court, but do you feel her presence even more now that you are in postseason? She's been back to back to Elite 8. And is she being a voice for the rest of her teammates right now more so in the season?

NIELE IVEY: Yes. Like you said because she knows, she's been a part of incredible runs with Texas. And I have asked her, we really need your voice, your leadership, your experience in the locker room kind of explaining what to expect being a part of the NCAA and advancing. So I really relied on her leadership this year and especially right now.

And I thought she did a great job. We scored 50 points in the paint. It kind of shows her dominance. She has a strong personality. They really look to her. And when she's playing this way and affecting the game the way she does in a positive way, I think it's awesome.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you so much.