ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 5, 2022

Niele Ivey

Maya Dodson

Sonia Citron

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Postgame Press Conference

Miami 57, Notre Dame 54

NIELE IVEY: Hats off to Miami. That was incredible, their upset yesterday, and I thought they came out ready today. Unfortunately we started off really slow. Got some foul trouble, but I was proud of the effort of our group. I felt like we fought back, put ourselves in position to tie the game. I thought it was a really good look from Dara. I was really proud of the fight and the effort. I just felt like we kind of started out flat and can't start out flat in March Madness in a semifinal game.

Credit to Miami and it's something we're going to learn from. Unfortunately it was in March, but we definitely will take a lot from this game.

Excited for what's going on in the future and excited for the next couple weeks.

Q. I just wanted to ask about the last two plays of the game. It looked like you were going to Mabrey pretty much all the way. Was there an option to go to Westbeld if the option wasn't there?

NIELE IVEY: Yeah, it was. The first look was Dara and then counter to that was Maddy. But then they tipped the ball out of bounds, and so we had to run something else.

I thought Dara had really -- the three to tie it, I thought it was an incredible look, and I thought the one she shot close to our bench, I thought that was a really good look. Got the looks we wanted, she was hot, so I went back to her.

Q. The zone in the first quarter was kind of broken up a little bit and then by the third quarter, you guys were really getting to your switches a lot, just filling in the gaps really well. What was the difference between the early zone and the late zone?

NIELE IVEY: Yeah, well, I thought the early zone we got really tentative. Unfortunately we had a couple fouls that I think we were a little tentative. We couldn't find our shooters. Might have just been the jitters of the game, the excitement of starting the game.

Then I felt like we kind of settled in and played the zone better like we know. We were more aware of shooters. But I felt like they moved the ball around very well. They did a great job of putting the ball on the floor, mixed it up. And it took us a minute to really kind of adjust to the athleticism. But then I thought we started playing, getting the stops we needed, and we started to get out to run.

MAYA DODSON: Just like Coach said, I think in the beginning we were just kind of sluggish and then I got those two fouls so that totally changes the trajectory because I'm usually the one in the center calling things out. We found a way to figure it out and fix it for the next quarters.

Q. Are you surprised by this late surge of Miami during this tournament? What are they doing that has been able to knock off the No. 2 and 3 seed in this tournament?

NIELE IVEY: Yeah, well, not surprised at all. I have a ton of respect for Katie Meier. I love her. I think she's amazing and her coaching staff. She's done an incredible job at Miami. I feel like they're just peaking at the right time. I think they've won the last seven out of eight or eight of nine. They're playing with a ton of confidence. The confidence I think is a big thing.

Obviously upsetting Louisville it gives you a ton of confidence coming in today. They're playing with nothing to lose. They're the underdog, and I just think she's doing an incredible job, and they're peaking at the right time.

SONIA CITRON: Yeah, definitely not surprised at all. Miami is a great team and we're in March so anything can happen. But they've really been playing well, playing together, playing really competitively and sharing the ball, moving it around, so I'm definitely not surprised.

Q. I wanted to ask Sonia, it looked like Miami did a pretty good job of shrinking the defense and preventing dribble penetration. What made it so difficult to get your usual looks against them?

SONIA CITRON: Yeah, they were definitely playing really good help defense, so once you broke down that first defender, there was another one right there.

Yeah, and I mean, they were just really up on you and making you -- making sure you feel that pressure, so credit to them.

Q. I was just curious these next week and a half, 10 days or whatever it is until Selection Sunday, what's the focus going to be for you guys? Do you guys linger on it and dissect it a little bit or do you just reset to what's next?

NIELE IVEY: Yeah, I think we reset and look towards the NCAA. I feel like we're going to have a lot of time to get rest. We're down, we only have seven really healthy bodies, so it's an opportunity for us to get some rest, recovery, and just work on us until we can figure out what the road looks like.

But there's a lot of areas -- I'm definitely going to dissect it and look over and fix the zone and work on our man-to-man, all our fundamentals offensively and defensively. But it is a time to reset and lock in and focus on what's coming up.

But you always try to find ways to learn through film and try to put the team in situations where we can grow in areas that we made mistakes today.

Q. I don't know if you want to be a campaigner on things you can't control, but you finished third in the league that's considered the best in the country and you did advance to the semifinals. You have 22 wins. Do you feel like you're worthy of at least consideration still for a top 16 in the NCAA Tournament?

NIELE IVEY: I mean, I'm hoping. I'm hoping our resume speaks to that. That's definitely not in our control. But again, I talk to the group about how far we've come this season, how growth, maturation has been incredible, and I feel like we put ourselves in an incredible position to host. We have an incredible fan base, so I'm hoping we get that opportunity.

But regardless of that, I didn't get an opportunity to make the tournament last year, and it's something that obviously is extremely important to me. I know we put ourselves in the position to do that, and I'm super grateful for that.

We'll just look forward to seeing what happens and we'll be ready.

Q. They talked a little bit on TV about how maybe the slow start was nerves. Looked like you missed some shots that maybe you usually make. What do you attribute that to?

NIELE IVEY: Yeah, I mean, this is a group that's our first time coming -- being in the semifinals. I think they were excited. I just think the ball didn't drop for us. Again, like Maya mentioned and I mentioned, we got a couple fouls early. I thought we were a little bit tentative and then we finally got a chance to get going. I thought they came out hot.

Again, they're coming off an incredible game last night and I felt like they came in with the same confidence and continued that hot shooting streak that they have. Then once we started locking in, got some stops, I felt like we were back to ourselves as Notre Dame, but you never know. Being the situation, I feel like it's something we will mature and grow from. Again, I'm starting two freshmen and a sophomore, and I feel like all these experiences are just going to help us down the road.