Notre Dame women’s basketball fans have got to feel for Olivia Miles. The star guard came back to the Irish this season hoping that she and a talented roster could make a real run in the NCAA Tournament and bring true glory back to South Bend.
After missing the 2023-24 season with an injury, she had something to prove this campaign. She had to prove she was healthy and she had to prove she could be as good as people remembered. She did both this past season.
Olivia Miles reflects on legacy, future with Notre Dame women’s basketball
But she didn’t help the program get back to glory. The Fighting Irish exited the tournament in the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth straight year. And now, there’s real questions as to whether the veteran player will return for one more season.
After the Notre Dame women’s basketball team lost to TCU on Saturday afternoon, Olivia Miles was asked about how she was leaning at the moment. Was she thinking about heading to the WNBA? Or would she come back and pair up with Hannah Hidalgo one more time and see if they could finally go all the way?
“I truly do not know what I want to do,” Miles told the assembled media. “But I’m very blessed because I’m in a great position. When I think about legacy I think more about the impact that I leave on people. Winning is great. Obviously everyone wants to do it. But as Coach [Niele] Ivey said, as long as you leave the place better than you found it, you left a really good impact.”
With their season officially over, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team now has to turn its eyes to the offseason. That attention will include figuring out who is coming back and who is moving on.