Notre Dame was on a mention to prove its late-season slump was an outlier. It did that at least for one day in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Stephen F. Austin. The Irish advanced to play Michigan in the second round after dominating the Ladyjacks, 106-54.
The Irish (27-5) saw the Ladyjacks (29-6) take a quick 6-0 lead on a pair of 3-pointers. The score soon became 8-2, but that was as bad as it got for a team that had the backing of a packed Purcell Pavilion. The Irish outscored the Ladyjacks, 24-5, the rest of the quarter, and the lead just continued to balloon from there.