Is Olivia Miles playing tonight? Exploring Notre Dame star's availability vs Texas (Dec 5)
Olivia Miles has enjoyed a strong comeback to college basketball this season. The senior guard, who had been out of action since tearing her ACL on Feb. 23, returned in time for the start of this season and has emerged as a serious threat in 10th-ranked Notre Dame's backcourt alongside Hannah Hidalgo.
Notre Dame will host No. 4 Texas in a massive game at the Purcell Pavilion on Thursday evening. Although Miles isn't in on the Fighting Irish's poster to promote the game on social media, there are no reports of any health issues, and she started the game.
Olivia Miles is also in a post uploaded by the Fighting Irish on Wednesday to hype up the game, where she is celebrating with her teammates.
Before her season-ending injury, Miles was a key figure for the Fighting Irish last season. In 28 appearances, she averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.9 assists, helping them secure the ACC Tournament and a spot in March Madness. Despite her absence, the Fighting Irish made the Sweet 16, where they suffered a 70-65 loss to the Oregon State Beavers.
Olivia Miles made an instant impact on her return
Olivia Miles made an instant impact on her first game since returning from injury, recording a triple-double in the Fighting Irish's season-opener against the Mercyhurst Lakers on Nov. 4. She finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, powering Niele Ivey's team to a dominant 105-61 victory.
Across Notre Dame's opening seven games, Miles has averaged 16.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists, helping them win in five of them. Alongside Hidalgo, her performance in Thursday's game is likely to be instrumental to the Fighting Irish's success or failure against the Longhorns (7-0).
The Fighting Irish are 1-1 against ranked opponents. Olivia Miles played a key role in their convincing 74-61 victory over JuJu Watkins and the then-No. 3 USC Trojans on Nov. 23, scoring 20 points and recording eight rebounds and seven assists. She also put in a solid performance in their 76-68 loss to the then-No. 17 TCU Horned Frogs, finishing with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns scored their first ranked win of the season on Sunday, finishing 78-73 winners against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The game between the Fighting Irish and the Longhorns will begin in front of a sold-out Purcell Pavilion at 7 p.m. ET.