Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron committed to play at Notre Dame the same week Niele Ivey took the job. Here's why they bought into her vision and how they built this year's title contender.

Notre Dame wasn't at full strength when it played TCU in the Cayman Islands. Still, the Irish led by 14 and lost. And they felt that pain this week.

When Notre Dame ended its regular season on a low note, Niele Ivey knew her team didn’t need reassurance or encouragement. None of that. They needed to get angry.

According to ESPN’s Sham Charnia, Olivia Miles will NOT enter the WNBA Draft, but instead use her final year of eligibility somewhere other than Notre Dame via the transfer portal.

Among the strong senior group for Notre Dame includes an ultra-talented pack of Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron, Liatu King and Maddy Westbeld, with the first two expected to be top-five picks in the upcoming WNBA Draft.

Ivey took to the podium to discuss the Irish's 76-55 victory over Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was joined by Hannah Hidalgo, Liatu King and Sonia Citron, the team's three leading scorers for the day.

After a late-season slide, Notre Dame had a break, a cookout and a recommitment to defense that sparked its NCAA Tournament hopes.

Niele Ivey was a foundational member of what became an important and unspoken tradition for Fighting Irish women's basketball.