Maize and Blue to Face No. 8 Irish in NCAA Second Round

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team (23-10) will face No. 3 seed and No. 8-ranked Notre Dame (27-5) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon (March 23) at 1 p.m. The game will be on ABC from Purcell Pavilion.

Notes

• U-M is making its seventh straight and 13th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament in this year's event. It is the first time Michigan has ever earned seven consecutive bids to the NCAA Tournament in program history. U-M is 12-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan has two Sweet 16 appearances in school history (2021, 2022) and an Elite Eight appearance in 2022. U-M has now advanced to the second round in 1990, 2001, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2023 and 2025.

• Michigan and Notre Dame are meeting for the 22nd time in program history, with the Irish holding a 13-8 advantage. U-M won the last game between the teams, a 76-66 win in South Bend on Dec. 3, 2020.

• Syla Swords will face a Canadian Olympic teammate in Notre Dame's Cassandre Prosper. The two also teamed up in the summer of 2023 with Canada, winning bronze at the FIBA AmeriCup and the U19 World Cup.

• The game marks a return to Notre Dame for assistant coach for player development, Natalie Achonwa. A four-year letterwinner at Notre Dame (2011-14), she earned All-America third-team honors by the Associated Press as a senior. Upon graduation, she ranked 12th all-time in scoring (1,546), third in games played (145), fourth in rebounding (970), fifth in double-doubles (28) and sixth in field goal percentage (.562). She graduated from Notre Dame in 2014 with a degree in management-consulting from ND's Mendoza College of Business.

• Mila Holloway is four assists away from tying the freshman record for assists. Vonnie Thompson set the mark of 147 during the 1986-87 season. Olivia Olson is 19 points away from the U-M freshman scoring record of 552 points, set by Peg Harte in 1981-82.

• Since the calendar hit February, Michigan is 9-3 over its last 12 games. U-M is 3-1 over its last four games, with its only loss coming to No. 2 USC in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.

• The Wolverines advanced to the second round behind an 80-74 win over Iowa State on Friday afternoon (March 21). All five U-M starters scored in double figures, marking the first time Michigan has had five double-figure scorers in an NCAA Tournament game according to ESPN research.

• Michigan is the No. 6 seed in the Birmingham 3 region, tying for the second-best seed in program history. It is the third time U-M has grabbed a six seed, with the other two coming in 2021 when the tournament was in San Antonio and in 2023 when U-M played at LSU. Michigan made the Sweet 16 as a No. 6 seed in 2021.