ATLANTA, Ga. — With less than a month until conference championship season, Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles continues to earn national recognition. On Tuesday, the 5-10 point guard out of Phillipsburg, N.J., was one of 30 players across the country to earn a spot on the 2023 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Midseason Team. Miles was also included on the watch list earlier this year.
Miles leads Notre Dame this year in points (15.1), rebounds (7.1), assists (6.9) and steals (2.1). Her 6.7 defensive rebounds per game ranks 13th nationally amongst guards, and she is one of just two players in the country averaging at least 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists per game (Caitlin Clark, Iowa).
“I try to never take what she brings to the table for granted,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said this week.
Miles is so consistent that her stat lines often don’t even stick out anymore; double-doubles or near double-digit assists are just another day for her. She has been in double figures points-wise for all but two games this year, and has posted 10+ assists five times. With 22 points and 10 assists at Boston College on Feb. 2, Miles became the first Notre Dame player since at least 1999 to post 20+ points and 10+ assists twice in her Irish career. Former Irish greats and current WNBA guards Skylar Diggins, Marina Mabrey and Jackie Young each did it once while in South Bend.
In addition to the Naismith honors, Miles was recently named to both the John Wooden Late Season Top 20 and is one of 10 finalists for the 2023 Nancy Lieberman Award, which goes to the nation’s best point guard.
The full list of 30 women on the Naismith Midseason Team can be found here. South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston won the 2022 award. Ruth Riley is the only Notre Dame player to earn the laurels (2001).