Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles (knee) won’t play this season

STORRS, Conn. — Notre Dame star guard Olivia Miles will miss the 2023-24 campaign as she recovers from a knee injury she suffered toward the end of last season, a program spokesperson confirmed to ESPN on Saturday following the No. 15 Irish’s 82-67 win over No. 8 UConn.

Miles, a second-team AP All-American and third-team USBWA All-American, averaged 14.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals last season as a sophomore. She has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

A 5-foot-10 point guard, Miles had yet to suit up for the Irish this season. The school also has yet to give a public timetable for her return.

The FOX broadcast of the Notre Dame-UConn game first mentioned Miles would be out for the season. When asked of Miles’ status after the game, Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey told reporters, “I haven’t talked to her. I will talk to her after. But she’s been working so hard. I’m really proud of Liv. She’s just getting stronger and better and better.”

Miles was seen before Saturday’s game getting some shots up before the team warmed up. The exact nature of her knee injury has not been disclosed.

Fans will have to wait until next season to see Miles and star freshman Hannah Hidalgo play together in the backcourt for the Irish. Saturday against the Huskies, Hidalgo scored a career-best and school-record 34 points and added 10 rebounds and six assists. She is the first Irish player since 1999-2000 to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a game.

“Hannah is just relentless,” Ivey said. “What I love about her most is her confidence. She comes out, she’s very fearless. She just loves to compete… her energy is contagious and I feel like she stepped on our campus and has really just shined.”

Senior Maddy Westbeld added 23 points to help Notre Dame defeat rival UConn in consecutive games for the first time in over a decade.

The Irish, who were coming off a loss to Syracuse, improved to 15-4 with Saturday’s win, which is their second ranked win of the season. The first was to then-No. 20 Tennessee.

“I’m just so proud of my team,” Ivey said. “We’ve had a lot of ups and downs this season, a lot of injuries … and just to see them battle, have the resiliency that they’ve shown and then just the toughness to stick together in such a hostile environment … and to come out this game with a win is just a dream.”

UConn had won 13 straight before Saturday’s loss. They got a quiet night from Paige Bueckers (17 points on 5-for-17 shooting) and dealt with foul trouble from point guard Nika Muhl, who fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

“There were a lot of things that we had been doing really, really well the last…