SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥� Olivia Miles let out a yell of excitement, knowing she was going to be playing in her first Elite Eight.
After falling short during her three years at Notre Dame, Miles reached a regional final in her first season at TCU. She had 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the third-seeded Horned Frogs in a over Virginia in the Sweet 16 of the on Saturday.
鈥淗appy about that,鈥� Miles said of reaching the Elite Eight. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just another bonus as to what I wanted to do here. Ultimately, I wanted to find my joy back. That鈥檚 very broad and can happen in a lot of different ways, but I truly feel like the people around me have helped me to love basketball again.鈥�
As soon as the final buzzer sounded, Miles wrapped a TCU flag around her back. The Horned Frogs reached the Elite Eight for a second consecutive season.
The transferred to TCU from Notre Dame after playing 101 games for the Irish. She decided to postpone her entry into the WNBA for one last year in college.
She鈥檚 played with a sense of urgency and renewed excitement, upping her play in the NCAA Tournament. Miles is averaging 19.3 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in three games.
Whether it鈥檚 no-look or behind-the-back passes or one-handed layups, Miles is always putting on a show.
鈥淚 think just being around coaches growing up who have allowed me to be me and be creative and try things,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 said this before, but luckily I haven鈥檛 run into a coach that鈥檚 like, 鈥楪irls can鈥檛 do one-handed layups or girls can鈥檛 make one-arm passes.’ My coaches have always been like, 鈥業f I see you do it in practice, go ahead and do it in a game.鈥欌��
Miles said she practices those plays so much that they are basically second nature at this point.
鈥淚鈥檓 just so confident when I do it,鈥� she said.
Miles also enjoyed bantering with the crowd during the Virginia game. She ended up getting the last laugh.
鈥淚 think they were telling me that I can鈥檛 go left and I can鈥檛 make a lefty layup,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淪o it just makes me laugh because ultimately we鈥檙e the ones out there playing and if it were the reverse, I don鈥檛 know if they could kind of take my place and do what I鈥檓 doing out there.鈥�
Miles said comments from opposing fans fuel her at times.
鈥淚t just kind of makes me laugh. but I love banter like that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t gets me going. It鈥檚 part of the game. Fans are going to be passionate. They鈥檙e going to want to win. so I love making them upset at the end of the day.鈥�
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