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Freshmen flex for No. 5 Notre Dame in flogging of Boston College

Notre Dame's Cassandre Prosper (4) knocks the ball away from Boston College's Dontavia Waggoner (24) during Sunday's Irish victory.
Notre Dame's Cassandre Prosper (4) knocks the ball away from Boston College's Dontavia Waggoner (24) during Sunday's Irish victory. (Michael Caterina, Associated Press)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey took her seat in the postgame press conference, following a stunning 85-48 flogging of 11-5 Boston College (1-2 ACC), flanked by clear examples of the great depth of her program.

To her right sat freshman KK Bransford and to her left, early-enrolling freshman Cassandre Prosper.

“I call them, my babies,” she said.

Neither was in the starting lineup Sunday, but her babies can play.

Bransford, a 5-foot-11 guard, went 5-for-5 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free-throw line for a career-high 17 points.

“I feel like this gym is starting to feel more like my home gym,” the Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame High School product said.

Prosper, a 6-2 guard from Montreal, who could be finishing off a fantastic high school career in Ontario (Capital Courts Academy), led No. 5-ranked Notre Dame’s 46-28 rebounding edge with nine in only 16 minutes.

After just four practices, Prosper made a 3-minute debut in the narrow win at Miami on Dec. 29, and Sunday afternoon, before a Purcell Pavilion crowd of 5,532 anxious to greet her, she left her mark all over the stat sheet.

Prosper delivered her first points — a 3-pointer at the 9:29 mark of the fourth quarter — and finished with seven. She had two steals off Boston College dribbles in the backcourt. She delivered a perfect assist to Kylee Watson for a layup and added two of the club’s six blocked shots.

Why join the Irish now?

“I felt like I had done everything I needed to do in high school,” said Prosper, appearing very comfortable in front of a microphone. “And I wanted a new challenge. Coach (Ivey) was so positive and confident in me to do this.

“So, I was just, ‘I'm gonna go to Notre Dame.’ (Current starting point guard) Olivia Miles did it before, so I knew coach knew how to manage that and how to help me transition properly. And, I don't know, I was like, ‘Why not?’”

There will be growing pains — she had a couple turnovers — as she adjusts. And integrating a player midseason can fool with the team chemistry that is always critical over a long season.

But the benefits for the 12-1 (3-0 ACC) Irish could be staggering.

Perimeter scorers are always welcome. Though it hasn’t been a factor, because Notre Dame has been so dominant around the basket, the Irish are making just five 3-pointers a game — 250th in the country.

Who couldn’t use a defender who has the potential to be elite?

And who doesn’t need a guard who can rebound like a big?

“I knew from the first minute versus Miami when she got a huge block, it shows what type of player she is and the impact that she brings on both sides of the ball,” Ivey said. “I think she fits in perfectly. She gives us more depth with the guard position. And, like I said, she's so sweet, but she plays so hard. She's sweet off the court, but on the court she's so fierce.

“And she's long and athletic. She can score at three levels, but she's also just a great player with a very high IQ. So even the transition … she's picked up everything. She asks a lot of questions.

“She studies and she writes things down. We watch film. She's always in the gym. So you're looking at somebody that's hungry to get better, and she's only going to make us a better team.”

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Freshman KK Bransford scores two of her career-high 17 points, Sunday in a win over Boston College.
Freshman KK Bransford scores two of her career-high 17 points, Sunday in a win over Boston College. (Michael Caterina, Associated Press)

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It would have been hard to be any better in the first half against senior-less Boston College, arguably the best first half the Irish have played all season.

After 32 points in the paint (15 of those layups), 13 assists on 17 field goals and 12 steals among the Eagles’ 13 first-half turnovers, the Irish exploded to a 49-16 lead.This against a team that averages 70 points a game and features six players with double-digit scoring averages.

Boston College didn’t hit the 20-point mark until 6:19 remained in the third quarter.

“That’s the way we want to play, defensive-minded,” said Ivey, whose club limited the Eagles to 31 percent shooting, including a shutout on nine 3-point attempts.

Ten different players scored for the Irish, with Miles (7-of-10 from field) matching Bransford’s 17 points and Sonia Citron (7-for-9) adding 15. There were 20 assists on 32 field goals, and the Irish finished 53 percent from the field.

Finding creases in the defense and playing its typical unselfish style, there was just little reason for the Irish to take many shots outside the lane. There were drives to the basket to be had, and, when it didn’t work out, there were plenty of fouls as ND went 19-for-25 from the line to Boston College’s 8-for-14.

Overall, though, Ivey won’t have to look hard to find issues of concern that could surface against teams like No. 13 North Carolina, the next Irish opponent, on Jan. 8 in Chapel Hill.

After nearly derailing in Miami, because of 22 turnovers, the Irish had another reckless day with the ball overall with 19, one more than the Eagles, and three more than their average coming into the game.

BC also had 10 blocked shots, six by 6-3 Maria Gakdeng.

But, there’s no question that if ND can continue to play the kind of smart, helping defense it did Sunday, it can withstand off days offensively — and Ivey knows it.

“I think our defensive mindset has shifted this season, and I love it,“ she said. “We want to continue growing that. I'm just happy that everyone has taken individual pride to stop the ball, getting deflections, getting on the floor for loose balls — they're doing a great job with that.“

NOTRE DAME 85, BOSTON COLLEGE 48: Box Score

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