Maya Dodson’s career night came at perfect time for Notre Dame, Niele Ivey
Notre Dame knew it was going to have to score in bunches Tuesday night.
The No. 20 Fighting Irish went on the road to Chicago to take on DePaul, the top scoring team in the country. The Blue Demons went into the matchup averaging 92.2 points per game.
Notre Dame hadn’t scored that many points since a 94-35 home victory over Bryant on Nov. 21. DePaul's 11-2 resume enter the game included losses to two ranked teams (Arizona and Texas A&M) and a win over ranked Kentucky.
The writing on the wall spelled out a tough task for head coach Niele Ivey’s team. And that's just what it was. DePaul went toe-to-toe with Notre Dame, but the Irish eked out a 91-86 win to improve to 11-2 before the holiday break.
BOX SCORE: Click here for full stats of Notre Dame 91, DePaul 86
Tuesday’s win marked Notre Dame’s first top 50 NET rankings victory of the season. It was going to take something special for Notre Dame to prosper on the road against a team that ultimately got double-digit scoring performances from five players.
Notre Dame only had three players in double figures, but what those three players did proved to be more than enough. Graduate student center Maya Dodson scored a career-high 28 points, including 10-straight in the final five minutes. Sophomore forward Maddy Westbeld scored 22. Freshman point guard Olivia Miles had 20 and eight assists.
Dodson’s dominance in the post was critical. To beat a high-flying, quick-attacking team like DePaul, it takes relentless physicality. Dodson set the tone in that area, and her teammates followed suit. Notre Dame outrebounded DePaul 51-26. The Irish had 24 offensive boards and 29 second-chance points to the Blue Demons’ five and one, respectively.
Dodson hadn’t scored 20-plus points since the season opener on Nov. 9 against Ohio. She scored less than 10 in seven of 11 games since then prior to Tuesday. As Notre Dame dispatched the Blue Demons thanks in large part to Dodson's awakening, Dodson ditched some of her own demons in the process.
“She’s been working on her finishes," Ivey said. "She is in the gym early regardless. She’s always working on her game, and I’m just so happy to see it come to life today. I really wanted to pound the ball inside, that was one of our game plans, and I felt like she was amazing tonight.”
“I think the biggest thing was my teammates were looking for me inside,” Dodson added. “They trusted that I’m going to make those plays, and I trust myself to make those plays. Just being confident and knowing I can be that anchor inside.”
Notre Dame only made two of its 17 three-point attempts. Senior guard Dara Mabrey had an uncharacteristically cold night from deep range in going 0-of-9 from beyond the arc. Miles, whose shooting range has gotten better as the season has gone along, made the only two Irish threes.
Teams can survive tough shooting nights when they're far more physical than the opposition. That's how Notre Dame won its fourth game in a row to go into a week off for the holiday break before returning to action at Virginia on Dec. 30.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.