No. 2 Notre Dame Survives In OT Versus Marquette
Looking like it would find coal in its stocking for Christmas break, the No. 2-ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team gave itself the gift of rallying in regulation and hanging on in overtime with a 91-85 victory versus Marquette, this year’s unanimous preseason pick to win the Big East.
The 3 p.m. tip-off at Purcell Pavilion saw junior Arike Ogunbowale score 10 of her game high 22 points in the extra five-minute session to pace a balanced Fighting Irish attack that saw six players finish with double-digit scoring and three record double-doubles. Notre Dame (11-1) also overcame a miserable 4-of-22 effort (18.2 percent) beyond the three-point line and a sub-par 17-of-28 performance at the foul line (60.7 percent) to eke out the win versus the Golden Eagles (6-5).
Trailing 73-69 with 1:46 remaining in regulation time, Notre Dame cut it to 73-71 when forwards Jessica Shepard (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Kathryn Westbeld (13 points, 10 rebounds) both went 1-of-2 from the line.
However, on Westbeld’s miss on her second attempt, she followed her shot, tracked down the loose ball in the corner and aggressively drove to knock down a short shot and knot the game at 73 with 40 seconds remaining.
“Just don’t quit on the play,” said Westbeld of her thoughts on rebounding her missed free throw. “The mind-set is we can’t lose … just attacking. Offensive rebounds always come up huge, especially at the end of the game. It was hard for us to get a stop there at the end, so if we can get another chance on offense, that’s what it took to get our lead back and get us back in the game.”
The overtime then began with a 6-0 Irish run on a couple of buckets by Ogunbowale, followed by a jumper from sophomore guard Jackie Young, who recorded her third double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) this season.
Leading only 81-77 with 1:26 left, Ogunbowale rebounded a Marquette miss in traffic and furiously drove coast-to-coast with a basket five seconds later in which she also was fouled, rewarding her with a free throw that made it 84-77.
The Irish appeared to have an insurmountable 87-80 advantage with 30 seconds left before Marquette narrowed it to 87-85. Two free throws apiece by Ogunbowale and Westbeld sealed the outcome.
“I thought we showed tremendous poise when we got down,” said Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw. “…We made some mistakes, [but] we didn’t fall apart. We did a really good job of keeping each other up.
“In the end of the fourth quarter and into overtime, Kat was an All-American. She was fabulous. The rebound basket to tie the game, huge, huge. She had so many big plays.
“We showed some maturity and poise. It was good for us to have a come-from-behind, late-game win. We learned a lot — about what not to do mostly.”
Marquette opened 9-of-12 from the field and held a 23-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter before the Irish went into halftime with a 38-37 edge and then 63-56 at the end of three quarters.
One of the reasons the game was moved to a matinee time was so the players could depart home earlier for Christmas break this evening. The next time the Irish will play will be the Atlantic Coast Conference opener versus Syracuse, ranked No. 22 in the Coaches’ poll, at home on Dec. 28.
Three-Point Play
1. Marina Mabrey Plays Every Minute
The junior, who has worked at point guard this season in many stretches, had some Lindsay Allen (2013-17) Iron Woman in her while playing all 45 minutes versus Marquette. She tallied 19 points while also leading the Irish in assists (6), steals (3) and blocked shots (2).
Her shooting stroke has been off this season, possibly because of her different role, but her conditioning and all-around work has been an asset.
2. In The Zone
McGraw was upset with the lack of defensive commitment in Sunday’s 91-82 win versus another Big East foe in DePaul, and the work on that end of the floor wasn’t much more up to par against the Golden Eagles. After Marquette’s hot start in which the Irish couldn’t guard off the dribble and had huge problems with their help-side defense and rotation, the Irish played mostly a 2-3 zone thereafter. It had its share of holes too, but at least there was a little better help rotation in that alignment.
3. A Tale Of Two Halves
For the second straight game, Ogunbowale found her rhythm in the second half after a poor start. Sunday against DePaul she was 1-of-9 from floor in the first half, and then 7-of-8 in the second half.
Versus Marquette, she was 1-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half, and then 6-of-10 in the second. She now has tallied at least 20 points a career-high tying four straight games and has reached the 20-point mark in nine of the first 12 games, the most in the ACC.
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