No. 2 Notre Dame Wins 79-61 At Michigan State

Notre Dame completed the first half of its six-game road swing from Dec. 10-Jan.2 with a 79-61 victory at Michigan State on Monday night at the Breslin Center in front of a crowd of 7,924. The No. 2-ranked Irish improved to 11-1, while the Spartans fell to 10-3.

Junior forward Brianna Turner and sophomore guard Marina Mabrey each were 7 of 15 from the floor and paced the Irish with 19 points apiece. Turner also hauled in seven rebounds and blocked five shots while maintaining a strong inside presence that saw the Irish outscore the Spartans in the paint, 48-26.

Meanwhile, Mabrey propelled an early 17-6 advantage by knocking down her first three three-point attempts, and the Irish held a 25-17 at the end of the first quarter. She also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists while committing no turnovers. After Mabrey’s onslaught beyond the arc, the Irish were 0 of 6 from three-point range the rest of the way, leading them to feed the post with Turner and classmate Kathryn Westbeld, who had an excellent complementary game with 12 points (6 of 9 from the floor), 11 rebounds (four on offense), two assists, a block and zero turnovers. It was her first double-double of the season, and third in her career.

When senior point guard Lindsay Allen picked up her second foul with 7:48 left until halftime and the Irish ahead 29-19, Notre Dame's offense was still able to function relatively well with junior Mychal Johnson and Mabrey at the point. Notre Dame built its biggest lead of the half to 41-28, but the Spartans tallied the final five points of the first half to stay within striking distance at 41-33.

Michigan State relied on the three early on, converting four of its first eight beyond the arc in the first quarter, but began to work the ball inside better in the second quarter. Despite Allen’s foul trouble that also saw her sit much of the third quarter, head coach Muffet McGraw's squad committed only 10 turnovers while assisting on 22 of its 31 field goals (Allen had six assists, while Johnson and Mabrey had five apiece).

MSU’s dynamic 5-8 guard Tori Jankoska, the nation’s seventh leading scorer with about 22 points per game, had 21 points (8 of 15 from the floor and 3 of 6 from three), eight rebounds and five assists, but received limited help.

The Irish began the second half with a 16-6 run to expand their lead to 57-39, and the Spartans were never able to close within 10 thereafter, the last at 66-56. The largest Notre Dame lead was 77-58.

Notre Dame graduate transfer Taya Reimer, who did not leave the program in the best of terms, was in foul trouble from the outset and played only 16 minutes, finishing 2 of 5 from the floor for four points while grabbing one rebound.

After going home for Christmas break, the Irish will resume their road show at Chattanooga Dec. 27 before beginning conference play at North Carolina State Dec. 29 and Georgia Tech Jan. 2.

Three-Point Play

1.First-(Quarter) Blood — The best quarter by the Fighting Irish this year has been by far the first 10 minutes, where they are plus-105 (250-145) in scoring. In the other quarters, it is plus-73 in the second, plus-44 in the third and plus-52 in the fourth. This has especially shown in the three straight challenging road games won by similar scores of 75-61 (at DePaul), 85-68 (at Toledo) and 79-61 (at MSU). Notre Dame jumped out of the gates to a 15-8 lead at DePaul, 22-7 at Toledo and 17-6 at Michigan State.

The lone exception was UConn, naturally, when the No. 1 Huskies had a 23-14 cushion after the first quarter en route to an 11-point win.

2. Shorter Bench — Beset by foul trouble, senior point guard Allen sat the final 7:48 of the first half and also missed much of the third quarter. Johnson and Mabrey took turns in her place and did a respectable job. But the Irish need to develop sophomore Ali Patberg for the future. She played the final 35.3 seconds while recovering from walking pneumonia. Freshman Jackie Young played a token two minutes while mending a sprained ankle.

Up front, senior Kristina Nelson has struggled the past four games — 2 of 12 from the floor while totaling only 28 minutes total (one at MSU) — because her post move has become too robotic. Freshman forward Erin Boley (six points and four rebounds in only six minutes) continues to improve and get more comfortable.

3. It’s Not Who Starts … — In an effort perhaps to get more spark off the bench, McGraw started defensive specialist Johnson in place of team leading scorer Ogunbowale at MSU. “Starting” can be overrated, though, as Ogunbowale finished with 33 minutes, tallying 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting. She and Mabrey were outstanding instant offense and energy figures off the bench last year.

With the health setbacks to Young and Patberg this December, having a figure like Ogunbowale enter a game off the bench can have its benefits. Once Young is back to full health, Ogunbowale will likely return to the starting role. Either way, she likely will see around 30 minutes in a game.

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