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No. 2 Notre Dame Women Ready To Begin ACC Campaign

Arike Ogunbowale's 13 points helped No. 2 Notre Dame win at Chattanooga, 79-58 on Tuesday night.
Arike Ogunbowale's 13 points helped No. 2 Notre Dame win at Chattanooga, 79-58 on Tuesday night. (USA TODAY Sports)

If Notre Dame is to challenge UConn’s stranglehold on the national title, it must begin with the veteran All-America candidates in senior point guard Lindsay Allen and junior forward Brianna Turner. Both achieved more milestones on Tuesday night during Notre Dame’s 79-58 victory at Chattanooga, which has advanced to the NCAA Tournament four straight years.

The No. 2-ranked Irish improved to 12-1 before starting Atlantic Coast Conference play at North Carolina State on Thursday.

Allen recorded her first career triple-double — 12 assists, 11 rebounds and 11 points — and only the sixth in the program’s history (with Skylar Diggins achieving it twice). By halftime, Allen already had recorded a career high nine rebounds, plus eight assists.

Meanwhile, Turner continued her recent strong play by converting 10-of-13 from the field for a game high 24 points to go with six blocked shots and five rebounds. She passed the 200 career blocked shots mark, and with 202 she now trails only Devereaux Peters (227) and Ruth Riley (370) on the all-time Irish chart.

Turner’s inside dominance led to Notre Dame attempting only four three-pointers while outscoring the Mocs 54-22 in the paint. The numerous high percentage looks enabled the Irish to finish 56.1 percent from the floor.

Junior forward Kathryn Westbeld has remained a consistent mainstay with 11 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Arike Ogunbowale also finished with double-digit scoring with 13 points.

All 11 scholarship players played for the Irish, most notably freshman Jackie Young's 16 minutes (three points and three rebounds) after resting an ankle injury incurred in the Dec. 7 loss to No. 1 UConn.

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Three-Point Play

1. ACC Dominance — What UConn has been to college basketball overall, Notre Dame has been to the Atlantic Coast Conference. In their three seasons in the league the Irish are a remarkable 57-1, including 10-0 in postseason action, sweeping the regular season and postseason titles all three years, which speaks volumes because of the league’s strength.

The ACC and Pac-12 easily have the most teams in the current Associated Press Top 25 with seven apiece. Besides No. 2 Notre Dame, the ACC includes No. 7 Florida State (12-1, with the lone loss by two points to No. 1 UConn), No. 8 Louisville (11-1), No. 11 Miami (11-1, and where 2016 Irish graduate Michaela Mabrey is now on the staff), No. 15 Duke (11-1, which upset now No. 6 South Carolina), No. 19 Virginia Tech (12-0) and No. 25 Syracuse (9-4), last year’s national runner-up.

Florida State (Feb. 26 season finale), Louisville (Feb. 6) and Duke (Jan. 26) are at home, while Miami (Jan. 8) — the lone ACC defeat for the Irish in their three years in the league — Virginia Tech (Feb. 2) and Syracuse (Feb. 19) will be on the road.


2. Quick Starts Continue — Against Chattanooga, Notre Dame opened with a 10-0 run en route to a 26-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the four straight road games/wins since Dec, 10, the Irish erupted early to take command: 75-61 (at DePaul), 85-68 (at Toledo) and 79-61 (at MSU). It jumped out of the gates to a 15-8 lead at DePaul, 22-7 at Toledo and 17-6 at Michigan State.

The Irish are plus-119 (276-157) in the first quarter, far and away their best 10-minute split. In the other quarters they are plus-74 in the second, plus-47 in the third and plus-55 in the fourth.


3. Road Sweet Road — With its 15th straight true road win, Notre Dame is halfway to its NCAA record 30 it shares with Connecticut, although the Huskies are on the verge of eclipsing that too. UConn has won 29 straight true road games and will aim to tie the record 30 Thursday night at No. 4 Maryland. The current Irish streak is tied for the 12th longest in NCAA annals.

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