No. 3 Notre Dame Routs No. 22 Michigan, 83-63
Unbeaten Notre Dame (7-0) recorded its fourth victory versus a ranked team this year with an 83-63 win at No. 22 Michigan Wednesday night in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
Junior guard Arike Ogunbowale paced the attack by matching her career-high point total with 32 on 13-of-20 shooting from the field, notably a 4-of-6 effort from three-point range. It was the fifth time this season Ogunbowale tallied at least 20 points, with her greatest damage done in the first half when she converted 8 of 12 from the field, including all of her threes, for 20 points while staking the Irish to a 43-34 advantage at the intermission.
“Just amazing,” Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said of her junior guard, who is up for national player of the year honors. “… We were struggling offensively, and she just carried us pretty much through the entire first half.”
Sophomore Jackie Young registered her second straight double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds, seven of them on offense. The Irish finished with a 42-28 advantage on the boards. Notre Dame entered the game third in the country in offensive rebounds per contest (19.0), and Young is a primary reason why.
McGraw’s squad used a 15-2 run in the first quarter to build a 17-8 lead, and kept the Wolverines at bay from there. The margin was still nine at halftime (43-34) and late in the third quarter (56-47) before the Irish put it away with a 20-4 explosion, including 14-2 to open the fourth quarter.
As a collective defense, Notre Dame limited Katelynn Flaherty, the nation’s second leading scorer with a 25.8 average, to 13 points on 5-of-18 shooting from the floor, including 1 of 7 from three-point territory. The box score can be found here.
Three-Point Play
1. Mikayla Vaughn Injured
The 6-3 freshman, who has been a spark off the bench the first six games while averaging 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds, injured her knee in practice and had an MRI today. The results will be known later this week.
Consequently, 6-2 freshman Danielle Patterson and 6-4 fifth-year senior Kristina Nelson saw more action. Patterson scored two points and had a rebound in 13 minutes, while Nelson, a spark in the win over No. 3 South Carolina, grabbed three rebounds but also had four fouls in only seven minutes.
2. Kathryn Westbeld Makes First Start
The 6-2 senior forward, who is referred to as the glue of the team by McGraw, made her first start this season, in place of point guard Lili Thompson. McGraw has wanted to limit Westbeld to eight minutes per half while resting her bad ankle, but she finished with 22 minutes against the Wolverines while tallying four points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out two assists and committing no turnovers.
Thompson still played 29 minutes, but the rotation is more about having balance in the lineup with minutes in the frontcourt and backcourt.
3. No. 1 UConn Next
Up next is The Dynasty on Sunday afternoon to conclude the seven-game road trip. The two teams lead the country in victories versus ranked foes with four apiece, and the Irish have the most wins away from home with six. This might be the Huskies’ deepest team yet. The game will be telecast at 4 p.m. ET on ESPN as part of the Jimmy V Classic.
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