No. 5 Notre Dame Throttles No. 19 Duke, 72-54
It was Reunion Weekend for No. 19-ranked Duke women’s basketball at home, but the alumni saw the same as usual — another loss to Notre Dame.
The No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish defeated the Blue Devils for the 14th consecutive time while also ending Duke’s 30-game regular season winning streak at home with a 72-54 victory on Sunday afternoon. With its seventh straight victory, Notre Dame is now 22-2 overall and 10-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Duke drops to 18-6 and 7-4, respectively.
Highlighting the performance was a Notre Dame season high nine three-pointers converted in 18 attempts, with junior guard Marina Mabrey finishing 4-of-9 from that range en route to a game high 18 points. Sophomore Jackie Young, who had only five three-pointers in the first 23 contests on 23 attempts, was 2-of-2 beyond the arc and finished with 17 points to go with a game high seven assists.
Reigning ACC Player of the Week Jessica Shepard posted her eighth double-double of the season (12 points, 10 rebounds), and classmate Arike Ogunbowale enjoyed a quality second half to finish with 12 points as well, although she finished only 4-of-16 from the field.
Meanwhile, on the defensive end, head coach Muffet McGraw supplemented the 2-3 zone with an effective triangle-and-two look that flummoxed Duke into 35.5-percent shooting from the field and, more notably, 6-of-19 from three-point range (31.6 percent). The Blue Devils entered the contest ranked second nationally in three-point shooting at 41.6 percent.
The Blue Devils converted only one field goal in the final 7:24, and were 2-of-11 from the field overall in the fourth quarter, while Notre Dame asserted control. It was the Irish defense that also held Duke scoreless for a five-minute stretch in the first quarter during a 10-0 run.
Nevertheless, the contest was a see-saw affair most of the first half with nine lead changes before Ogunbowale put the Irish ahead on a running jumper off the break for a 24-23 lead with 4:46 left in the half, followed by a three from Young.
After taking a 33-29 lead into halftime, the game was knotted a final time at 36 when senior Kathryn Westbeld, playing with a badly swollen right eye, drained a trey to give the Irish the lead for good.
Notre Dame saw a crucial turning point while clinging to a 42-41 lead in the third quarter. Duke missed a layup that would have put it ahead 43-42, and then Young followed with a three and Shepard a lay-in off the fast break to tie its largest lead of the game at that point (47-41). The Irish continued to finish the third quarter strong when Mabrey converted her third trey for a 52-43 lead, and then she followed with a steal and two free three throws for the first double-digit lead (54-43).
That 12-2 run provided some cushion, and then Notre Dame controlled the fourth quarter, out-scoring the Blue Devils 18-8.
Three-Point Play
1. Time For A Good Bye
Notre Dame’s bye week has finally arrived, with the Irish not playing again until next Sunday when it hosts Georgia Tech, which is 2-8 in league play and already lost to the Irish 77-54 at home on Jan. 7. Resting up and healing for the final push in March for the ACC and NCAA Tournaments is paramount to McGraw, who plans to give the team plenty of time off this week.
The win at Duke was the seventh away from home this season against a ranked foe, the most in Division I. The eight ranked wins overall are tied with No. 1 UConn for best in the country.
"I’m so proud of this team," said McGraw of the seven-healthy scholarship players thriving against the nation’s top-ranked schedule. "We have been on an incredible grind. The season is long and we haven’t had a bye yet. We played another game on the road, against a ranked team, in front of a big crowd. It’s really been a battle of mental toughness.”
2. [Fast-] Break Time
In addition to converting a season high nine threes at Duke, Notre Dame had a season-best 19 points off the fast break, including a 14-3 advantage in the first half. While the Irish are highly efficient in their Princeton-style scheme, the opportunity to run is welcomed to take some of the onus of lining up in half-court sets without a natural point guard, where Mabrey has performed quite remarkably.
Mabrey entered the game with her assist total per game up to 5.4 — second in the ACC — and has had at least five assists in 11 of the last 14 games. Her five steals against Duke, which helped trigger some of the fast-break points, marked the fifth time in the last eight contests she pilfered the ball five times. Her 2.9 steals per contest coming into the game also were second in the ACC.
3. Lights, Camera … Jackie!
Young is a relatively consistent performer in all facets on both ends of the floor, but she especially seems to raise her game on brighter stages. In the last month against three top-10 teams she averaged 19.0 points, including 16 points (7-of-9 shooting), eight assists and six rebounds in last Sunday’s win at No. 8 Florida State. Duke was not ranked at high at No. 19, but Young again was a marksman (6-of-9 from the floor, 2-of-2 from three) despite wearing a mask to protect her broken nose. The seven assists were equally as impressive, as was her defense.
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