No. 5 Notre Dame Women Cruise To 87-53 Win At Pitt
Notre Dame concluded the halfway mark of the ACC season Thursday night with an 87-53 romp at Pitt. Box score.
The victory puts the No. 5-ranked Fighting Irish at 19-2 overall and in a three-way tie at first-place in the 15-team ACC with a 7-1 league mark that is matched by No. 4 Louisville and Virginia.
Meanwhile No. 8 Florida State — who Notre Dame visits on Sunday for a 4 p.m. showdown on ESPN2 — is a half-game behind at 6-1 (18-2 overall), and this was the Seminoles’ bye week after upsetting Louisville last Sunday, 50-49. (The Cardinals had crushed the Irish 100-67 earlier this month.)
After missing seven of its first eight shots at Pitt (9-12, 1-7 in the ACC), Notre Dame ended the first quarter on a 17-4 run, with 13 of the points coming from Jessica Shepard — and 11 straight at one point. The junior forward finished with her seventh double-double of the season while compiling 28 points and 12 rebounds, the latter tying her season high.
Head coach Muffet McGraw’s Irish upped the advantage to 44-21 by halftime, and in the second half the cushion was as much as 40 while junior Marina Mabrey converted 7-of-9 from the field to finish the contest with 21 points to go with five rebounds, assists and steals apiece.
The ACC Player of the Week and USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week for her efforts last week in victories against No. 6 Tennessee and Clemson, junior Arike Ogunbowale was the third Irish player to reach double-figure scoring with 14 points.
Three-Point Play
1. In The Zone
Since the Jan. 11 loss at Louisville, Notre Dame’s four ensuing games have resulted in continued effectiveness in the zone defense with cutting off passing lanes, forcing deflections, timing well in double teams and generating turnovers. Over the last four games, the results have been:
Boston College — 20 turnovers resulting in 20 points
Tennessee — 28 turnovers resulting in 28 points
Clemson — 23 turnovers resulting in 26 points
Pitt — 19 turnovers resulting in 25 points.
2. High-Post Passing
Shepard’s 6-4 height was utilized well inside because she also possesses excellent hands and power moves, but it was another 6-4 Irish player — fifth-year senior Kristina Nelson — whose passing from the high post helped the Irish have a 48-19 scoring advantage in the paint, plus 51-28 in rebounds.
Nelson recorded a career high six assists to go with eight points and seven rebounds. She also had five turnovers, but both Nelson and senior Kathryn Westbeld have been effective high-post complements to Shepard’s low-post game — and underrated passing in her own right.
3. Foul Tips
For the fourth straight game, no Notre Dame starter had more than two fouls, with nobody getting more than one at Pitt. Four of the eight team fouls were by Nelson. The Irish have averaged only 8.0 fouls the past four contests, and never more than 10. With a short bench and seven scholarship players available, that’s been crucial while still being active on defense.
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