Notre Dame Crushes Orange, 90-62

Senior starting guard and captain Michaela Mabrey entered Thursday night’s game against Syracuse as Notre Dame’s seventh-leading scorer. She still is after a game-high 20-point performance — a reflection of how dangerous and balanced the Fighting Irish offense is.

Mabrey tied her career-high point total in addition to her standard for most three-pointers in a game — also at home against Syracuse two years ago — by converting 6 of 10 beyond the arc, including the first six points of the game for the Irish. The mark also is a Purcell Pavilion record for women. Notre Dame put the game away in the first half when it shot a blistering 67.6 percent (23 of 34, including 8 of 14 from three-point range) from the floor to take a 57-29 lead at the intermission.

The game was a 33-33 deadlock in the second half, mainly because of the Irish losing some intensity, making several errant passes against Syracuse’s aggressive press and getting crushed 28-8 overall on offensive rebounds. The good news was the Orange was getting the offensive rebounds in part because of an abysmal shooting performance — 23 of 82 from the floor (28.0 percent), including 6 of 26 beyond the arc (23.1 percent).

Sophomore Brianna Turner had zero rebounds in the first half (she finished four) but was still a presence with five blocked shots, altering many others and converting 8 of 10 field goals en route to 19 points. She also defended quite a bit out on the perimeter, which contributed to her low rebounding total. Classmate Kathryn Westbeld compensated with 12 rebounds to go with eight points, while another sophomore, guard Mychal Johnson, a spark in the second quarter, finished with a career-high eight caroms.

Also finishing in double figures for the Irish were freshman Arike Ogunbowale with 14 points and fifth-year senior Madison Cable adding 13.

Three-Point Play

1. Taking The Minutes

Eight different Irish players saw at least 18 minutes of action against the Orange. Virginia Tech this Sunday will be Notre Dame’s third game in six days, and with the dog days of February around the corner, this is a good time to keep fresh legs for the final push before postseason action. Johnson in particular provided yeoman’s work on both ends of the floor while helping keep Lindsay “Iron Woman” Allen’s minutes down to 25. Allen is one game shy of tying Jacqueline Batteast’s school record of 97 consecutive starts.

2. On The Rebound

If there is one area where the Irish fall short when compared to No. 1 UConn and No. 2 South Carolina, it’s big-time size or length up front in terms of depth. The 6-3 Turner could well be the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, but the Irish won’t be able to get away with a 28-8 deficit in offensive boards against everyone like they did against Syracuse.

3. Jackie Young Sets Record

The incoming Notre Dame recruit, classified in general as one of the nation’s top dozen prospects, is the new all-time career scoring leader in Indiana high school basketball history. On Thursday night, she eclipsed Hoosier icon Damon Bailey’s previous standard of 3,134 set from 1986-90. Her next great challenge will be finding playing time in next year’s backcourt that includes Allen, Johnson and current freshman stars Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey, plus last year’s Indiana Miss Basketball, Ali Patberg, who is sidelined this year with a knee injury.