Notre Dame Routs Boston College, 89-60
After losing only their third ACC game in five years on Thursday at No. 3 Louisville (100-67), falling a second straight game was not an option during Sunday afternoon’s 89-60 rout of Boston College at the Purcell Pavilion. Box score.
The currently No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish (16-2, 5-1 in the ACC), who will drop a few spots in Monday’s polls, opened the game by scoring the first nine points in the initial 1:47 and then began the second half with a 21-3 onslaught to gain further separation from a 42-22 halftime lead.
Overall, the Irish won the third quarter 30-11 for a 72-33 advantage against the Eagles (6-11, 1-3 in the ACC), who started three sophomores and a freshman. Notre Dame converted 11 of 15 from the field (73.3 percent) in that 10-minute stretch.
Junior forward Jessica Shepard paced the attack with 24 points (10-of-15 shooting from the field), eight rebounds and four assists in only 22 minutes, while junior guard Arike Ogunbowale bounced back from a five-point effort at Louisville (2-of-9 shooting) with 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
The two team stats that demonstrated the Irish command was a 54-22 demolition in rebounding — notably a mind-boggling 26-3 edge in offensive boards — and a two-to-one advantage in fewer turnovers (20-10). Twelve of the BC turnovers were a result of steals by the more intense Irish defense.
“I think we all came in with a little bit of a chip on our shoulder,” Shepard said. “Quite frankly that [Louisville] game was embarrassing and we know that is not how Notre Dame basketball is played.
“We knew we had to come out today in front of our home crowd [attendance 8,208] and just play hard and play together.”
Three-Point Play
1. Defensive Stance
In the fourth quarter, Boston College converted 5 of 6 three-point attempts and tallied almost as many points (27) as it did the first three quarters combined (33). This was mainly against the reserve unit after a much better Irish defensive effort in the first three quarters. How much the Irish continue to progress on that side of the floor will dictate how much of a postseason threat it will be in March.
“Awareness is the biggest thing,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said of Notre Dame’s zone defense. “It’s understanding where are the shooters.”
2. Reserve Energy
Because of the blowout, freshman forward Danielle Patterson (career-high-tying 11 points plus four rebounds in 29 minutes) and fifth-year senior forward Kristina Nelson (six points and five rebounds in 21 minutes) were used extensively. Sophomore walk-on guard Kaitlin Cole was inserted at the 1:51 mark of the third quarter and played all but the final 1:49 of the fourth quarter. That does not portend she will be counted on more in the future, but it did provide a benefit for someone such as Shepard to sit out the fourth quarter , as well as give a breather to the others in the guard rotation.
“Danni is coming along,” McGraw said of the freshman Patterson. “It’s fun to see her relaxing a little. ... She can do so many things defensively, rebounding, and it’s just a matter of getting comfortable.”
3. Future Peek
Barring any further health setbacks, the lone remaining threats to topple the Irish are three of the next six games: No. 6 Tennessee this Thursday (Jan. 18), at No. 13 Florida State (Jan. 28) and at No. 16 Duke (Feb. 4), all on ESPN or ESPN2. Even if the Irish lose one, a final regular-season record of 25-3 will likely garner no worse than a No. 2 seed. How the Irish fare again versus Louisville if they were to meet again in the ACC Tournament would be the difference.
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