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Notre Dame Women Run Past Miami (Ohio)

BOX SCORE

Niele Ivey’s first career victory as a college head coach was recorded Sunday afternoon with Notre Dame’s (1-1) 88-68 win over Miami (Ohio) at home.

Sixth-year senior guard Destinee Walker paced the Irish with 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the floor, while freshman Maddy Westbeld, who can line up most anywhere, showcased her all-around skill set with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

Freshman Maddy Westbeld scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out four assists and recorded three steals in Notre Dame's win.
Freshman Maddy Westbeld scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out four assists and recorded three steals in Notre Dame's win. (Notre Dame Athletics)
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Sophomore Anaya Peoples (14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) recorded her second double-double in as many games, while junior Abby Prohaska, added 10 points as the Fighting Irish led from start to finish.

The dominance was especially reflected with points in the paint, where Notre Dame had a 54-28 advantage, with a 26-10 disparity in fast break points. The Irish also forced 23 turnovers while committing only 10, and had a 30-11 points advantage off turnovers.

Ivey was still without three projected starters — senior center Mikki Vaughn (recovering from ACL surgery), junior forward Sam Brunelle (foot) and sophomore guard Katlyn Gilbert (not disclosed) — and a fourth also recovering from ACL surgery (freshman Nat Marshall).

Two days after debuting with a 34-point performance in the 86-85 loss at Ohio, junior Dara Mabrey was sidelined most of the first half after picking up two fouls in the first five minutes, and was held scoreless while shooting 0 of 3 from the floor.

The Irish will host No. 25-ranked Michigan on Thursday (Dec. 3) that will be telecast by the ACC Network.

Three-Point Play

1. Familiar Identity

You may have heard this before … but this Irish team possesses quite a bit of firepower, while needing more work on defense.

It speaks well that Mabrey can be held scoreless yet the team still finishes with 88 points — and that’s without two of the top three scorers from last season in Brunelle and Gilbert. Mabrey’s three-point prowess helps open the floor more than last year, and for a young team, the Irish move the ball pretty well already. It’s going to be a fun unit to watch as the year progresses. Whether it can be a top 25 unit will depend more on how much the overall team defense upgrades.


2. Chairwoman Of The Boards

Peoples may be the most instinctive and determined 5-10 rebounder in the country. The guard paced the Irish in rebounding last season with an 8.1 average before undergoing shoulder surgery in late January. She pulled down 11 on Friday at Ohio and had 11 more versus the Redhawks.

Peoples also ran the point most of the way when Mabrey was sidelined. I consider her the team’s best all-around player, just like last year — but Westbeld will seriously challenge for that honor as this season progresses. The freshman has a physique that makes her already seem like a college junior or senior, and her basketball IQ/acumen already is evident, especially as a passer.

3. Front-Line Help

Making her debut after missing the opener at Ohio for undisclosed reasons, 6-2 forward Amirah Abdur-Rahim provided some quality work off the bench, especially in the first half when she contributed four points and four rebounds. A rangy figure, she runs the floor well, which will be important on a guard-oriented unit that appears adept and natural on the fast break.

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