WBB | Notre Dame Uses a Hot Start to Top Boston College
Notre Dame hit 12 of 16 shots in the first quarter including making 4 of 5 three-pointers to jump out to a 32 to 19 lead against a young Boston College squad. The Irish ultimately put the game away in the final quarter to seal a 29 point win: 92 to 63.
The Eagles also hit 4 threes in the opening quarter and made 50% of their 14 shots to remain within striking distance. ND was not able to put BC away in the second and third quarters as 9 turnovers kept ND’s scoring down to 35 points across the two middle quarters while Boston College scored 31. After making 12 field goals in the first ten minutes, the Irish could only hit 13 of 30 over the second and third quarters. At one point in the second quarter, the Irish pushed the lead to 20 before BC responded with a 7 to 2 run to end the half and close the Irish lead to 15 points, 49 to 34, at the break. ND committed 15 of their 18 turnovers for the game through the first three periods to squander scoring opportunities.
‘I was just really disappointed with our guards today to have 15 turnovers out of 18,” said Irish coach Muffet McGraw after the game. “The rest of the team took care of the ball really well — Jess six assists and Bri no turnovers. I thought the posts really did their job. Just really disappointed in what I thought were unforced errors and a lot of mental mistakes.”
The Eagles scored the first four points of the third quarter and battled the Irish to a standstill until Arike Ogunbowale, who led the Irish with 24 points, went coast-to-coast with 4.1 seconds left to hit a layup at the buzzer. That basket gave the Irish a 17 point lead 67-50.
Notre Dame hit 10 of 18 shots and 5 free throws in the fourth quarter to score 25 while the Eagles could only muster 13 points on 4 of 14 from the field (28.6%).
For the game, the Irish shot 54.7% from the field and 46.2% from three. ND finished 16 for 21 from the line (76.2%) to outscore the Eagles by 5 from the charity stripe.
After giving up 4 threes in the first quarter, BC went 0 - 9 the rest of the game. They had been averaging 8.3 made threes per game.
Jackie Young had a strong game for the Irish, finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. She did have 6 turnovers in the game.
“Jackie, other than the turnovers, had a really good game with 13 rebounds,” said McGraw. “And it was great to see her really be aggressive and go to the basket.
The other three ND starters also hit double figures. Brianna Turner notched 16 points to go with 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. She made 7 of her 10 field goal tries. Jess Shepard only managed 11 points, but she had 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Marina Mabrey hit 3 threes in the first half and ended up with 14 points, 5 assists and 5 turnovers. Both Young and Shepard registered double-doubles in the game.
Taylor Soule, one of BC’s eight freshmen, led the Eagles in scoring with 18 points. She hit 5 of 6 field goals and went 8 for 10 from the line. BC’s leading scorer and rebounder, Emma Guy, was limited to 8 points and 1 rebound.
“They have a change in their style of play,” noted McGraw. “They’re trying to be a little more uptempo. They’re trying to push the ball, play more man to man. Really young team, I think Joanne (first-year head coach Joanne Bernabei-McNamee) is really doing a great job with them.”
Abby Prohaska gave the Irish a useful 19 minutes off the bench, as the Irish switched to man-to-man defense with four guards for a good portion of the game. Prohaska went 1 for 2 from the field, had an assist and a steal and no turnovers.
Jordan Nixon also played a steady floor game with 4 points, an assist, 2 steals and no turnovers in 13 minutes of action.
BC ended up shooting 40% from the field, but just 25% from three. They committed 24 turnovers against 14 assists — their team assist to turnover ratio had been 1.0 before this game. ND scored 34 points off the BC giveaways while surrendering 18 points on their turnovers.
ND ended up with 21 assists and out-rebounded BC 40 to 31. The Irish had 42 points in the paint to 28 for BC, and had 25 second-chance points to just 8 for the Eagles. The Irish also had a 10 to 4 lead in fast break points.
With today’s win, Notre Dame remains a perfect 6-0 in the ACC and 18-1 overall. BC drops to 2 and 4 in the conference and 13 and 6 for the season.
Notre Dame and Boston College will square off a second time this season in Chestnut Hill on Wednesday, February 13th. Before the return match, the Irish play four of their next six games on the road starting this Thursday night against Tennessee in Knoxville. The Lady Vols upset the Irish there two years ago 71 to 69. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN.
