SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In fewer than 20 minutes of time on the court, Cassandre Prosper has more than double the number of college rebounds as she has college practices under her belt.
Just the second early enrollee in Notre Dame women’s basketball history (Olivia Miles), the 6-2 guard helped propel the fifth-ranked Irish to an 85-48 victory over Boston College less than a week after joining the team on Dec. 26. She finished Sunday’s game with 7 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of steals. Her first college basket was from behind the arc.
“It’s really cool to be in an environment where basketball — especially women’s basketball — is embraced, and people come and watch,” the 17-year-old told the media after the game. “It’s great.”
After a couple of relatively close calls to start ACC play, the Irish dominated from tip to buzzer on Sunday. Notre Dame put the Eagles away early, leading 25-8 at the end of the first quarter and 49-16 at the half. Freshman KK Bransford led the way with 13 points, going 4-4 from the floor and 5-5 from the free throw line. She finished with a career-high 17 points and humbly credited her teammates for her upward progression through 13 games this season.
Olivia Miles continued splattering the stat columns with digits, putting up eight points, four rebounds and four assists through 20 minutes. Like Bransford, she finished with 17 points.
Boston College’s version of Miles is freshman Taina Mair. Entering Sunday’s game, Miles and Mair were the only two players in the ACC to be posting 7+ assists per game. Mair had 0 against the Irish, although she did post 10 points. Andrea Daley led Boston College with 17 points.
In total, Notre Dame dominated on the defensive end of the floor. Boston College finished with just a 31.3 percent success rate, the sixth time this year the Irish have held an opponent under 35 percent. The Eagles went 0-9 from 3-point range, the first time an opponent failed to hit a three since 2015.
“To start off the new year in this fashion, it’s just a dream,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said following the game. “I felt like the team was ready, focused. We had so much great energy from the entire bench. I’m super proud of this group.
“We dominated today.”
Notre Dame has a week off before heading to face No. 13 North Carolina next Sunday. The top-15 clash tips off at 4:00 p.m. ET on the ACC Network. The Irish are 10-3 all against the Tar Heels with a 2-2 record in Chapel Hill.