SYRACUSE, N.Y. — After 30 minutes of near-equal basketball, No. 7 Notre Dame (14-2, 5-1) pulled away from Syracuse (13-5, 4-3) during the final quarter for a 72-56 win. The Irish shot 60.0 percent, held the Orange to 33.3 percent, and won the quarter 22-11.
After letting the game slip away in the fourth quarter at North Carolina last week, the Irish proved to themselves they could overcome adversity on the road.
“We were in the same situation at North Carolina, and we didn’t get the stops,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said after Sunday’s game. “Today I felt like we shot the ball better and made better decisions, but we defended. Our toughness, our grit showed up a lot in the fourth quarter. That was the difference, our defense.”
It was a back and forth first 20, as the Irish had a lead no greater than 6 points. The Orange’s greatest lead was 4 with 2:35 to go in the second quarter. Miles had 10 points in the first half, leading the way for Notre Dame. She has been in double figures for 15 of Notre Dame’s 16 games this year. Westbeld’s 5 rebounds and 4 assists paced the Irish up until the break.
Notre Dame’s 3-point shooting woes continued in the first half, as the Irish went 1-7 from deep. The second 20 minutes were an entirely different story; Notre Dame was 6-11 from behind the arc to close out the game. Westbeld was responsible for the first trey before Miles sank one and both Sonia Citron and Dara Mabrey sank two apiece. Mabrey has now made 300 three-pointers over the course of her college career.
“I knew the only way to get myself out of the slump was to shoot myself out of it,” Mabrey said. “I never lost my confidence. I knew at some point it was going to be over, and I got hot in the third [quarter]. But I have to credit my teammates as well because they keep throwing me the ball. That really says a lot about our team collectively.”
When the clock hit zero, Miles had a season-high 23 points and a team-leading 7 assists. Lauren Ebo quietly posted 8 rebounds.
Syracuse’s leading scorer Dyaisha Fair finished with 14 points. She was averaging 19.9 per contest prior to Sunday. Only Fair and Asia Strong finished in double-digits, as the Irish scoring defense continues to show out in ACC play.
Notre Dame is back on the road for its midweek contest. Clemson (12-7, 3-4) will host the Irish on Thursday. Notre Dame is 7-3 all-time against the Tigers and 3-1 at Littlejohn Coliseum.