Dec. 3, 2014
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | USATSI Gallery 
Inside The Game: #2/1 Notre Dame 92, #15/10 Maryland 72
December 3, 2014 – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum)
It Was Over When: Despite a 20-point deficit at halftime, Maryland didn’t give up in the second half, as it trimmed the margin to 19 at 56-37 with 15:19 left. However, Notre Dame put the final nail in the Terrapins’ coffin, as it went on a 14-0 to expand the lead to 33 at 70-37. Junior guard/tri-captain Michaela Mabrey highlighted the run with back-to-back treys that brought the green-clad crowd of 9,189 to their feet at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Game Ball Goes To: Junior All-America guard Jewell Loyd, who put the Fighting Irish on her back by totaling game highs in points (27) and assists (6) in addition to tying for game-high honors in rebounds (8) and team-high honors in steals (2).
Unsung Hero: Sophomore forward Taya Reimer scored a career-high 21 points on seven of nine shooting, both from the floor and the free-throw line.
Unofficial Play of the Game: With the Fighting Irish up 67-37 and 12:50 remaining in the second half, Loyd stepped in front of a Terrapin pass and took it coast to coast, drawing a foul on Maryland’s Kristen Confroy while flipping in a blind, over-the-head, SportsCenter Top 10-worthy layup. Loyd made the ensuing free throw to complete the three-point play to complement Mabrey’s twin three-pointers during Notre Dame’s decisive 14-0 second-half run.
Stat Of The Game: Wednesday’s game was a matchup of the only two schools who are undefeated in ACC/Big Ten Challenge games (Notre Dame was 1-0, Maryland was 7-0, all while members of the ACC). Rutgers will make its debut in the Challenge Thursday night at home against North Carolina.
Additional Notes: Notre Dame was playing its first off-site home game in the program’s 38-year history … the Fighting Irish extend their home winning streak to 34 games and their regular-season winning streak to 60 games … Notre Dame earns its second win over a ranked opponent this season and improves to 43-6 against ranked teams since 2011-12 … Notre Dame takes a 5-4 lead in the all-time series with Maryland, having won the past four games against the Terrapins (three by at least 20 points) … the Fighting Irish are 68-69 all-time against the current Big Ten Conference alignment, including a 34-24 record at home and a 60-48 record in the Muffet McGraw era (1987-88 to present) … Notre Dame has won its last 12 games against Big Ten teams and 23 of its last 29 against the conference (not including games against Maryland, Nebraska and Rutgers before they recently joined the Big Ten) … Loyd scored at least 20 points for the sixth time in eight games this season … Loyd scored in double figures for the 51st consecutive game, the second-longest streak in school history … Loyd tied her career high with six assists, a mark she first set at Maryland on Jan. 27, 2014 … Reimer scored a career-high 21 points, two more than her previous high against Michigan State on Nov. 11, 2013 … senior forward/tri-captain Markisha Wright registered season highs of nine points and eight rebounds.
Up Next For The Fighting Irish: Notre Dame returns to Purcell Pavilion at 3:15 p.m. (ET) Saturday to take on No. 3/3 Connecticut in the 13th annual Jimmy V Women’s Classic, to be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN mobile app. Fans also can follow the matchup on the radio through South Bend’s Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) and online through the official Fighting Irish athletics multimedia platform, WatchND.
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director