Jan. 11, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
Inside The Game: #4 Notre Dame 104, Boston College 58
January 11, 2015 – Notre Dame, Indiana (Purcell Pavilion)
It Was Over When: Freshman guard Mychal Johnson buried a three pointer with 8:52 left in the first half to give Notre Dame a 34-13 lead and put the exclamation point on a 17-0 run that began with the Fighting Irish up just four points early. During the final 14:19 of the first half, Notre Dame outscored Boston College, 41-11.
Game Ball Goes To: Freshman forward Brianna Turner, who filled up the stat sheet with a game-high 21 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Turner went eight of 11 from the field, including several lob layups, and converted five of eight free throws.
Unsung Hero: There were a host of them for the Fighting Irish against Boston College, but Johnson played a career-high 24 minutes off the bench and had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals to help lead a balanced Notre Dame offense. Johnson posted her highest scoring output since Nov. 21, when she dropped in a career-high 17 points in a win over Chattanooga at Purcell Pavilion.
Unofficial Play of the Game: With Notre Dame well in front, 93-44, and less than five minutes remaining, senior guard Madison Cable offered another example of her blue-collar work ethic that makes the Pittsburgh-area native so valuable. After junior guard Hannah Huffman tipped away a Boston College pass near midcourt, Cable flashed between two BC players, sliding in on her knees to grab the loose ball in a move reminiscent of legendary Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal. Cable then quickly shoveled a pass to senior guard/tri-captain Whitney Holloway, who was fouled driving to the basket and subsequently converted both free throws to the appreciative roar of the sellout crowd at Purcell Pavilion.
Stat Of The Game: Notre Dame had a season-high six players score in double figures — Turner (21), freshman forward Kathryn Westbeld (career high-tying 15), Cable (14), Johnson (13), junior guard/tri-captain Michaela Mabrey (11) and junior guard Jewell Loyd (11) — marking the first time since December 31, 2012, against Saint Francis (Pa.) that the Fighting Irish had six double-digit scorers. The aforementioned group combined to score 85 of Notre Dame’s 104 points on Sunday.
Additional Notes: Notre Dame posted its fourth 100-point game this season, one off the school record set last year … the Fighting Irish have 12 triple-digit scoring games (and nine other games of 95-99 points) since the start of the 2011-12 season after recording 13 100-point games in the first 34 years of the program’s existence (1977-78 through 2010-11) … in the past 20 seasons, Notre Dame is 65-14 (.823) when coming off a double-digit loss and has won its last 12 such games … the Fighting Irish posted their best field-goal percentage since Dec. 3, when they shot .580 in a win over No. 15/10 Maryland in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Fort Wayne, Indiana … Notre Dame’s 27 assists were one off their season high set on Nov. 23 against Holy Cross at Purcell Pavilion … the Fighting Irish registered double-digit steals for the eighth time this year, and third consecutive game … Notre Dame tied a season high by forcing 26 turnovers, matching the total by Harvard on Nov. 24 at Purcell Pavilion … Notre Dame’s 58 first-half points were its most in the opening 20 minutes since scoring 59 points to begin that aforementioned 97-43 win over Harvard on Nov. 24 … Boston College’s 13 three-pointers tied the Fighting Irish opponent record set twice before (Connecticut on Jan. 15, 2001, and more recently, DePaul on Jan. 17, 2006 — both games were played at Purcell Pavilion) … Notre Dame improves to 15-5 all-time against Boston College and has won five in a row in the series, the most by either side in a rivalry that dates back to the 1983-84 season … in their current five-game series winning streak, the Fighting Irish have defeated the Eagles by an average of 37.4 points per game, including three wins by at least 40 points … Sunday’s margin was the second-largest in the 20-game series, exceeded only by a 102-54 Notre Dame win on Nov. 23, 2008, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts … the Fighting Irish are 10-0 all-time against BC at Purcell Pavilion … Notre Dame is 13-3 against Boston College in conference games (ACC and previously, BIG EAST) and has won its last six conference matchups between the schools … the Fighting Irish have held the Eagles to 61 points or fewer in eight of the past nine meetings, winning each time … Notre Dame has scored at least 82 points in its last five games against Boston College after reaching that mark once in the first 15 series games … Sunday’s 104 points were the most ever scored by the Fighting Irish against the Eagles … Notre Dame is 20-5 (.800) all-time against Massachusetts schools, including a 14-0 record at home … the Fighting Irish are 4-0 against Massachusetts teams this season (all at home), winning those four contests by an average of 57.3 points per game and scoring at least 100 points in three of the four outings (and 97 in the other) … Loyd scored her 1,500th career point on a fastbreak layup with 1:14 left in the first half — the Lincolnwood, Illinois, native reached the milestone in her 90th career game, making her the second-fastest to the mark in program history beyond only current Fighting Irish associate coach Beth Cunningham, who scored her 1,500th career point in her 80th career game during the 1995-96 season when she played under her maiden name of Beth Morgan … Loyd currently stands 13th on the Notre Dame scoring list with 1,503 points, breaking a tie with Ashley Barlow (1,492 points from 2006-10) … Loyd scored in double figures for her 60th consecutive game, extending the second-longest streak in school history … Westbeld tied her career scoring high, previously set in the Nov. 23 win over Holy Cross … Cable scored in double figures for the fourth time this year and first since a career-high 20 points at No. 25 DePaul on Dec. 10 … Turner posted her fourth 20-point game of the season, and second in the past three games … senior forward/tri-captain Markisha Wright scored eight points, one off her season high set in the Dec. 3 win over No. 15/10 Maryland … Notre Dame drew its third sellout crowd of the season (9,149), and second in as many home games, as well as the 44th women’s basketball sellout in school history.
Up Next For The Fighting Irish: Notre Dame heads down to Tobacco Road for Atlantic Coast Conference play Thursday night, as it meets No. 8/6 North Carolina in a 7 p.m. (ET) game at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The game can be seen live on ACC/Regional Sports Networks (including Comcast Digital Channel 101 and most Fox Sports regional outlets), as well as ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app (blackout rules may apply). Fans also can listen to the game live on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) in South Bend or online through Notre Dame’s official athletics multimedia platform, WatchND (watchnd.tv).
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director
— Russell Dorn, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director