Feb. 8, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery 
Inside The Game: #4 Notre Dame 89, Boston College 56
February 8, 2015 – Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Conte Forum)
It Was Over When: Senior guard Madison Cable put back her own missed shot with 7:39 remaining in the first half, giving Notre Dame a 36-10 lead over Boston College and capping a 20-0 Fighting Irish that covered 5:03 midway though the opening stanza. BC would not get closer than 23 points the rest of the afternoon, with Notre Dame boosting its lead to as much as 39 points in the waning moments of the second half.
Game Ball Goes To: Junior guard/tri-captain Michaela Mabrey, who scored a career-high 20 points (one more than her previous best against UNC Wilmington on Nov. 9, 2013, at Purcell Pavilion), punctuated by making a career high-tying six of nine three-point attempts. Mabrey connected on five of her triples (on six tries) in the first half, then turned into a playmaker in the second period, dishing out four of her game-high five assists.
Unsung Hero: Cable was one of many sparks off the bench for Notre Dame, finishing with 11 points (on five of six shooting) and a game-high eight rebounds in 25 minutes of action. She was part of a Fighting Irish second unit that outscored its Boston College counterpart, 31-7, on Sunday afternoon.
Unofficial Play of the Game: It’s sometimes called a “heat check” in basketball parlance, a long-range shot by a player who’s been in rhythm for much of the first half and just wants to see if that hot hand continues, no matter how “adventurous” that attempt might be. For Mabrey, it was simply the last of her five three-pointers in the first half, as the Belmar, New Jersey, native took an outlet pass from freshman forward Brianna Turner, raced up the right wing and pulled up at the three-point line for a transition triple, giving Notre Dame a 41-12 lead with 6:40 left in the first half.
Stat Of The Game: Notre Dame is 95-5 (.950) in its last 100 games, dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season.
Additional Notes: Notre Dame became the 26th NCAA Division I program to record 850 all-time wins, improving to 850-319 (.727) since the Fighting Irish achieved varsity status in 1977-78 … Notre Dame’s senior class of Cable, guard/tri-captain Whitney Holloway and forward/tri-captain Markisha Wright moves to 130-9 (.935) in its four-year career, matching the Class of 2013 (Skylar Diggins and Kaila Turner) for the second-most wins by one class in program history (last year’s seniors – Natalie Achonwa, Ariel Braker and Kayla McBride – collected 138 wins from 2010-14) … the Fighting Irish have won 56 of their last 59 games against conference opponents, including 30 of 31 against Atlantic Coast Conference foes since joining the league prior to last season … Notre Dame posted its ninth 30-point win of the season … the Fighting Irish have held four of their last five opponents to fewer than 60 points, improving to 13-0 in such games this season and 305-15 (.953) since the 1995-96 season when holding opponents below the 60-point mark … conversely, Notre Dame is 16-0 this season when scoring at least 80 points and 230-6 (.975) in such outings since the 1995-96 season, including an active 74-game winning streak when reaching the 80-point mark … the Fighting Irish forced at least 25 turnovers for the fifth time this season, and rolled up double-digit steals for the 11th time this year … Notre Dame is 117-28 (.807) in the month of February since the 1995-96 season, including an active 22-game winning streak in February games … the Fighting Irish are 16-5 all-time against Boston College (6-4 in Chestnut Hill) and have won a series-best six in a row against the Eagles, five of those by at least 30 points … in the past 10 series matchups, Notre Dame has held BC to 61 points or fewer nine times, winning on each occasion … at the same time, the Fighting Irish have scored at least 82 points in each of the past six series games against the Eagles, coinciding with their current winning streak against Boston College … this is the fifth time Notre Dame and BC have played a home-and-home series in conference play (three in the BIG EAST, two in the ACC), with the Fighting Irish sweeping both ends of the series on four occasions (1996-97 and 2004-05 in the BIG EAST; 2013-14 and 2014-15 in the ACC), while the schools split the 1998-98 BIG EAST series, each successfully defending its home court … between their conference affiliations in the BIG EAST (1995-96 through 2004-05) and ACC (2013-14 to present), Notre Dame is 14-3 (.824) all-time in regular season conference games against Boston College, including an active seven-game winning streak … Notre Dame is 21-5 (.808) all-time against teams from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, completing a five-game sweep of Massachusetts schools this season and extending their overall winning streak against the Commonwealth to 10 in a row … Notre Dame’s 20-0 first-half run was its longest string of unanswered points since a 25-0 run against Holy Cross on Nov. 23, 2014, at Purcell Pavilion … Mabrey tied her career high with six three-pointers, having previously done so almost exactly one year to the day (Feb. 9 vs. Syracuse at Purcell Pavilion) … Mabrey is the first Notre Dame player with five three-pointers in one half since Nov. 29, 2008, when Kellie Watson pulled off that feat in the first half against Michigan State at Purcell Pavilion … Mabrey is the sixth different Fighting Irish player to score 20 points in a game this season, with all five regular Notre Dame starters (plus part-time starter Cable) having now topped that mark at least once in 2014-15 … Mabrey also is the sixth different Notre Dame player to lead the team in scoring at least once this season … the Fighting Irish are 6-0 this season when having five or more players score in double figures … junior guard Jewell Loyd swiped a career-high five steals, while Turner tied her personal best with three steals … the Fighting Irish saw all 10 healthy players in uniform score on Sunday, the sixth time this season Notre Dame has pulled off that feat (freshman guard Mychal Johnson did not dress as a precaution with some knee soreness, while Holloway continues to recover from a foot injury suffered last month and sophomore forward Kristina Nelson is sitting out this season while rehabilitating from preseason shoulder surgery).
Up Next For The Fighting Irish: Notre Dame takes the next eight days off (matching its longest break of the season) before returning to the hardwood at 9 p.m. (ET) Feb. 16 when it plays host to No. 15 Duke at Purcell Pavilion. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 as part of its “Big Monday” package (the second of three appearances for the Fighting Irish on Big Monday this season), and it also can be seen on the WatchESPN app. In addition, radio coverage will be available in South Bend on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) and free of charge worldwide online through the official Notre Dame athletics multimedia platform, WatchND (watchnd.tv).
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director