Feb. 1, 2015
Recap | Box Score | Quotes | USATSI Photo Gallery 
Inside The Game: #4 Notre Dame 92, Wake Forest 63
February 1, 2015 – Notre Dame, Indiana (Purcell Pavilion)
It Was Over When: Leading 65-53 with 9:52 left in the game, senior guard Madison Cable nailed an off-balance three-pointer from the left wing while being fouled and then made the free throw to get the crowd on their feet and give Notre Dame some energy for the homestretch. Including the four-point play and a lay-up by senior forward/tri-captain Markisha Wright that preceded it, the Fighting Irish ended the game on a 27-10 run to turn a 10-point advantage into a 29-point margin of victory.
Game Ball Goes To: Sophomore guard Lindsay Allen, who did a little bit of everything for Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon, collecting 18 points (7-10 FG, 4-5 FT), a game-high eight assists, four steals and two rebounds. The eight assists were one off her season- and career-high total of nine set at No. 12/10 North Carolina last month.
Unsung Hero: Senior guard Madison Cable had another one of her unsung hero games against Wake Forest, piling up 12 points (4-6 FG, 3-3 3FG, 1-1 FT), three rebounds, a game- and career-high six steals, and drawing two charges in 22 minutes of work. She also had the monster four-point play midway through the second half that helped seal the win for the Fighting Irish.
Unofficial Play of the Game: Already mentioned twice, Cable’s four-point play helped turn the tide in the game. The off-balance shot not only sparked Notre Dame’s game-ending 27-10 run, but it also was the fifth foul on Wake Forest standout freshman guard Kelila Atkinson, sending her to the bench for the rest of the afternoon.
Stat Of The Game, Part I: Notre Dame forced a whopping 30 Wake Forest turnovers (17 coming on Fighting Irish steals) and converted those takeaways into 42 points. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons caused 19 Notre Dame turnovers, but could only score 10 points off those Fighting Irish miscues.
Stat of the Game, Part II: The Notre Dame bench outscored Wake Forest’s bench, 34-7, highlighted by Madison Cable (12), Kathryn Westbeld (10) and Markisha Wright (8), who each outscored the Demon Deacon bench by herself.
Additional Notes: Notre Dame topped the 90-point mark for the eighth time this season, and first since a 104-58 win over Boston College on Jan. 11 at Purcell Pavilion (the Fighting Irish also have scored 88-89 points in five other games this year) … Notre Dame is 229-6 (.974) in the past 20 seasons when scoring at least 80 points in a game, including a 106-2 (.981) record in the past six years and an active 73-game winning streak in such contests … the Fighting Irish posted their 12th 20-point win this season, and ninth by at least 25 points … Notre Dame had five double-figure scorers for the fifth time this season (5-0 record) and at least four in double digits for the 12th time this year (12-0 record) … the Fighting Irish are 115-28 (.804) in February games since 1995-96, including an active 20-game winning streak, and they are 64-6 (.914) at home in the month of February during the past 20 seasons … Notre Dame moves to 3-0 all-time against Wake Forest, including a 2-0 record at Purcell Pavilion … Sunday’s score nearly mirrored the only other time the teams played in South Bend (a 92-69 Fighting Irish win on Nov. 27, 2010, in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Classic) … Notre Dame is 24-2 (.923) all-time against schools from North Carolina, including an active 14-game winning streak, and the Fighting Irish are 8-0 all-time against North Carolina teams at home … Notre Dame forced 30 turnovers, its highest production on defense since March 4, 2013, when it caused 35 turnovers in a 96-87 triple-overtime win over Connecticut at Purcell Pavilion … the Fighting Irish wound up one shy of their season best with 17 steals, while Cable’s six steals not only were a career high, but the most by a Notre Dame player in a game since Dec. 19, 2012, when Kaila Turner had seven thefts in a 100-39 win over Alabama A&M at the World Vision Classic in Las Vegas … Allen also tied her career high with four steals … Cable’s four-point play was the first by a Fighting Irish player in almost exactly five years, dating back to Jan. 30, 2010, when Ashley Barlow pulled off the feat with 8.4 seconds left in the first half of a 74-73 Notre Dame win at Syracuse … having drawn two more charges on Sunday, Cable now leads the Fighting Irish with 12 drawn charges this season and 29 for her career … Notre Dame improves to 6-1 all-time in its Pink Zone games (designated to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and research), as well as 6-2 all-time when playing on Super Bowl Sunday … Wright wore jersey No. 30 on Sunday because her normal No. 34 jersey did not arrive in Sunday’s special Pink Zone colors — it was the first time a Fighting Irish player wore No. 30 in a game since the 1989-90 season, when Dionne Smith did so as a freshman before switching to No. 12 and later No. 15.
Up Next For The Fighting Irish: Notre Dame remains at home this week, playing host to Virginia in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday at Purcell Pavilion. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app (blackout restrictions apply), while 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
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Athletic Media Relations Director