SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Three career-highs. (Tied) for the second-largest margin of victory in school history. One dominant performance.
On Tuesday night, No. 17 Notre Dame smothered Chicago State (0-6), 113-35. The 78-point win matches a 1989 win over Liberty for the No.
Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey dubbed Nat Marshall the player of the game, after the senior posted a 20 piece. Her previous career-high was 12.
“Nat’s just been getting better and better every game,” Ivey said after the contest. “She’s super efficient and active on the defensive end. She’s such a spark for us off the bench.”
Marshall also notched a career-high 29 minutes and went 8-10 from the floor.
“I just want to contribute,” Marshall added. “I want to get a win at the end of the day, and whatever I can do to help our team win — if that’s 20 points or 3 steals or 5 rebounds. Whatever that number is isn’t really my focus. I just want to contribute, and I think we all did that tonight.”
Cassandre Prosper posted a career performance of her own with 19 points. Freshman Emma Risch had 16, draining four treys along the way. She hit her first three attempts. Risch entered the night with just 12 points over four games. KK Bransford added a career-high of her own with 4 steals.
And don’t forget about Hannah Hidalgo. The freshman phenom had 23 points and went 11-14 from the floor. Tuesday night was her fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points. Just five other Irish players have accomplished that feat in school history: Arike Ogunbowale (four times), Charel Allen, Jewell Loyd, Beth Morgan and Alicia Ratay. Pretty good company, especially considering Hidalgo has played just five collegiate games.
Notre Dame won the tip and truly did not look back. The Irish used the height advantage early; 14 of Notre Dame’s first 16 points came in the paint. Then they got the outside shooting going, sparked by Risch. The Irish did not post a quarterly shooting mark lower than 52.9 percent. When the clock struck zero, the Irish went on five 10-0 (or better) runs and Chicago State did not score more than 10 points in any quarter.
On the topic of defense, Notre Dame forced 32 turnovers, the most since 2016. The Irish also posted 34 defensive rebounds and 52 total boards. It was the first time the team eclipsed the 50 mark in nearly two years. Maddy Westbeld had 16 of those rebounds, a season-high and two shy of her best. Westbeld’s +/- was 60.
Notre Dame will have Thanksgiving dinner at Ivey’s house tomorrow before heading to Ball State (4-0) on Friday. The holiday weekend game starts at 5 p.m. It can be streamed on ESPN+.