Nov. 5, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — After a sluggish opening 12 minutes, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team came alive at both ends of the floor, charging to an 82-35 exhibition victory over Northwood on Sunday afternoon at the Joyce Center. The Irish collected their 21st consecutive preseason win and NU’s 35 points were the fewest Notre Dame has allowed in exhibition play since 1997, when the Irish downed Slavyanka (Russia), 66-34.
Freshman guard Ashley Barlow (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike) came off the bench to record a double-double with game highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds, with seven of her boards coming at the offensive end. Junior guard Charel Allen (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) also chipped in with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while five other Notre Dame players chalked up at least eight points in the contest. In fact, all 11 players in uniform scored and 10 of them had at least one rebound.
The Irish shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field in the contest and held a 46-28 advantage on the glass, including a 26-8 margin in the second half. Notre Dame also forced Northwood into 35 turnovers, with 23 of those coming from Irish steals (five each from Barlow and senior guard Breona Gray).
Megan Starnes was the lone double-digit scorer with 11 points for the Timberwolves, who are a Division II program based in Midland, Mich., and competing in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). NU was playing its first game of the season, and after a strong early start, tailed off a bit to finish with a .286 field goal percentage (14-of-49).
As one might expect from a team tired of facing itself in practice, Northwood hung with Notre Dame in the early going, using a 7-0 run to take its largest lead (16-13) on a jumper by Sara Bilunes with 7:47 left in the period. The Irish then erupted, going on a 31-7 run that closed out the first half and extended nearly three and a half minutes into the second stanza. Allen had 10 points and Barlow added eight points during the game-changing run.
The Timberwolves would get as close as 48-31, when Starnes knocked down two free throws with 14:07 remaining. However, Notre Dame then wrapped up the contest with another massive run, outscoring Northwood by a 34-4 margin the rest of the way.
The Irish will tip off their 30th season Friday with a 4 p.m. (ET) matchup against Central Michigan at the Joyce Center. The Chippewas won the only prior meeting in the series with Notre Dame, claiming a 72-69 decision on Dec. 21, 1983, also in South Bend.
— ND —