South Bend, Ind. — Notre Dame coaches and players have said since she arrived that newcomer Kate Koval is “not a freshman,” and Wednesday night’s game showed exactly what they meant.
The No. 6 Irish (3-0) pulled away from James Madison (3-1) at Purcell Pavilion and earned the 92-46 victory. Koval had 6 blocks and 16 rebounds. The former mark is the most in the ACC this season, and the latter is the second-most. Koval also had 14 points and notched the first double-double of her career.
“I think I have a good feel for the ball and know the right time to go up to block it,” Koval said. “I try to stay calm. I don’t think I get mad or angry easily, I just try to stay locked in on the game and not get too crazy.”
A physical contest, the game started 6-6 before Notre Dame went on an 11-0 run. The Dukes’ Peyton McDaniel, who was the Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, did not score until nearly 8 minutes into the game. Notre Dame was up 21-11 after Q1.
Hidalgo reached double-figures in the second quarter on a trey, and Notre Dame had six different players score before the Q2 media timeout. JMU went scoreless for several minutes of the quarter, and the Irish took a 47-23 lead into the locker room.
Notre Dame was cold to start the second half — 2-11 from the floor — but did add 10 more rebounds by the media timeout, including 4 from Koval. JMU was equally stagnant and ended the frame with just a pair of field goals. The Irish went on a 9-0 run to end the quarter.
When the buzzer hit, Notre Dame had 54 rebounds, a mark they eclipsed just once last season. The Irish had five players in double-figures once again — Hannah Hidalgo (24), Olivia Miles (16), Koval (14), Liatu King (11) and Cassandre Prosper (11). Along with Koval, Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey dubbed Prosper a player of the game for her.
“She’s doing whatever it takes for us to win,” Ivey said. “Her energy defensively as she plays above her size, she was all over. I thought it was one of her best games.”
Notre Dame is now on the road until Dec. 5 with trips to Lafayette, USC and the Cayman Islands (TCU/Utah). The Irish head to Lafayette this weekend for a Sunday afternoon tilt at 2 p.m.