Dec. 20, 2017
Box Score | Photo Gallery 
| PDF Box
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The No. 2 University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team rallied to beat Marquette, 91-85, in overtime on Wednesday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.
Kathryn Westbeld turned in her best performance of the season, stepping up in the final minute of regulation by grabbing two huge offensive rebounds in which she converted into points, helping the Irish (11-1) mount a comeback against Marquette (6-5). The senior finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, marking her first double-double of the season.
“We showed a lot of poise,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Head Women’s Basketball Coach Muffet McGraw said. “We made some mistakes, but we didn’t fall apart. We did a really good job of keeping each other up.
“In the end of the fourth quarter into overtime, Kat was an All-American. She was fabulous. She had so many big plays.”
How It Happened
Marquette went 9-of-12 from the field to open an early 20-13 lead, but the Irish settled in, holding the Golden Eagles to just one field goal on the ensuing nine possessions. In fact, the Irish went on to limit Marquette to four points from the 1:53 mark of the first quarter to the 3:58 in the second.
Offensively, Notre Dame started the second period on an 8-0 run and later used a Marina Mabrey three-pointer at 3:33 to regain the lead, 31-29. Mabrey kept the offense spurring by scoring nine points in the second quarter to boast 14 points by the half, giving the Irish a 38-37 edge at the midway point.
Seven different Irish scorers contributed points in the third quarter, as Notre Dame outscored the Golden Eagles 25-19 in the period and extended its lead to 63-56.
Later down, 73-70, with 44 seconds remaining in regulation, Westbeld drew a foul and converted the first free throw. Westbeld’s second free throw went long, but she hustled to gather the offensive board and made the put-back, evening the score at 73-73 and sending the game to overtime.
Playing in its first overtime game of the season, and 17th all-time inside Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame got off to a hot start offensively, stringing together a 6-0 run to lead, 79-73. Notre Dame led for the remainder of the game, ultimately defeating Marquette, 91-85.
Player of the Game
Kathryn Westbeld scored a season-high 13 points with 10 rebounds, wrapping up just four points shy of her career high (17). Westbeld picked up her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career. She has recorded double-figure points in two straight games.
The senior made a game-tying jumper with 40 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Westbeld added four points in the overtime period.
Stat of the Game
Today’s game marked the first time three Irish players had double-doubles since Dec. 10, 2014, at DePaul, when Jewell Loyd (41 points/12 rebounds), Madison Cable (20 points/11 rebounds) and Taya Reimer (15 points/11 rebounds) all achieved the feat. Joining Westbeld’s double-double today were Jessica Shepard (13 points/12 rebounds) and Jackie Young (10 points/10 rebounds).
Notes
- The Irish lead the all-time series, 33-6, against Marquette, including a 20-1 mark at home. With today’s win, the Irish have won five straight against the Golden Eagles, including 19 straight at home.
- Ogunbowale extended her 20-plus point streak to a career-high-tying four games. She picked up her 12th straight double-figure scoring performance. Ogunbowale owns an ACC-leading nine games of 20-plus points this season.
- Marina Mabrey collected 19 points, her third straight in double digits, and has nine double-digit scoring efforts this season.
- Notre Dame won its 14th straight game at home.
- Jackie Young recorded her third career double-double (all in 2017) with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The performance marks her ninth of double-figure points and third with 10-plus rebounds.
- Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week Jessica Shepard collected her 10th rebound of the game in the fourth quarter, recording her second straight double-double and fifth of the season. Shepard finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the game.
- Six Irish recorded double-figure points for the second time this season and first since the season opener. Lili Thompson rounds out the above mentioned group with 10 points, her third of the season.
- With the win, Notre Dame improved to 11-6 in overtime games at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish played their first overtime game since defeating Purdue, 88-82, on March 19, 2017, in the NCAA Second Round.
Up Next
After a short break for the holidays, the Irish return to Purcell Pavilion once more to kick off ACC play, hosting Syracuse on Thursday, Dec. 28. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. ET on ACCN Extra.
–ND–