Feb. 4, 2018
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DURHAM, N.C. – As the saying goes, some streaks are made to be broken. The No. 5 University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team did just that at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sunday afternoon, ending No. 19 Duke’s 30-game home win streak with a 72-54 victory.
Meanwhile, with the win, the Irish (22-2, 10-1) extended their own streak against the Blue Devils (18-6, 7-4), winning their 14th straight and 16th overall.
How It Happened
Notre Dame’s defense set the tone in the first quarter, holding the Blue Devils without a field goal for over five minutes of the period. The Irish capitalized by building a 10-0 run on baskets from four different scorers. Notre Dame tallied seven fast-break points en route to a 13-12 lead after the first quarter.
The two sides battled back-and-forth to start the second, as the period witnessed eight total lead changes. Marina Mabrey led all Irish scorers with seven points in the quarter. Furthermore, four consecutive points from Kristina Nelson, followed by two Mabrey free throws, guided the Irish to a 33-27 lead before Duke cut the halftime deficit to 33-29.
Duke’s Lexie Brown, who was limited to just two points in the first half, made a three-pointer to even the score at 36-36 three minutes into the second half. However, back-to-back threes by Kathryn Westbeld and Arike Ogunbowale helped the Irish regain the lead, up 42-38 at the five-minute mark. Notre Dame later took advantage of two Duke turnovers, going on a 12-2 run with the final seven points coming in a span of a blistering 48 seconds.
The Irish owned a 54-46 edge at the start of the final period, when they added to their lead and began to pull away from the Blue Devils. An Ogunbowale three-pointer at the 6:12 mark kicked off a 10-0 Irish run, which was then capped by a Mabrey three at 3:56, ultimately handing Notre Dame a 68-52 lead. The three-point field goal also gave the Irish their season-high ninth of the game as they went on to defeat the Blue Devils, 72-54.
Player of the Game
Marina Mabrey tallied a team-high 18 points with four rebounds and three assists, turning in her fourth straight double-digit scoring performance and 18th of the season.
Mabrey went 5-for-11 from the field, including 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Stat of the Game
Notre Dame scored a season-best 19 fast-break points, including a total of 14 in the first half against Duke. In addition, the Irish shot 50-percent (9-18) from three.
Notes
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 16-1, and have won 14 straight against Duke. The Irish are also 4-1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
- With today’s win, the Irish ended Duke’s program-tying 30-game home regular season win streak.
- The Irish achieved their sixth ranked win away from home, which stands as the most in Division I. Overall, Notre Dame earned its seventh ranked win on the year, which ties UConn for the most in the nation.
- Notre Dame’s all-time ACC record is 72-3.
- Notre Dame made a season-high nine three-point field goals.
- Arike Ogunbowale‘s 12 points marked her 23rd game of the season and seventh straight with double-digit points.
- Jessica Shepard tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The game was her 19th with double-figure points.
- Jackie Young‘s 17 points marked her 17th game of the season of double-digit points.
Up Next
The Irish will enjoy some rest during its bye this week and will return to action for their annual Pink Zone game on Sunday, Feb. 11, vs Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. ET. For tickets, please visit und.com/buytickets.
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