Jan. 28, 2018
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TALLAHASSEE — The No. 5 University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team cruised to a 100-69 victory in a dominant showing against No. 8 Florida State on Sunday afternoon at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center.
The Irish (20-2, 8-1) stymied the Seminoles (18-3, 6-2), who entered the contest leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with an average of 86 points per game. For Notre Dame, the win marked its third of the season against a top-10 opponent.
“I was very pleased with the way we executed today,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Women’s Basketball Head Coach Muffet McGraw said. “Kathryn Westbeld was phenomenal. She was an All-American with a double-double, and she was not going to let us lose this game today.
“The difference in the game was we scored in the paint. We got great shots, we shot the ball well, we went inside, and overall, it was just a great game from start to finish.”
How It Happened
Notre Dame opened the game shooting 8-for-10 from the field, led by Arike Ogunbowale‘s perfect 3-for-3 to start the game. The Irish used an 11-3 run to build a 13-6 advantage midway through the first period. Notre Dame, which capitalized on five offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points, extended the run to 16-6 to own a 29-14 lead after the first.
The Irish then scored the first six points of the second period to move out to a 35-14 lead. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s defense held Florida State without a field goal from the 2:14 mark of the first quarter to the 3:56 mark of the second. Notre Dame, which outscored the Seminoles 36-8 in the paint in the first half, shot 57-percent in those 20 minutes and took a 48-29 lead into halftime.
Kristina Nelson sparked Notre Dame’s offense in the third period, when the Irish went on an 11-3 run, with five of those points coming from the graduate student.
Entering the final period with a 72-43 lead, the Irish scored five straight points and extended their lead to 32. Jessica Shepard and Marina Mabrey each tallied eight points in the fourth quarter. The Irish, who led by as many as 34 points in the period, handed the Seminoles their first home loss of the season in a 100-69 victory.
Player of the Game
Kathryn Westbeld recorded her second double-double of the season with a career-high 21 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Westbeld has recorded double-figure points seven times this season.
Stat of the Game
The Irish totaled 100 points against Florida State, the most points a Notre Dame team has scored against a top-10 opponent in program history.
Notes
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series versus Florida State, 7-0, with a 3-0 mark in Tallahassee.
- The Irish are 70-3 all-time in the ACC.
- Today’s victory marked Notre Dame’s third top-10 win on the year and sixth against a ranked team. The six top-25 wins ties UConn for the most thus far in Division I.
- Today’s victory also marked Notre Dame’s 11th away from home this season.
- Jessica Shepard produced her season-best eighth-straight game in double figures.
- Irish tallied a season best in fast break points with 18.
- For the third time this season, six Irish players finished in double figures.
- The Irish scored 66 points in the paint, compared to Florida State’s 24. It marked the fourth time in the past seven games in which the Irish surpassed the 50-point mark in the statistical category.
Up Next
The Irish return home for one game when they host North Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. ET on ACCN Extra.
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