CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 5 Notre Dame women’s basketball team bounced back in a major way on Thursday night, rolling to a decisive 101-63 victory over Clemson (14-7, 5-3) inside Littlejohn Coliseum. All five Fighting Irish (20-2, 7-1) starters reached double figures for the seventh time this season, which included a pair of 20-point scoring performances from seniors Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey.
Ogunbowale led all players with 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a 8-for-10 effort from the free-throw line. Mabrey connected on a season high six three-pointers to finish with a season best 22 points. The duo also combined for 13 assists.
“I was really pleased with the way we came out starting the game,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “I really thought we were focused and looking for each other. I thought we passed the ball well. It was great to have Jackie Young back. She really changes things for us.”
How It Happened
Clemson got on the board first at 9:44, but Notre Dame’s defense didn’t allow another field goal for nearly five minutes. In fact, the Irish forced six turnovers in that span, spurring an 18-0 run.
Mabrey went 3-of-4 from three-point range in the first to lead the Irish in the quarter with nine points, as the senior’s third trey built Notre Dame a 21-6 advantage. However, the Tigers fought back, narrowing the deficit to 32-18 at the end of the first.
Notre Dame and Clemson traded baskets in the second, until halfway through the period when the Tigers benefited from Irish turnovers to net a 9-0 run to cut it to 44-37. Young put the Irish back on track at the 1:44 mark with a mid-range jumper before three Irish free throws brought the game to its halftime score of 49-37.
Young led the Irish in the second with eight points and at the half with a total of 14. In addition, Ogunbowale boasted double digits as well with 11 points.
Mabrey caught fire to start the third, tallying 10 of the team’s first 15 points behind two more threes. In fact, Mabrey, Shepard and Ogunbowale powered a 20-7 scoring spree, giving the Irish a 69-44 advantage by the third quarter media timeout at the 4:50 mark.
Notre Dame went on to outscore Clemson 34-13 in the third. In addition to Mabrey’s 10 points, Ogunbowale poured in 12 in the quarter while Shepard added eight. Furthermore, all five starters were in double digits heading into the fourth, up 83-50.
The Irish then outscored the Tigers 18-13 in the fourth, surpassing 100 points for the sixth time this season and the second in ACC play.
Notes
- With the win, Notre Dame leads the overall series, 6-0, against Clemson, with a 3-0 mark inside Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Irish move to 84-4 all-time within ACC play since joining the league for the 2013-14 season.
- Jackie Young, who missed Sunday’s game due to a right ankle sprain, returned with a 14-point, 5-assist performance.
- With 15 points tonight, Turner has reached double digit points in seven of the last eight games.
- Turner collected a career high six steals.
- With three blocks, Turner has earned 17 blocks over the last five games.
- Ogunbowale led the Irish with 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting. It marked her ACC leading 14th 20-point scoring performance on the year.
- Mabrey connected on a season high six three-pointers, finishing 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Mabrey has connected on three or more treys in five of the past six games, tallying double-digit points in the five said games as well.
- For the fifth time of her career, Mabrey has recorded back-to-back games with 20 or more points, finishing with a season high 22 points on Thursday.
- With five assists tonight, Mabrey has dished out four or more assists in six straight games.
- Shepard has achieved seven straight games with double digit points, tallying 16 tonight.
- All five Irish starters scored in double figures for the seventh time this season.
- With the 101-63 victory, the Irish have now reached triple digits in six games this season and for the second time in ACC play.
Up Next
The Irish wrapped their three-game road swing Thursday night and finally return home for a Sunday, Feb. 3, bout with Georgia Tech. Tip is set for Noon EST inside Purcell Pavilion, airing live on Raycom Sports Network.
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