TEAM 1 2 3 4 T
WKU 8 7 15 23 53
UND 23 30 21 20 94
STATS WK ND
FG% 30% 70%
FGs 21-69 37-53
3FG% 32% 67%
3FGs 8-25 8-12
FT% 43% 80%
FTs 3-7 12-15
TOs 21 21
PtsOffTO 10 33
TotReb 29 38
DefReb 9 29
Off Reb 20 9
2ndChPts 11 8
BenchPts 13 27
PtsPaint 22 56
FstBkPt 2 27
Blocks 5 12
Steals 13 12
Assts 12 25
Times Tied: 0
Time Tied: 1:31
Lead Chg: 0
LeadTime 0:00 38:27
# Player PTS FG 3FG FT OR DR REB A PF TO BL ST MIN +/-
0 NIXON 12 4-6 3-4 1-1 0 3 3 0 1 9 0 1 23 9
20 BENZ 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 -2
22 COSGRO 5 2-3 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 1 3 0 11 -1
33 PATTERS 8 4-6 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 15 6
40 BUTLER 0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 -1
3* MABREY 20 7-9 4-4 2-2 0 2 2 3 0 0 1 5 25 32
5* YOUNG 9 3-5 0-0 3-4 0 3 3 3 0 2 1 0 23 37
11* TURNER 10 4-4 0-0 2-2 0 5 5 3 0 0 4 1 22 42
12 PROHASK 0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 4 1 1 0 1 14 6
24* OGUNBO 16 6-11 0-1 4-4 0 4 4 4 1 1 1 1 26 42
30 VAUGHN 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 1 8 4
32* SHEPARD 12 6-6 0-0 0-2 2 4 6 5 2 4 2 2 24 31
TM TEAM - - - 6 1 7 0 1
TOTALS 94 37-53 8-12 12-15 9 29 38 25 11 21 12 12
GAME PCT 69.8 66.7 80.0
THIS HALF 21 8-14 2-4 3-4 3 9 12 7 4 7 3 3
HALF PCT 57.1 50.0 75.0
THIS QTR 20 8-13 3-5 1-1 3 4 7 7 1 4 3 1
QTR PCT 61.5 60.0 100.0
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Muffet McGraw could find little wrong Wednesday night after No. 2 Notre Dame's defense set up a blistering offensive attack in a 94-53 rout of Western Kentucky.
"We really worked the zone well and offensively we were so efficient," McGraw said after Marina Mabrey scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and the Irish (10-1) shot 69.8 percent.
Arike Ogunbowale added 16 points, Jessica Shepard and Jordan Nixon had 12 each, and Brianna Turner finished with 10 as the Irish made 37 of 53 shots against the Lady Toppers to just miss the school record of 70.2 percent in victories over Xavier in 1985 and Mercer in 2011.
Shepard, who made all six of her field-goal attempts, has made 15 straight over three games going back to her final shot in a 72-56 victory at Toledo on Dec. 8. That's two off Carey Poor's school record of 17 in a row during the 1994 season.
"We were moving the ball and working together. I was really pleased with the offense and defense from the starters," McGraw said.
The Irish had 25 assists, five of them by Shepard, who also grabbed a team-high six rebounds as Notre Dame dominated the boards 38-29 and had a 12-5 edge in blocks, four by Turner.
"Brianna is such an imposing presence inside," McGraw said. "There were so many great plays in transition where the ball didn't touch the floor."
Early in the third quarter, Shepard blocked a shot to Ogunbowale, who then found Shepard running the floor. Shepard touched the ball over to Turner for a basket and a 59-17 lead.
"As an offense, I think we're doing a better job of moving and finding each other," Shepard said after the Irish won their third straight following an 89-71 loss to No. 1 Connecticut on Dec. 2. "That's showing in our percentages and the efficiency of our offense."
Raneem Elgedawy and Dee Givens scored 10 points each to lead the Lady Toppers (5-8), who were held to 30.4-percent shooting (21 of 69) and committed 21 turnovers. The Irish, who had 21 turnovers themselves, outscored the Lady Toppers 33-10 off their mistakes.
"They are a great defensive team, not just an offensive team," Western Kentucky coach Greg Collins said.
Nixon's 12 points, on 4-of-6 shooting including 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point line, came off the bench. Notre Dame outscored Western Kentucky 27-13 on bench points and 27-2 on fast-break points.
Turner had two blocks on Western Kentucky's second possession and things went downhill from there for the Lady Toppers. Notre Dame opened with an 8-0 run and finished with a 9-2 run for a 23-8 lead after the first quarter.
The Irish then turned up the defense and the offense followed as they hit their last 12 shots of the quarter to open up a 53-15 halftime lead.
Mabrey hit three 3-pointers and had 15 points on 5-for-5 shooting, while Ogunbowale had 12 points and Shepard had 10 points on 5-for-5.
The Irish took a 72-27 palindrome lead on a 3-pointer by Nixon and led 74-30 after three quarters thanks to 72.5-percent shooting (29 of 40).
BIG PICTURE
Western Kentucky: The Lady Toppers, coming off an 86-83 loss at home to Ball State, never got off the ground in the first half, seeming reluctant to take it inside on the 6-foot-3 Turner and the Irish. They shot 18.8 percent (6 of 32) and had 14 turnovers against the Irish, who played a variety of defenses.
"They pressured us and we turned the ball way too much in the first half," Collins said. "We didn't even get any shot opportunities. We played pretty good half-court defense against one of the top teams in the nation, but we turned the ball over so much we didn't a chance to play half-court defense enough we were chasing them in transition."
Notre Dame: The Irish finished the first half hitting their final 12 shots, going 13 of 14 in the second quarter (92.8 percent). In the half, they made 21 of their 26 shots, an 80.8-percent shooting effort that tied their third-best total for any half (1990 versus Xavier) during McGraw's 32 seasons. They had six block shots (Turner had three) but they also had nine turnovers.
UP NEXT
Western Kentucky: Host Union on Dec. 29
Notre Dame: At No. 19 Marquette on Saturday.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - It's a top-25 holiday battle in Milwaukee when the No. 2 University of Notre Dame women's basketball team invades the Al McGuire Center to take on No. 19 Marquette on Saturday, Dec. 22. The game will air at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
Last year, the Irish and Golden Eagles battled into overtime, where Notre Dame emerged with the 91-85 victory. Notre Dame leads the overall series, 33-6, including a 12-5 mark in Milwaukee.
JUST A KID FROM MILWAUKEE
A graduate from Divine Savior Holy Angles High School, Milwaukee's own Arike Ogunbowale returns home on Saturday when the Irish visit No. 19 Marquette. Ogunbowale Scored 2,240 points in her high school career, good for sixth on Wisconsin's all-time scoring list.
GOING FOR THE RECORD
Dating back to her final shot at Toledo, Jessica Shepard has now made 15 consecutive field goals. The record is 17, which was set by Carey Poor in March of 1994.
Against Binghamton, Shepard went 8-for-8 from the field. It marked the first time in four seasons an Irish player shot 8-for-8 from the field (or better). Shepard then followed that for a 6-for-6 night against WKU.
BEST SHOOTING PERFORMANCE IN NEARLY 3 DECADES
The Irish shot 80.8 percent in the first half vs. Western Kentucky, which tied for the third best shooting performance in a half all-time. It marked the best since the Irish shot 80.8 percent in the second half at Xavier, way back on Jan. 25, 1990.
Notre Dame finished the game with a .698 field goal percentage, which also ranked third all time. It marked the best shooting performance in a game since the Irish shot 70.2 percent (all-time mark) at Mercer on Dec. 30, 2011.
MABREY HEATING UP
With 20 points against WKU, Mabrey secured back-to-back games with 20 or more points for the fourth time of her career. Her best stretch was three straight, set last season. Mabrey also notched a season high five steals and went a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range.
In the previous game vs. Binghamton, Mabrey tallied a 21-point, 10-assist double-double. The 10 assists tied her career high and was the first 10-assist performance since Lindsay Allen vs Ohio State on 3/24/17. The 21 points marked a season best.
BLOCK PARTY
The Irish defense collected a season high 12 blocks against Western Kentucky on Dec. 19. A major player in that equation is Brianna Turner. The graduate student is averaging 1.9 blocks per game, which ranks fourth in the ACC. She has recorded four blocks three times this season, including the Western Kentucky game. Turner also ranks second all-time with 284 career blocks, sitting only behind Ruth Riley's 370 mark.
THE 1,000 POINT CLUB AWAITS ITS 4OTH MEMBER
Entering Wednesday's game, Young boasts 978 career points. She would become the 40th member of the program's 1,000 point club. Once Young reaches the milestone, Marquette and Notre Dame will be the only two schools in the country with five starters over 1,000 career points.
Matchup Notre Dame (1) at Marquette (13)
Record 10-1 9-2
Conf Record 0-0 0-0
Home Record 5 - 1 7 - 0
Netural Record 3 - 0 0 - 0
Road Record 2 - 0 2 - 2
Power Rating 0.9027 0.7988
Power Rating RANK 1 13
SOS 0.6288 0.5592
SOS RANK 5 58
Ave points/game 86.63 84.53
Ave points give up/game 66.60 62.67
The women's basketball game between Marquette and Notre Dame at the Al McGuire Center on Saturday certainly isn't lacking for star power.
The highly anticipated matchup between the No. 19 Golden Eagles (9-2) and the second-ranked Fighting Irish (10-1) will feature nine players who have scored over 1,000 points in college and a 10th woman who is on the cusp.
For MU, seniors Allazia Blockton, Natisha Hiedeman, Erika Davenport, Amani Wilborn and Danielle King all have reached the 1,000-point mark.
For defending national champion Notre Dame, Milwaukee native Arike Ogunbowale, Marina Mabrey, Brianna Turner and Jessica Shepard (including two seasons at Nebraska) all have scored over 1,000 points while junior Jackie Young is 22 away.
"You're going to see a lot of offense on Saturday," MU coach Carolyn Kieger said Thursday. "I think fans are in for a treat. It's two very heavy-hitting offensive teams.
"A lot of power, a lot of great guard play. Obviously Notre Dame is very deep with those starting five and so are we. A lot of experience on the floor as well, so it should be a really fun matchup."
Ogunbowale has scored 2,022 points for Notre Dame. The former Divine Savior Holy Angels star will present a tall task for the MU defense.
"It's going to be by committee," Kieger said. "No question, I think we're going to throw different people at her. We're going to try different defenses.
"We've got to slow her down in transition. She's phenomenal with the ball in her hands, attacking downhill. So we want to make sure we're sprinting back to the three-point line and packing up the paint."
Ogunbowale became a national star last season after sinking two game-winning shots in the Final Four.
"She hit two of the biggest shots in women's basketball history," Kieger said. "She's got ice in her veins. For us, it will be a great test in guarding her late-game.
"She obviously wants the ball in pressure situations and she produced. It shows how far the women's game has come. I thought it was amazing for our sport."
Growing up, Ogunbowale played on the same AAU teams as fellow Milwaukee natives Blockton and Wilborn.
"Their senior year, to play in Milwaukee, I think it's going to be fun for all of them, not just Arike," Kieger said.
The teams had a thrilling battle last season in South Bend, Ind., with the Irish earning a 91-85 victory in overtime.
"I think our girls are really excited to have them at home," Kieger said. "We've got to make sure we play tough. We've got to make sure we finish and play a full 40 (minutes).
"And if we do that I think we will be in good shape."
While MU can put points on the board, Kieger thinks rebounding will be the key to beating Notre Dame.
"I think that's what lost us the game last year, to be honest," Kieger said. "So this year we've been talking about it from the first practice.
"If we want to win high-level games, we've got to make sure we rebound and play physical. So, for us, we've been talking about it all week, we've been practicing and hopefully we can come out and play a lot bigger than we are."
...
Eyeing the Eagles
Saturday could provide big-moment chances because this one’s no novelty game.
Marquette’s won six of its last seven, the lone loss being 87-82 at current No. 4 Mississippi State, and the Golden Eagles have every scorer back from last season’s club that pushed host Notre Dame to overtime before falling 91-85.
“Mississippi State was a one-point game with like eight seconds left, and I just don’t think they get enough respect,” McGraw said of Marquette, rated No. 17 in the coaches’ poll in addition to No. 19 by the Associated Press. “They’re ranked, but I think they should be higher. They have just a great senior group and had a terrific year last year. I think they’re a team that’s probably looking for that big signature win, and playing us at home, sold-out arena ... hopefully, we’ll be able to bring our game.”
The Eagles are led by reigning Big East Player of the Year Allazia Blockton. The 6-foot senior is averaging 18.6 points. A year ago against the Irish, she scored 20 to go with 10 rebounds.
Erika Davenport added 19 points and 16 boards at ND.
The Irish needed a backwards three-point play by since-graduated Kathryn Westbeld — she made the first of two free throws with 44 seconds left, then got a putback basket when she missed the second — to force OT against Marquette last season.
This season, the harrassing Eagles are sixth in the nation in turnover margin, forcing 8.0 more per game than they commit. They’re also 16th in made 3-pointers per game (9.5) and 19th in 3-point percentage (38.4).
“They have great guards who know how to score,” Ogunbowale said. “They bring high energy, so it’s going to be a competitive[/HTML] game.”
ND MU
FG Made-Atted 8-17 7-18
Field Goal % 47.1 38.9
3PT Made-Atted 0-3 3-7
Three Point % 0.0 42.9
FT Made-Atted 1-2 1-2
Free Throw % 50.0 50.0
Total Rebounds 7 12
Offensive Rebs 1 3
Defensive Rebs 6 9
Team Rebounds 0 0
Assists 5 5
Steals 2 0
Blocks 2 0
Turnovers 1 4
Team Turnovers 0 1
Total Turnovers 1 4
Personal Fouls 3 3
STARTERS FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
J. Shepard F 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 4
B. Turner F 3-4 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 1 6
M. Mabrey G 0-4 0-2 1-2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1
A. Ogunbowale G 3-5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6
J. Young G 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 1 0 0 1 0
BENCH FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
D. Patterson F 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
J. Nixon G 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
TEAM 8-17 0-3 1-2 1 6 7 5 2 2 1 3 17
47.1% 0.0% 50.0%
STARTERS FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
E. Davenport F 3-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 6
A. Wilborn G 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 2 0
D. King G 0-2 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 1
N. Hiedeman G 3-5 3-4 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 9
A. Blockton G 1-5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2
BENCH FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
I. Spingola G 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
S. Lott G 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 7-18 3-7 1-2 3 9 12 5 0 0 4 3 18
38.9% 42.9% 50.0%
Matchup ND MU
FG Made-Atted 15-27 10-27
Field Goal % 55.6 37.0
3PT Made-Atted 0-3 3-10
Three Point % 0.0 30.0
FT Made-Attd 1-2 1-2
Free Throw % 50.0 50.0
Total Rebounds 11 17
Offensive Rebs 3 7
Defensive Rebs 8 10
Team Rebounds 0 0
Assists 10 7
Steals 2 1
Blocks 2 0
Turnovers 2 8
Team Turnovers 0 2
Total Turnovers 2 8
Personal Fouls 5 4
Technical Fouls 0 0
Flagrant Fouls 0 0
Matchup ND MU
FG Made-Atted 20-33 12-36
Field Goal % 60.6 33.3
3PT Made-Atted 0-3 4-14
Three Point % 0.0 28.6
FT Made-Atted 2-3 1-2
Free Throw % 66.7 50.0
Total Rebounds 15 20
Offensive Rebs 3 9
Defensive Rebs 12 11
Team Rebounds 0 0
Assists 13 8
Steals 4 2
Blocks 2 0
Turnovers 4 10
Team Turnovers 0 2
Total Turnovers 4 10
Personal Fouls 6 5
STARTERS FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
J. Shepard F 5-8 0-0 0-0 3 4 7 0 0 0 1 1 10
B. Turner F 8-9 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 16
M. Mabrey G 0-4 0-2 1-2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 1
A. Ogunbo G 6-10 0-1 1-1 0 1 1 2 2 0 1 1 13
J. Young G 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 6 1 0 0 1 2
BENCH FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
D. Patters F 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
J. Nixon G 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
A. Prohas G 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
TEAM 20-33 0-3 2-3 3 12 15 13 4 2 4 6 42
60.6% 0.0% 66.7%
STARTERS FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
E. Davenport F 5-7 1-2 0-0 2 4 6 0 1 0 2 0 11
A. Wilborn G 1-5 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 0 2 2 2
D. King G 1-3 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 1 1 0 2 1 3
N. Hiedeman G 4-8 3-4 0-0 0 3 3 2 0 0 1 1 11
A. Blockton G 1-10 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2
BENCH FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
I. Spingola G 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
S. Lott G 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0
TEAM 12-36 4-14 1-2 9 11 20 8 2 0 10 5 29
33.3% 28.6% 50.0%