The Irish were out to put on a show this week. They led off with the program’s biggest comeback win ever against #6 Tennessee, and followed it up with their largest margin of victory in an ACC game when Clemson came to town. As the icing on the cake, junior Arike Ogunbowale was named ACC Player of the Week.

Game 1: #5 Notre Dame vs. #6 Tennessee

Thursday night’s game against Tennessee got off to a rocky start, with no score from either side until Jessica Shepard kicked things off with a made basket over a minute into the game. Notre Dame’s cold shooting continued and they struggled on the defensive end, while Tennessee took advantage and jumped out to a 27-10 lead by the end of the first quarter. It didn’t look like things were going to get any better as the second quarter opened with a Tennessee three-pointer followed by a Notre Dame turnover. The Irish were getting outrebounded, and could not put together a cohesive offense. Players were forcing shots, and the deficit grew to 23 points at 37-14. At that point, I think everyone watching was having flashbacks to the Louisville disaster just one week earlier. There was no indication that the deficit wouldn’t just continue to grow like it did then.

But then, little things started to go right. Both sides were turning the ball over, and the Lady Vols continued to shoot well, but all of a sudden the Irish were showing a little life. They started looking more invested on the defensive end, and it paid off by giving them better looks on offense. Fifth-year senior Kristina Nelson came off the bench and gave the team good minutes on defense, and the rest of the team followed. Arike Ogunbowale was both shooting and passing well. By halftime, the Irish had gone on a 10-0 run in the last 5:33, cutting Tennessee’s lead to 39-27.

The Irish continued to play good defense and chip away at Tennessee’s lead in the third quarter, getting as close as seven points before Tennessee’s Evina Westbrook hit a three at the end of the quarter to give the Lady Vols a 60-50 lead heading into the fourth. At this point it already felt like quite a comeback to even make it a competitive game in the fourth quarter, but the Irish weren’t done yet. Ogunbowale continued to shine on offense, and her two free throws tied the game at 65 with 5:48 remaining. Marina Mabrey connected from three to give the Irish the lead at 68-65, their first lead since the score was 4-2. In a complete reversal of roles from the first half, the Irish went on to outscore the Lady Vols 34-10 in the fourth quarter. Not only did they come back from a 23 point deficit to win, they turned it into a blowout of their own with a final score of 84-70.

This was the largest comeback in program history. After the game, head coach Muffet McGraw acknowledged that the team had “something to prove” after the loss to Louisville and complimented the team’s heart and mental toughness. The comeback has to be credited in part to Tennessee’s turnovers, both forced and unforced. They had 28 turnovers in the game, and the Irish scored 28 points off of those. Tennessee outrebounded Notre Dame in the game, but the Irish shot better than 60% during their comeback in the second half. Notre Dame was also a perfect 12 for 12 from the free throw line. Ogunbowale led the scoring with 27 points, followed by Mabrey with 20 (to go with four rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, in a pretty good day), and Jackie Young with 18. It was really incredible to see the turnaround in this game. I’m glad to know that they can fight back from a huge deficit like this and it was very exciting to watch, but it would be fine with me if they just led wire to wire in every game the rest of the year. Much less stressful.

Game 2: #5 Notre Dame vs. Clemson

After a comeback win for the ages on Thursday, one had to wonder if the team would come out a little flat on Sunday against Clemson. They quickly showed that wasn’t going to be the case. Clemson took the lead at 4-2 to get things started, but Ogunbowale picked up where she left off and hit a three to give ND the 5-4 lead. They never looked back, leading the rest of the game. Both teams had some turnovers early, but the Irish recovered and showed some really impressive passing during this game. Nobody was trying to force the offense, and the unselfish play made for some great highlight reel passes. Kathryn Westbeld helped with the team’s quick start, scoring 10 points in the first quarter as the Irish took a 28-13 lead.

If you want one stat to tell you how lopsided this game would end up being, here it is: With 7:17 remaining in the second quarter, Notre Dame already had more points (38) than Clemson would have at the end of the game (37).

Notre Dame jumped out to the 48-21 lead by halftime. As in their comeback against the Lady Vols a few days earlier, the Irish were very active on defense, forcing turnovers and then scoring in transition. By the end of the third quarter they led 75-34. Clemson made a basket with 9:16 remaining in the game, and did not score again until a made free throw with 1:59 left, which would be their final point. The Irish dominated the Tigers with a final score of 90-37, their largest margin of victory in an ACC game to date.

Jackie Young and Arike Ogunbowale each had 23 points. After scoring a combined 50 points in the two games this week, Arike Ogunbowale was named the ACC Player of the Week. Young’s 23 points tied her career high – her fourth 23-point game this season. Can we just get her one more point so she can set the new mark? Jessica Shepard and Kathryn Westbeld were each just shy of a double-double: Shepard had 17 points and Westbeld had 14, each with nine rebounds. Two big difference-makers in this game were the points in the paint and once again, the turnovers. ND outscored Clemson 58-14 in the paint. The Tigers had 23 turnovers which the Irish turned into 26 points. This marked the Irish’s 19th straight home win. I wouldn’t mind a few more games just like this one – there wasn’t much to criticize on either end of the floor, and it was fun to see the great passing that has characterized past successful Irish teams.

Burger Basket Leaderboard (Season 2)

(At Notre Dame home games where the Irish score 88 points or more, the fans in attendance receive coupons for a free burger. I’m tracking which player is responsible for feeding the fans the most often over the course of the season).

Kristina Nelson catches back up to Marina Mabrey this week. Koko’s layup on an assist from Kathryn Westbeld with 2:19 remaining in Sunday’s game gave the Irish an 89-36 lead over Clemson, and gave the fans their burgers.

Marina Mabrey – 2

Kristina Nelson – 2

Arike Ogunbowale – 1

Lili Thompson – 1

Coming Up

Notre Dame’s home stand is over, and they will hit the road for two away games this week. On Thursday, the Irish will visit a struggling Pittsburgh team. Pitt holds a 9-11 record overall, and is just 1-6 in the ACC.

On Sunday, the Irish will face a tough opponent on the road at #8 Florida State. Like Notre Dame, FSU stands at 18-2 with a 6-1 ACC record. FSU is coming off a one-point upset win at #2 Louisville, and does not have another game before hosting ND. The Seminoles will be confident and rested, and the Irish will have to come out focused in order to come away with the win.