SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The most complete performance to date.
That was the way Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey unquestioningly described her team’s 95-60 dismantling of Ball State (2-2) on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion to move to 4-0 on the year. No. 9 Notre Dame left little to no doubt from the start, scoring 27 points in both the first and second quarters and holding Ball State to just nine points in the second 10 minutes. Notre Dame led by as much as 39, and six Irish players finished with 10+ points.
A huge piece of that first-half deluge came as a result of guard Dara Mabrey’s five three-pointers before the break, the first time she’s had such a showing since sinking seven total threes against Oklahoma in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Mabrey finished with a total of 19 points, three rebounds and three assists.
“Dara’s one of the best three-point shooters in the country,” Ivey said. “Seeing her light it up from the perimeter right away from the beginning of the game [is awesome].”
Notre Dame topped the Cardinals in every category, including bench points (41-17), fast breaks (19-11) and second chance points (15-6). The Irish blocked eight shots, including a season-high three from center Lauren Ebo. She had her first double-double in a Notre Dame uniform on Sunday, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
A couple of newcomers posted career highs in the points category against the Cardinals; graduate student and Stanford transfer Jenna Brown had 10, while freshman KK Bransford posted 16.
“It was special for me, and it was special for my teammates to see what I can bring to the team,” Bransford said after the game. “Tonight I felt really confident just knowing that [my teammates] have my back.”
Bransford went 8-8 from the free throw line and posted six rebounds as well. She is the lone freshman currently on the team, but she played like a veteran on Sunday.
The depth and contributions across the board bode well for Ivey, who has hopes of making the Final Four for the 10th time in program history.
“I think we’re just scratching the surface.”
Notre Dame heads to the Bahamas this week to play in the Goombay Splash for a Thanksgiving tournament. First up is a contest against American (0-3) on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. The game can be streamed on FloHoops, and additional information about the tournament can be found here.