| Game 19: #1/1 Notre Dame (17-1, 5-0) vs. Boston College (13-5, 2-3) | |
| When: | Sunday, Jan. 20 | 1:00 pm ET |
| Where: | Notre Dame, Ind. | Purcell Pavilion (9,149) |
| Watch: | ACCN Extra |
| Listen: | Pulse FM 96.9/92.1/103.1 | Bob Nagle (PxP) | Listen Online |
| Live Scoring: | StatBroadcast |
| Notes: | Notre Dame | Boston College |
| Social: | @NDWBB |
| Promotion: | Post-game autograph session with the entire team |
| Reminder: | Irish have a clear bag policy for the 2018-19 season and moving forward |
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 1 ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team looks to keep its momentum rolling and win its 11th straight when Boston College comes to town on Sunday, Jan. 20. Tip off inside Purcell Pavilion is set for 1 p.m. EST and will stream live on ACCN Extra.
Notre Dame leads the overall series, 22-5, against Boston College with an unblemished 13-0 mark at home.
TIGHTENING UP THE DEFENSE IN ACC PLAY
It started with Pitt on Jan. 3, when the Irish limited the Panthers to 14 first half points – marking the second fewest points allowed in the first half in an ACC contest.
Next, the Irish limited Wake Forest to 15 first half points on Jan. 13. Then, Notre Dame held Virginia Tech to 17 second half points in Blacksburg on Jan. 16.
STARTERS’ NUMBERS
Right now, three Irish players all average above 4.0 assists per game and rank within the top-6 in the league. Young leads the way with 4.5 assists/game, followed by 4.2 from Mabrey and 4.0 from Ogunbowale.
Furthermore, all five starters average 12.0 ppg or higher, accounting for 88 percent of the team’s scoring.
HEATING UP – SHEPARD
Shepard led the team in scoring for the first time this season at Georgia Tech on Jan. 6, tallying 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go with seven rebounds and six assists. The senior then led the squad in scoring yet again on Jan. 16 at Virginia Tech, recording 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, with 11 rebounds and three assists. It marked her fifth double-double on the year and the first in which she scored at least 20 points.
When looking at the last four games, Shepard is shooting 25-of-34 from the field, aka 73.5 percent.
ARIKE, PREPARING FOR TAKEOFF
Arike has certainly found her moments lately to take off in the second half of a game. Back on Dec. 22 at Marquette, Arike scored 15 of her 30 points in the third quarter alone. Against Louisville on Jan. 10, the senior exploded with 26 of her 30 points in the second half, including an astonishing 12 points in the final 40 seconds. Then on Jan. 16 at Virginia Tech, Ogunbowale tallied 12 of her 19 points in just the third quarter.
THREE FROM NO. 3
Could be seeing signs of Notre Dame’s No. 3 Marina Mabrey heating up from beyond the arc. Mabrey shot 4-of-7 vs Wake Forest, tying her season high of made threes. Then Mabrey went 3-for-5 at Virginia Tech. Thus the last two games, Mabrey has shot 58.3 percent from deep (7-of-12).
Furthermore, Mabrey sits at 224 career treys, just four behind her sister, Michaela, who holds the No. 4 spot on the all-time list. Right in front of Michaela is Beth Morgan at No. 3 with 231.
BLOCK PARTY
Brianna Turner is turning up the heat in the block department. The graduate student earned a season best five blocks at Virginia Tech on Jan. 16. She now averages 2.3 blocks/game, which leads the ACC and ranks 27th in the nation. Furthermore, Turner is chasing Ruth Riley’s all-time mark of 370 at Notre Dame, currently in second place with 304.
— ND —