Nov. 17, 2017
| Game 3: #6/5 Notre Dame (2-0) vs #18/17 Oregon State (2-0) | |
| When: | Sunday, Nov. 19 | 2:00 pm ET |
| Where: | Corvallis, Ore. | Gill Coliseum (9,604) |
| Watch: | Pac-12 Network | Ann Schatz & Mary Murphy |
| Listen: | PULSE FM 96.9 / 92.1 | Bob Nagle (PxP) |
| Live Scoring: |
Click Here |
| Notes: | Notre Dame | Oregon State |
| Social: | @NDWBB |
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 6/5 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (2-0) is set to make pit stop No. 2 of its November road tour on Sunday, Nov. 19, when the Irish roll into Corvallis, Ore., for a showdown with No. 18/17 Oregon State (2-0).
Tip-off will commence at 2 p.m. ET inside Gill Coliseum. Ann Schatz and Mary Murphy have the call on the Pac-12 Network.
NOVEMBER NAVIGATION
From Nov. 14-Dec. 3, the Irish will play seven straight games away from the friendly confines of Purcell Pavilion, matching the longest stretch of non-home games in a regular season since the 1996-97 season. In addition, Notre Dame will ultimately travel 9,800 miles round-trip, and potentially square off with five top-25 ranked teams.
RIDING THE STREAK
Make it two straight games that Arike Ogunbowale has delivered 21 points. Thus, the junior now has two 20+ point performances after tallying only seven last season. In fact, Ogunbowale is currently riding a career best four-game streak of 20 or more points after ending the 2016-17 season with 32-point and 25-point performances in the NCAA Tournament. Finally, the junior’s 21.0 ppg ranks third in the ACC.
SHEPARDING IN A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Through two games this season, junior transfer Jessica Shepard has produced two double-doubles. In game one vs Mount St. Mary’s, Shepard tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds. In game two at WKU, Shepard notched 19 points and 12 rebounds. Keep in mind, in her two seasons at Nebraska, Shepard tallied 25 total double-doubles, which already ranked as the fifth best all-time.
Now Shepard will attempt to go for three straight at Oregon State. The last time an Irish player achieved three in a row: Natalie Achonwa from 3/26-4/2/13.
FAST STARTS FOR SHEPARD
Shepard has gotten the Irish offense rolling in each of the first two games. Versus Mount St. Mary’s on Nov. 11, Shepard accounted for nine of Notre Dame’s first 19 points, knocking down five of her first six shots. At WKU on Nov. 14, Shepard started 3-of-4 from the field and scored 11 of the team’s 17 first quarter points. Both games, Shepard notched double-doubles, tallying at least 18 points and 11 rebounds in each.
TOPPING THE HILL
Notre Dame earned its first road win of the season on Nov. 14 after defeating Western Kentucky, 78-65, in front of 5,061 fans – the largest inside Diddle Arena for a non-Education Day game in 12 years. More impressive is that Bowling Green, Ky., ranks in the top-10 for toughest places to play in the nation, as WKU is one-of-11 programs with a winning percentage over 80 percent in its home city.
The Irish received double-digit scoring efforts from Ogunbowale (21), Shepard (19), Vaughn (17) and Young (12). Shepard got the offense started, scoring 11 of the team’s 17 first quarter points. Vaughn then had a dynamic second half, where she scored 15 of her 17 points.
Meanwhile, the Irish defense limited WKU to .158 shooting from three-point range. The Hilltoppers had entered the game ranked 12h in the country in 11.0 three’s per game and finished just 3-of-19.
ABOUT OREGON STATE
Oregon State enters with a No. 18/17 national ranking and a 2-0 record after defeating both North Dakota (W, 65-55) and Utah Valley (W, 98-41) at home.
The Beavers pack a mighty one-two punch, starting with 6’5″ senior center Marie Gulic, who leads the squad with 17.5 points per game and 11 blocks. Gulic knocks down 61.5 percent from the field, in addition to reeling in 9.5 rebounds per game. Speaking of which, Mikayla Pivec leads Oregon State on the boards with her 10.5 rpg, and follows right behind Gulic with 16.5 ppg.
Once again, the Irish will be challenged by a hot-shooting three-point team, as Oregon State’s .500 three-point field goal percentage (22-44) ranks fifth in country while their 11.0 made three’s per game ranks 11th. Overall, Oregon State is shooting .565 from the field, which ranks third.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 2-0. The two last met on Dec. 28, 2015, in South Bend, when the Irish held off the Beavers 62-61, as Lindsay Allen knocked down two free-throws with six seconds left. Before that, the Irish dispatched Oregon State, 70-58, in Corvallis, on Dec. 29, 2013.
–ND–
Josh Bates joined Fighting Irish Media as associate athletics communications director in July of 2017, serving as the women’s basketball and men’s golf contact. Bates earned both his bachelor’s (2011) and master’s (2014) degree in sports management from the University of Illinois. He also worked as a grad assistant at Illinois from 2012-14 and worked full-time at Tulane University from 2014-17.