VALPARAISO, Ind. — The No. 22 Notre Dame women’s basketball squad (8-2) used a strong fourth quarter start pull away from the Valpo Beacons (0-8) and secure the 73-56 road victory Wednesday at the ARC. The Fighting Irish outscored the Beacons 23-11 in the fourth.
Freshman point guard Olivia Miles shone bright by becoming the seventh different Irish player in program history to record a triple-double and second freshman to do so (first being Marina Mabrey at Valparaiso, Nov. 23, 2015 — 18p/10a/12s). It marked the ninth time overall (Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jackie Young each had two). Miles finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists.
Fellow freshman guard Sonia Citron nearly captured a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Maddy Westbeld led the team in scoring with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Dara Mabrey also finished in double figures, connecting on 4-of-9 from deep
How It Happened
Maddy Westbeld scored seven of the team’s first 12 points to put the Irish up 12-11 at the first quarter media. Yet, the Beacons closed on a 6-0 run over the final minute. Valpo hit three treys in the quarter and shot 8-of-15 from the field to jump out to a 19-14 advantage.
In the second, Notre Dame outscored Valpo 11-6, as a Mabrey three-pointer capped a 7-0 run to tie the game at 25-all at the half. Westbeld and Mabrey combined for 17 of the team’s 25 points. For Valpo, Shay Frederick led with 10 points. The Beacons also turned eight turnovers into 12 points.
Valpo’s sixth three of the game kickstarted a 5-0 run to start the second half, but Notre Dame countered with a 12-4 run with baskets from Peoples, Mabrey, Miles, Westbeld and Prohaska. Ultimately, the offense finally clicked in the quarter, as Notre Dame outscored Valpo 25-20 to go up 50-45. Miles had six assists in the third quarter (team had eight) as the Irish shot 10-of-13.
Brunelle and Prohaska kickstarted the fourth with big three-pointers which ignited a 9-2 Irish start, jumping out to a 59-47 lead at the 6:24 media. Westbeld and Citron scored on back-to-back plays around the 2:28 mark to help ice the game, while Miles finally got her triple-double with a layup with 55 seconds left.
Up Next
After five games away from Purcell Pavilion, the Fighting Irish finally return home on Sunday, Dec. 12, hosting the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. Sunday also marks a special day for the program, as Muffet McGraw will be inducted into the Ring of Honor in a pregame ceremony starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will also play host to the program’s annual Teddy Bear Toss.
— ND —