Game 17 Preview: Wake Forest

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 1 University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team takes its eight-game winning streak into Sunday’s ACC matchup, when the Fighting Irish (15-1, 3-0) host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (9-6, 0-2). Tip off is slated for 1 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion, with the game streaming live on ACCN Extra. The Irish will also be hosting their annual toiletries drive for the YWCA. For a list of non-food items to bring, please click here. Every donation helps!

The Irish are an unblemished 6-0 against the Demon Deacons, with all but the first game of the series happening after Notre Dame joined the ACC for the 2013-14 season. In all six games, the Irish have scored at least 86 points. 

RPI TOP-25 WINS
With wins over Gonzaga, Drake, Iowa, Marquette and Louisville, the Irish boast five RPI top-25 victories, which doubles the amount of RPI top-25 wins over the next highest Division I team. Notre Dame’s five ranked wins stand as the most in Division I as well.

All resulting in Notre Dame boasting the No. 1 SOS and ranked RPI. 

POWERING UP AGAINST RANKED FOES
After earning an 82-68 victory vs No. 2 Louisville on Jan. 10, the Irish moved to 5-1 against top-25 opposition. When looking at the stats you’ll see that Notre Dame is averaging more points in those ranked games at an impressive 89.5 ppg, with a scoring margin of +14.7. Furthermore, Ogunbowale, Young and Turner all possess higher scoring averages than their season norms against ranked teams.

TAKING OVER IN THE 2ND HALF VS LOUISVILLE
After sitting with just four points at the half vs No. 2 Louisville on Jan. 10, Ogunbowale took over the game in the second half where she shot 7-of-9 from the field, 2-for-2 from three and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, finishing with 30 points for the game. Ogunbowale hit a buzzer beating trey at the end of the third and a dagger three with 40 seconds left to push the Irish up by seven. More impressively is the fact that Ogunbowale totaled 12 points in the final 40 seconds of the game.

BEAST ON THE BOARDS
Against No. 2 Louisville on Jan. 10, Shepard reeled in 15 boards, marking her third game this season with 15 or more rebounds. In the process, Shepard crossed over the 1,000 career rebound mark. Only 13 active players in Division I right now boast over 1,000 career rebounds.

Now since Shepard’s first two seasons were at Nebraska, her four-year career totals don’t count towards the Notre Dame record book. If it did, Shepard would be just two rebounds shy of breaking the all-time rebounding record set by Ruth Riley (1,007).

Shepard posted a 15-point, 18-rebound, double-double at Marquette (12/22). Her 18 rebounds marked her highest rebound total in an Irish uniform and was just two shy of her career high set at Nebraska. The performance also marked her second 15+ point, 15+ rebound performance of the season. Prior, Shepard achieved a 16-rebound, 15-point double-double at No. 15 DePaul. It was the first 15-point, 15-rebound, performance since Brianna Turner (29/18) at North Carolina on Jan. 15, 2015.

STAT SHEET STUFFER
A stat sheet stuffer game can also be called a 5-5-5 game, in which a player records at least five of three different stats. Against No. 2 Louisville on Jan. 10, Young collected 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, marking her seventh 5-5-5 game on the season — which is three more than the next highest player in Ogunbowale.

PINK ZONE WARMUP/POLO AUCTION
Hurry Irish fans, because the bidding process for this year’s Pink Zone warmups/polos is coming to a close this coming week. Simply visit und.com/auctions to place a bid on a Pink Zone warmup to personalize a loved ones name on the back. All proceeds go to a great cause. This year’s Pink Zone game takes place on Feb. 10 vs. Florida State.