No. 4 Notre Dame shoots poorly, falls 60-50 at No. 22 North Carolina
The No. 4 Notre Dame women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome miserable shooting, too many turnovers, and its worst offensive start and performance of the season Sunday in a 60-50 loss at No. 22 North Carolina.
The Irish shot only 16-of-57 overall (28.1 percent) and a miserable 2-of-22 from three-point range (9.1 percent), and were outscored 38-25 in the second half.
Notre Dame’s 50 points were 13 below its previous season low, and 34.1 points below its season scoring average.
Yet, even with the offensive deficiencies, the Irish somehow still managed a 30-22 lead in the second quarter and a 25-22 halftime advantage.
But undermined by 19 turnovers versus only 7 assists, Notre Dame could only stand by as North Carolina methodically pulled away in the second half, going from down eight points to up eight points during a 10-minute stretch of the third and fourth quarters.
Notre Dame put only two players in double figures. Sophomore guard Olivia Miles paced the team with 15 points while sophomore guard Sonia Citron added 13 points.
The rest of the Irish combined for 18 points on 7-of-37 shooting.
Irish graduate center Lauren Ebo recorded a career-high 19 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive end, but finished with only 7 points on 2-of-10 shooting.
Graduate guard Dara Mabrey, Notre Dame’s leading three-point shooter, scored only 7 points and shot 1-of-11 from long range, another snapshot into the kind of game this was.
Change in plans
In a contest billed as two teams heading in different directions, fortunes flipped.
The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for Notre Dame (12-2, 3-1 ACC) and ended a four-game losing streak for North Carolina (10-5, 1-3).
After starting 1-of-17 three-point shooting, it was almost remarkable that Notre Dame ever led in the game. But with no second-half improvement for the Irish, the shooting numbers proved too much to overcome.
The Irish scored only two points over the last 6:50 of the first quarter. And it scored only five points over the final six minutes of the fourth quarter.
The game appeared to flip in favor of the Irish during a 15-5 run through the second and third quarters that turned a 17-15 Tar Heals lead into a 30-22 Notre Dame advantage. That lead didn’t hold up.
The Irish have been asked to be road warriors during the early part of their ACC schedule. Notre Dame has already played three of their first four league games away from home. And will also play two of its next three ACC games away from Purcell Pavilion. The Irish dropped to 3-1 on the road Sunday, and will likely drop out of the top-four in the polls and as a frontrunner for a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed.
Notre Dame returns to action Thursday at home against Wake Forest (10-6, 1-4).
