Notre Dame women’s basketball throttles Boston College
No New Year’s Day hangover here. No. 5 Notre Dame picked up where it left off in 2022 with a dominant dismantling of Boston College at Purcell Pavilion on Sunday, the first day of 2023.
The Fighting Irish rolled to victory, 85-48.
“To start off the new year in this fashion is just a dream,” Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said.
PROMOTION: Join for only $29.99 to unlock premium access until the start of the 2023 football season
Notre Dame (12-1, 3-0 ACC) scored the game’s first seven points, and those came from three different players. It was a balanced affair all day after the noon tipoff. All 10 scholarship players registered points for Ivey, including early enrollee freshman Cassandre Prosper, who scored at the college level in her second career game. Prosper’s first bucket came on a fourth-quarter three-point connection.
“It was extra special because everyone was so excited for me,” Prosper said. “I hit the three and felt the whole bench, the coaches, [Sonia Citron] who passed me the ball, everybody was so happy for me. It made it even more amazing to hit the shot.”
Prosper finished with 7 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals, flashing athleticism and versatility on both ends of the floor that will be useful for the Irish throughout the rest of conference play. Five-star talents usually don’t show up midseason. Ivey has that luxury this year.
“She fits in perfectly,” Ivey said. “She gives us more depth at the guard position. She’s so sweet, but she plays so hard. She’s sweet off the court, but on the court she’s so fierce. She’s long and athletic. She can score at three levels. She’s a great player.”
Outside of an uncharacteristic third quarter in which Notre Dame was outscored 19-12, Ivey’s Irish were leaps and bounds better than Boston College (11-5, 1-2 ACC) at both ends of the floor. Notre Dame shot 32-of-60 (53.3 percent) from the floor. BC shot 20 of 64 (31.3 percent). The Irish won the rebounding battle, 46-28. They also had the edge in points in the paint, 56-36.
Sophomore point guard Olivia Miles filled up the stat sheet per usual with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Freshman guard KK Bransford matched her with a new career-high of 17 points. She was 5 of 5 from the floor and 7 of 9 from the free throw line. The only other Irish player in double figures in the scoring department was Citron, a sophomore guard. She went into the game averaging 14.9 points per game. She had 15 versus the Eagles.
Miles had 5 turnovers, and she wasn’t the only Irish player with the issue of hanging onto the ball. Notre Dame had 19 turnovers as a team. Boston College had 18. That’s obviously an area Ivey would like to be outdone numerically in every time on the floor.
The Irish have turned the ball over 58 times in the last three games. Talent gaps have made up for giveaways against Western Michigan, Miami and Boston College, but handing the ball over to the opposition won’t work against the heavy hitters of the league.
Next up for Notre Dame is a trip to North Carolina. The Tar Heels moved up to No. 13 in the AP Poll last week but could plummet out of the rankings entirely after a 76-68 loss to No. 19 Michigan and a 78-71 loss to unranked Florida State. Tipoff in Chapel Hill on Sunday, Jan. 8, is set for 4 p.m. ET.
