SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Maybe the most significant development to come out of Notre Dame’s one-sided ACC women’s basketball clash Thursday night at Purcell Pavilion came from a player who hasn’t suited up since Dec. 11.



But for the first time in the six games since suffering a knee injury, starting guard <a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/kk-bransford-227504/">KK Bransford</a> showed up for a game without a knee brace.



What the 5-11 redshirt junior took in from the bench Thursday night was her teammates largely taking care of business in a 94-60 dismissal of Boston College that nudged the Eagles (4-14, 0-5) into sole possession of 18th place in the 18-team ACC with their 10th consecutive loss.



There were no anxious moments for heavily favored Notre Dame (11-4, 3-2 ACC), but enough of a lapse early in the second half that head coach <a href="https://fightingirish.com/coach/niele-ivey-2/">Niele Ivey</a> called an early third-quarter timeout to settle her team.



Perhaps part of that was being mindful of the step up in competition ahead, with No. 18 North Carolina coming to Purcell on Sunday in a stretch of three straight ranked opponents for the Irish, unranked in the AP poll this week after being in the Top 25 in 85 consecutive polls..



“I didn’t think we started off aggressive defensively coming off the half,” Ivey said of her message during the stoppage of play. “I think almost every possession they scored, and so, ust tighten up defensively so we can lock in and be better in the half court.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prosper-leads-the-way">Prosper leads the way</h2>



Senior <a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/cassandre-prosper-227835/">Cass Prosper</a> was the most dominant player in the half court or in full-court transition for either team, getting her fifth career double-double — 27 points and 13 rebounds — with all of five of them coming in the past seven games.



The 6-foot-3 guard missed a career high by one in both statistical categories, went 9-of-11 from the field and sank her only 3-point try, and added two assists with one turnover in 35 minutes of court time and while playing a variety of positions.  



“I feel like [embracing that] was a different way to learn more about myself and to be able to grow on the court,” Prosper said. “It helps me be the teammate I need to be for my team. so I like it.”



And if she had to play center?



“I could be whatever my coach needs,” Prosper said with a smile.”



Notre Dame’s actual No. 1 option at center, 6-3 Wake Forest grad transfer <a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/malaya-cowles-247446/">Malaya Cowles</a>, almost had a career day herself. The 6-3 Cowles had a season-high 20 points for the Irish, two off her career high, with six rebounds and two assists. She shot 8-of-10 from the field.



As a team, Notre Dame shot a season-high 64.5%, admittedly against the No. 351 field-goal percentage defense among the 359 Division I teams and worst among Power 4 teams. The Irish were 7-of-10 from 3 (70 percent).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidalgo-closing-in-on-steals-record">Hidalgo closing in on steals record</h2>



<a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/hannah-hidalgo-162996/">Hannah Hidalgo</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/rivals/iyana-moore-178617/">Iyana Moore</a> pitched in 16 points apiece, with Moore sinking four of five 3-pointers and the nation’s leader in steals, Hidalgo, adding six more to her total as she closes in on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylar_Diggins">Skylar Diggins</a> for the school career record (381 to 367). 



“I’m grateful to be home, so grateful for this win,” Ivey said. “Getting back on track.”



The Irish ended their first two-game losing streak since a February swoon late last season in falling to NC State and Florida State back-to-back. But they slipped from a projected 4 seed in ESPN’s NCAA Tournament Bracketology on Dec. 30 to an 8 seed in the latest rendition.



With a defining stretch of North Carolina, followed by Louisville also at home followed by No. 1 UConn on the road in succession.



Bransford, who isn’t yet practicing, won’t likely be added back into the mix until after those games, but her recovery timeline is unclear, at least publicly.



“We’ve never seen a player get injured like that before,” Ivey said when asked about it Thursday night, referring to how the knee bent during the injury against Morehead State.



What is known and shared that the injury is NOT — it’s not season-ending. It’s not an ACL tear. It did not require surgery. It’s been described as a bone-and-ligament injury.



Bransford was averaging 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds through Notre Dame’s first nine games. She also is one of ND’s best and most-versatile defenders and she deepens essentially a six-player rotation to a more comfortable seven.



“We’re just trusting the process,” Ivey said of Bransford. “And she’s progressing well, day-by-day. Credit to her, the work, her healing, but also [credit] the performance team.”



<a href="https://fightingirish.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/ND-vs.-BC-Box-Score-1.8.26.pdf">NOTRE DAME 94, BOSTON COLLEGE 60: Boxscore </a>

Cass Prosper

Blue and Gold Basketball

Blue and Gold

Notre Dame women’s basketball tunes up for defining stretch by mauling BC, 94-60

team image

Independents

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Organization Logo

Notre Dame

The Lou Somogyi Board

News

Lobby

Forums

News Feed

Roster

Schedule

Transfer Portal Ranking

Transfer Portal

Notre Dame Draft History

[site-team] Draft History

Football

Search

Commitments

Transfers

Team Rankings

Player Rankings

Industry Comparison

Offers

Visits

Recruiting Prediction Machine

FB Recruiting

Basketball

BB Recruiting

About

Staff

Blue and Gold On3+ Subscription

[site-name] On3+ Subscription

Contact

Podcasts and Shows

Team Store

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Message Boards

Transfer Portal {{ hot }}

Transfer Portal Player Rankings

MegaBoard

Rivals300

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Where ND lands

Way-too-early 2026 rankings

More on Freeman on ESPN

Keep the pain

Champ Monds

ND offers new QB

New Mantra for ND

Leave No Doubt

Singer has the intel

Will transfers play this spring?

Enters the transfer portal

Cooper Barkate

Sounds off on CBB eligibility

Mark Pope

USC expected to hire

Gary Patterson

Way-Too-Early Top 25

Crain & Cone