Two Notre Dame WBB players set career highs in Irish win over Chicago State

We won’t truly know what this Notre Dame women’s basketball team is capable of until the Fighting Irish play an opponent of consequence. That’s coming Saturday against No. 13 Michigan in Detroit. For now, though, head coach Niele Ivey‘s squad is beating lesser foes a lot to a little and having fun doing it.

What’s not to like about winning 116-58, after all?

Notre Dame’s second victory in as many games this season came over Chicago State at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind., on Sunday. And in that 58-point win, two important Irish players set career highs in scoring; senior Cassandre Prosper had 28 points, and redshirt junior KK Bransford had 21.

“[Bransford] just filled up the stat sheet,” Ivey said. “She did so many things well. Yeah, she was fantastic. And just seeing her growth and comfort level on the court has been amazing. And Cass, again, just doing just a phenomenal job. Just being so efficient.”

Bransford had 13 rebounds (7 defensive and a team-best 6 offensive, encapsulating her tireless motor that shows up all over), 3 steals and 2 assists. Prosper made 10 of her 12 shot attempts to go along with 8 steals, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. She’s the Notre Dame team leader in steals through two games with 10. Yes; she has more than junior guard Hannah Hidalgo, who has 7.

“Defense is always our priority, so I try to be that defensive dog on the court for my teammates and for them to pick up that same energy from me,” Prosper said.

Hidalgo — who had a ho-hum 32-point night like only she can, making that monumental of a number look routine and expected — has had a strong rapport with Prosper so far this season. The two have seemed to spring each other free for fast-break layups quite a bit through two games.

Notre Dame’s stifling team defense is often instigated by one of those two. Or both. And in the event that the opponent does get into the half court, the Irish play tight defensively at every position. Notre Dame forced 30 turnovers and scored 44 points off of them.

There simply wasn’t anything Chicago State could do to effectively combat that.

“They’re super long,” CSU head coach Corry Irvin said. “They’re long at almost every position. Their length does affect things. One of the things our point guard was saying, when they would switch, we might have an advantage, but she couldn’t see because she’s too little. She’s like, ‘I know they’re open, but I can’t see to get the ball there.'”

Again, that’s what ends up being the case when Notre Dame is up against a team of Chicago State’s caliber. Against Michigan, a team with plenty of 6-plus-foot guards and forwards? Could be a different story. Or, this Irish team might just have the capability to keep on rolling even when the level of resistance is ratcheted up plenty of notches.

The Irish scored the sixth-most points in a game in program history, and they did it while employing primarily a six-player rotation for the second time in as many games to start the season. Transfer Iyana Moore and Malaya Cowles are still nursing nagging injuries that have prevented them from making their Notre Dame debuts, which could come at any point this month.

Duke transfer Vanessa de Jesus has scored 22 and 15 points in her first pair of Notre Dame games. She didn’t hit 15 points once last season for the Blue Devils in a system that just didn’t enable her to be a scorer. Kansas State transfer Gisela Sanchez has been a double-digit scorer in both of her games at Notre Dame so far, too. She had 11 on Sunday to back up the 14 she put forth in the season opener.

Ivey might not have much at her disposal until Moore and Cowles are available, but what she has been working with has been more than enough. As long as she’s got Hidalgo and a handful more players willing to go to battle with her, this might end up being a scrappier Notre Dame team than many gave it credit for before the season started.

“Just building chemistry with this group,” Ivey said. “They’re trying to work on their cardio as well. And this group is new. We’re about to have another game, and then we go on the road against Michigan.”

Notre Dame hosts Akron on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET before making the weekend trip to Detroit.