TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 1 NOTRE DAME 92, BOSTON COLLEGE 63
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Final Four MVP Arike Ogunbowale knows No. 1 Notre Dame needs to clean up its act if it hopes to defend its NCAA championship.
"We weren't focused taking care of the ball today," Ogunbowale said after scoring 24 points to lead all five starters in double figures as the Fighting Irish routed Boston College 92-63 Sunday.
Ogunbowale will get no argument from Coach Muffet McGraw.
After its 11th consecutive victory, Notre Dame (18-1, 6-0 ACC) takes a break away from the league to visit No. 20 Tennessee on Thursday night in a nationally televised game.
"I was really disappointed with the unforced errors and mental mistakes," McGraw said.
The Fighting Irish had 18 turnovers, including four by Ogunbowale. She contributed 5 steals and hit 9 of 18 shots, including 3 of 7 three-pointers.
Jackie Young overcame 6 miscues to have 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jessica Shepard added 11 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists. Brianna Turner finished with 16 points and Marina Mabrey had 14.
Freshman Taylor Soule scored 18 points to lead the Eagles (13-6, 2-4). Freshman Makayla Dickens had 12 points in the first half but went scoreless in the second.
The Irish outrebounded the Eagles 14-6 in the final quarter on way to a 40-31 advantage.
Both teams came out shooting well -- the Irish were 6 of 8 and the Eagles 5 of 7 -- and Boston College led 14-13 on Dickens' three-pointer with 5:09 left in the first quarter. But it was Boston College's last advantage as Notre Dame used an 11-2 run, highlighted by a pair of Ogunbowale three-pointers, to lead 32-19 after the first quarter.
The Irish used a 9-0 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Mabrey in building a 20-point lead with 3:04 left before leading 49-34 at halftime.
Ogunbowale's rush to score just before the third-quarter buzzer made it 67-50 despite the Irish hitting just 7 of 18 shots and going without a field goal for more than three minutes.
The Fighting Irish entered game averaging 19.6 assists on 33.4 field goals per game. Three players were averaging more than 4 assists per game: Young (4.5), Mabrey (4.2) and Ogunbowale (4.0). Young's assist-turnover ratio was 2.53, with Mabrey next at 2.29. By halftime, Notre Dame had 12 assists on 18 baskets.
In other Top 25 women's games Sunday, Kalani Brown scored 17 points and No. 2 Baylor beat West Virginia 79-47 to remain unbeaten in Big 12 play. ... Arica Carter scored 12 points, Bionca Dunham had 10 and No. 4 Louisville used three-point shooting and trapping defense to beat Wake Forest 73-49. ... Sabrina Ionescu posted her NCAA-record 16th career triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in No. 5 Oregon's 93-60 victory over Arizona. ... Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer reached 900th victories in 33 seasons at No. 6 Stanford in the Cardinal's 85-64 victory over Washington State. ... Kiara Leslie scored 25 points, Aislinn Konig made a go-ahead three-pointer in overtime and No. 8 North Carolina State beat Virginia Tech 70-61 to remain undefeated. ... Taylor Mikesell scored 23 points, Kaila Charles added 19 and No. 9 Maryland used a strong finish to beat Penn State 79-67. ... Kianna Ibis had 28 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks as No. 19 Arizona State handed No. 10 Oregon State its first Pac-12 loss, 79-76 in double overtime. ... Kierra Fletcher scored 22 points, including 10 consecutive for Georgia Tech in a game-closing 17-3 run to beat No. 12 Syracuse 65-55. ... Natisha Hiedeman scored 23 points and had a career-high seven steals to help No. 14 Marquette beat St. John's 83-73. ... Stasha Carey scored a career-high 30 points and No. 20 Rutgers beat No. 17 Michigan State 76-62 for its 10th consecutive victory. ... Megan Gustafson had 27 points and 12 rebounds for her 17th double-double in 18 games this season and No. 22 Iowa rolled past Illinois 94-75. ... Sam Haiby had 16 points off the bench and Hannah Whitish scored 10 of her 12 in the fourth quarter to help Nebraska rally and beat No. 23 Minnesota 63-57. ... Shadeen Samuels had 18 points and nine rebounds to help Seton Hall beat No. 24 DePaul 84-73. ... Kayana Traylor scored a career-high 15 points and Karissa McLaughlin added 14, including a go-ahead jumper and two free throws in the final half-minute, as Purdue beat No. 25 Indiana 56-53.
Sports on 01/21/2019