Notre Dame Starts Slow, Finishes Strong In Win Over Florida State
In this story:
After using the same starting lineup for the first 18 games of the season, Niele Ivey’s Notre Dame women’s basketball team was forced to make a change in game No. 19. The Irish (17-2, 8-1 ACC), without the injured Dara Mabrey for the rest of the season, took some time getting used to the new lineup, but once they did they blasted past Florida State 70-47.
Florida State (18-4, 7-3) was hardly dominant early, but Notre Dame was worse. The Fighting Irish had a scoring drought of 7:13 to end the first quarter, while the Seminoles used a 10-0 run to lead 12-7 after the game’s first 10 minutes.
The Irish shot just 2 for 13 in the first quarter and 8 for 33 with misses on all seven 3-point tries in the first half and trailed 23-22 at halftime. Notre Dame had used a 10-0 run to tie the game at 22-22 and then opened the second half with a 7-0 run.
The Seminoles pushed back, but a 3-pointer from Sonia Citron gave the Irish a 14-0 run later in the quarter. The Irish hit eight straight shots while FSU missed eight straight during the pivotal closing moments of the third, in which Notre Dame had a 27-10 advantage to take a 49-33 lead into the final frame.
Citron just missed her second straight 20-point game, but still led all scorers with 19 points. She capitalized on a couple dishes from Olivia Miles, who dished out a game-high six assists.
With Mabrey out, Ivey went with a bigger lineup, starting 6-4 forward Lauren Ebo. The grad transfer finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds in her 65th career start and her first since transferring to Notre Dame this season. Ebo’s rebounding effort helped Notre Dame dominate 55-37 on the backboards, including a 28-12 second half advantage.
The Irish defense was stellar throughout. Florida State entered the game as the No. 1 scoring offense in the ACC at 85.8 points per game, but they left Purcell Pavilion with their worst scoring output of the season. It’s the first time they failed to score at least 71 points.
Seminole guard Ta’Niaya Latson also came into the game with an ACC-leading 23.6 scoring average, but the Irish held her to a season and career-low nine points. The freshman was just 3 for 11 from the field, while her team was 24 for 68 (35%) on the night.
Florida State's four previous losses were by a combined 23 points, including an 8-point loss to UConn. The Irish 23-point victory matched that total.
Irish Breakdown Fans be sure to get your Notre Dame tickets from SI Tickets HERE
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
Irish Breakdown Content
2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule
Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @SeanStires
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
