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THE SCORE OF THE BOX
In the end, the national champion, Fighting Irish, ranked fourth and defending champion, does it as well as anyone else.
Our clinic number 4, Notre Dame (26-3 overall, 13-2 at CAC), distributed 29 assists (the second in the standings this season) on her 38 baskets while she was fighting over the No. 14 Syracuse (20-7, 9-6) at Carrier Dome in the presence of 7,568 people.
Junior Jackie Young had 12 career assists and flirted with a double-double – which would have been his second this year – while finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds. The starting five all counted at double digits, led by the highest Arike Ogunbowale's 24 points, followed by Brianna Turner's 22
Jessica Shepard recorded his fourth consecutive double-double (17 points, 13 rebounds) and his fifth place in the last six games, while Marina Mabrey added 17 points and eight assists.
A quick pass from Young to Shepard gave Notre Dame the lead for a final lead of 19-18 and then consolidated his biggest lead of the first quarter at the end (24-19) of the first 10 minutes over a duel of Ogunbowale. Notre Dame racked up eight assists on 10 baskets in the first quarter with zero turnovers.
In the second decisive quarter, Notre Dame made its 37th inning at least 10-0 with a thrust of 16-0 that raised the lead to 42-23 before taking a 46-27 lead in the intermission at half-time.
In the first 20 minutes, Notre Dame had 15 assists on 20 baskets and returned only twice – while Syracuse had 12 turnovers – to put the game aside. Fighting Irish also had a 32-10 advantage in painting.
Syracuse took advantage of a 10-0 run to reduce its deficit to 64-44 in the third quarter, forcing the Irish head coach Muffet McGraw call time out. This was only the second time this year, Notre Dame gave a record of 10-0 this year, the previous one being played against Duke last Thursday.
After only two turnovers in the first period, the Irish had nine alone in the third quarter compared to the other two of Syracuse. Still, the Irish have always dominated Syracuse 23-20 in 10 minutes to finish the third quarter with a cushion of 69-47.
Notre Dame has gradually reduced the lead to 32 points in the fourth quarter against Orange. Passersby created many open looks and buckets that allowed the Irish to finish at 38 out of 66 ground (57.6%), including 7 out of 16 beyond the bow.
The regular season ends with a home game against Virginia on Sunday.
Three point game
1.Brétologie
In Charlie Crème's ESPN perspective, Notre Dame would be Portland Regional No. 1 seed, ahead of No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Iowa, and No. 4 Gonzaga. The Irish defeated Oregon 84-74 in the Elite Eight last year and defeated Gonzaga (81-65) and Iowa (105-71) in November.
However, if Notre Dame wins the final against Virginia and the ACC tournament, it would be hard to imagine that she does not end up in the Chicago Regional as No. 1 seed instead of her rival Louisville Conference, that she beat earlier this year. The Irish control their own destiny in this respect.
Moreover, Notre Dame already has the best RPI and the strength of its calendar. In the ballot published Monday, he defeated No. 3 Louisville (82-68), No. 9 Oregon State (91-81), No. 10 North Carolina (95-72), No. 12 Iowa (105-71), no. 13 Marquette (87-63), no. 16 Gonzaga (81-65), no. 17 Syracuse (98-68), no. 22 Florida State (97-70) and no. 23 Drake (82-64).
These nine wins averaged 21.8 points.
2.Turn it on
Since the disappointing five-point effort and four rebounds in 36 minutes in the 72-65 Miami defeat on Feb. 7, Turner has averaged 17.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in the next five games, while converting 36 of his 46 placement attempts (78.3%), especially to find better flow and better pace in the high-low match with Shepard.
She remains very active in defense as the best ACC shooting blocker. Turner was only credited with two in Syracuse, but his presence has altered many Orange attempts.
3. Not bad at all
No team in the country takes a break as fast as the Irish, but the half-court game has been casual, often causing face-to-face confidence. The quick and decisive victory of Notre Dame in the semi-field was a considerable advantage for zone 2-3 of Syracuse. Apart from the nine-quarter sales, it was a more disciplined and efficient production.
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