On Sunday, the Irish Women’s Basketball team faced their biggest test since mid-January and passed with flying colors as they buried the top-25 ranked California Golden Bears 91-52 in South Bend.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
The first quarter was a true team effort as eight different Irish scorers got on the board, led by four points from both Sonia Citron and Kate Koval. Cal’s Lulu Twidale led all scorers with six points on two three-pointers, however, the Irish managed a 22-15 lead heading into the second quarter.
Notre Dame put together a fairly dominant second quarter performance as they outscored the Golden Bears 22-8 in the frame. The Irish forced six turnovers and Cal could not buy a bucket as they shot 0-6 from three and 26.7% from the field during the quarter. Maddy Westbeld paced the Irish offense with six points on 3-3 shooting from the field as the home team brought a 44-23 lead into the half.
In the first half, Notre Dame outscored Cal in second-chance points 15-0 and bench points 10-0 as the Golden Bears struggled offensively in these first 20 minutes.
The Irish stayed hot in the third quarter as they outscored Cal 28-12 in the ten minutes. Notre Dame’s talented trio of Citron, Olivia Miles, and Hannah Hidalgo lit it up as they combined for 24 of the team’s 28 points. Miles led the way with 10 including two threes. She also added three assists and two rebounds in the quarter. The Irish closed the period on an 18-2 run to take a 72-35 lead into the final frame.
Hidalgo heated up in the final quarter as she led all scorers with nine points including a three on 4-7 shooting from the field. Cal found a little rhythm late as they shot 3-6 from three, but the Irish still managed to outscore the Golden Bears 19-17 in the final quarter to secure the 39-point victory.
Key Player Stats:
Hannah Hidalgo: 24 points (10-20 FGs, 4-5 3FGs), 5 assists, 3 steals, +28
Olivia Miles: 16 points (7-12 FGs), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, +26
Sonia Citron: 16 points (7-9 FGs), 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, +32
Liatu King: 8 points (3-6 FGs), 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, +35
Key Team Stats:
Field Goal Percentage: ND (56%) - Cal (32%)
Three Point Percentage: ND (50%) - Cal (29%)
Free Throw Percentage: ND (100%) - Cal (60%)
Turnovers: Cal (21) - ND (15)
Points Off Turnovers: ND (25) - Cal (12)
Total Rebounds: ND (43) - Cal (30)
Second Chance Points: ND (21) - Cal (4)
Bench Points: ND (18) - Cal (5)
This ranked domination helped the Irish move up one spot to number two nationally in the AP Women’s Basketball Poll, which is released every Monday.
Up next, the Irish travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Panthers on Thursday. Following, Notre Dame is set for a primetime home matchup on Presidents Day with the 13th-ranked Duke Blue Devils.
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