SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The tenaciousness of top-ranked Notre Dame’s defense, the speed of its offense and a crowd of 8,106 overwhelmed No. 17 Washington early in the Preseason Women’s NIT final Sunday and the Huskies never recovered.
The Fighting Irish jumped to a 12-0 start and led 25-8 at the end of the first quarter en route to a 71-60 victory Sunday. Arike Ogunbowale led Notre Dame with 17 points and Kathryn Westbeld added 14 points and eight rebounds. Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey had four steals each as Notre Dame forced 17 turnovers, leading to 19 points.
“Transition is our game. We want to get out and run,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “I think that’s one of the things we’re known for.”
Washington coach Mike Neighbors said the male players the Huskies normally practice against weren’t available the past few days so it made it tougher to prepare for Notre Dame’s speed. “Wow are they fast,” he said.
After trailing by as many as 20 points early in the second quarter and 19 late in the third quarter, the Huskies (3-1) closed to 63-53 on a basket by Chantel Osahor with 5:53 left. But Ogunbowale hit a basket inside and Turner hit a free throw and scored on a rebound as the Irish regained control.
Turner added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Irish (4-0).
Washington guard Kelsey Plum, who entered the game averaging 30 points, finished with 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range.
“They sat on my left hand the entire game,” Plum said. “They made me take a step back, fadeaway jump shots, and I didn’t knock as many down as I should have.”
The Huskies entered the game shooting 48.2 percent from 3-point range, but shot shot just 32 percent Sunday.
Washington, which hadn’t trailed by more than seven points in its first three games, missed its first five shots and had four turnovers. The Irish, meanwhile, made five of their first eight shots.
“I think once we got punched in the mouth, we just settled down, and said, ‘That’s OK. That’s why they’re No. 1 in the country. Let’s start playing basketball now.’ So I think that initial punch, it was cool to see our team battle throughout and play them even,” Plum said. “I think that will help us in the tournament and future big games. I think we’ll be a little bit more prepared from the jump.”
The Huskies, who were playing on the road for the first time this season, fell to 0-7 all-time against teams ranked No. 1.
“We’re not used to playing in front of 8,100 people.” Neighbors said, “So that had a lot to do with it.”
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