No. 5 Notre Dame Rallies Past No. 25 Depaul In OT, 94-93

It took every bit of the overtime contest for Muffet McGraw’s No. 5 Irish to get the job done, and every ounce of what Jewell Loyd had in her. Loyd hit two clutch free throws in OT– something DePaul was unable to do–in rallying back to win a thriller 94-93.

Once again without freshman Brianna Turner, the Irish (9-1) turned to their All-American to help get the job done, and she did not disappoint.

"“Jewell Loyd was amazing,” Irish coach Muffet McGrawsaid. “We gave them so many opportunities and then we came up with the big free throws at the end.”"

With a career-high 41 points, it was her last two that were the most critical. DePaul (6-3) had more than their fair share of chances in the closing minutes, but terrible free throw shooting (12-of-29) did them in. Blue Demons coach Doug Bruno was disappointed in the team’s effort from the line.

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"“I’ve been coaching 41 years and this has never happened,” Bruno said. “This doesn’t happen in sixth and seventh grade. It doesn’t happen. It happened. I trust we have the inner strength to turn the page.”"

The Irish led at the half 40-35, but a fast start from DePaul with a 14-4 run including two three-pointers from Brittany Hrynko to jump out to a 49-44 lead.

Hrynko led DePaul with 32 points, but her missed free throws down the stretch proved costly.

Notre Dame need to rally in the closing minutes, tying the score at 82-82 on Loyd’s two free-throws. Hrynko missed two more free throws with 3.2 left in regulation.

Loyd tied the school record in points, also adding 12 rebounds. Madison Cable scored 20 and 11 rebounds, and Taya Reimer dropped 15 and 11 rebounds. It was the first time since Dec.8, 2012 the Irish had three players with double-doubles.

The Irish will host Michigan on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET