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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish survive first big test of the season

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates her teams lead late in the game against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half in the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Connecticut Huskies 91-89. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Jackie Young #5 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates her teams lead late in the game against the Connecticut Huskies during the second half in the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Connecticut Huskies 91-89. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team took to the road for the first time this season to face DePaul. Here is a recap of the game.

It wasn’t pretty to start, but the Notre Dame women’s basketball team got the job done against #15 DePaul on the road Saturday afternoon. Jackie Young had her best game of the season, leading the Irish in points with 28 while adding 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the year. Jessica Shepard also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Arike Ogunbowale also got in on the scoring action with 24 points. All that was good enough for a 101-77 win.

Turnovers continue to be a problem

Early on, this game looked like it was going to take everything Notre Dame had, and then some, to pull off this victory. That was in large part due to the fact that the Irish had 10 first quarter turnovers. They bounced back in the second quarter and only recorded three, but overall they finished with 25 turnovers as a team. Three of their five starters had at least five turnovers. Freshman point guard Jordan Nixon once again led the way for the Irish with six turnovers on her own. Now it’s only three games into the young freshman’s career, but this is definitely an area that needs to be fixed and fast. With the UConn game just two weeks away, it is vital that she figures things out or that Marina Mabrey comes back healthy.

The veterans step up once again

When things were getting tough for the Irish, Jackie Young, Arike Ogunbowale, and Jessica Shepard stepped up. Especially in the second quarter, these players helped Notre Dame go on a run to solidify the lead. With Marina Mabrey still out injured and Brianna Turner on the bench with two early fouls, it was important that those three stepped up. One thing the Irish had been good about doing in the first two games of the season was get a lot of the starters rest. That wasn’t necessarily the case on Saturday afternoon as Ogunbowale and Young both played well over 30 minutes and Shepard played 29.

Next. NDWBB: The Top Three Home Games on Notre Dame's Schedule. dark

Next Up

The Irish will play Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET against Gonzaga in the first game of the Vancouver Showcase.