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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish dominate in ranked road test

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attempts a shot 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. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attempts a shot 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. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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In the last game before the Christmas break, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team traveled to Marquette for a top 20 matchup. The Irish came away with a 87-63 victory over the Golden Eagles.

It was a bright homecoming for Arike Ogunbowale on Saturday afternoon as the Irish faced off against Marquette in Milwaukee. Behind 32 points from Ogunbowale and 20 points from Brianna Turner, the Irish were able to finish off Marquette 87-63.

Ogunbowale puts up strong performance in homecoming

Ogunbowale, the Milwaukee native, made her return to her hometown on Saturday afternoon as the Irish took on the #19 team in the country. It was another strong performance from the senior guard as she tied her career high in points with 32. She also added three assists and two steals. Ogunbowale now sits just 303 points away from Skylar Diggins-Smith’s all-time scoring record at Notre Dame. If she keeps scoring at the same pace, she’ll set the scoring record easily

Strong second quarter helps Irish pull away

After the first quarter, the Irish were down by one point. But heading into the locker room after the second quarter, Notre Dame had turned a one point deficit into a 13-point lead. This sparked something in the Irish that continued when they came out of the locker room. They put up another 25 in the third quarter to balloon the lead up to 17 points.

A big reason the Irish were able to be so successful was the strong play on both sides of the ball from Brianna Turner, Jessica Shepard, and Ogunbowale. Turner put up 20 points, while Shepard recorded a double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. Ogunbowale led all scorers with her 32 points.

Next Up

The Irish will now be off for eight days for the Christmas break. They will return to action on Dec. 30 to face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at Purcell Pavilion.