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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish bounce back with huge win at Clemson

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Marina Mabrey #3 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: Marina Mabrey #3 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 got its seventh win in ACC play on Thursday night, taking down Clemson, 101-63.

The Notre Dame ladies finished up their road trip on Thursday night after falling to North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Sunday afternoon. It was a strong performance on the road, as the Irish took down Clemson 101-63. Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 23 points. Marina Mabrey added 22 points of her own to lead the Irish to victory

Irish offense explodes

The big story of Sunday’s loss was the absence of Jackie Young. Without Young, the Irish struggled mightily, turning the ball over 20 times. This made it very difficult for Notre Dame to get anything going offensively. So with Young returning to the lineup on Thursday night, it was expected that the Irish would rebound — and rebound they did.

Notre Dame had all five starters in double figures, including two with more than 20 points. They improved greatly in their shooting percentage, going from 49 percent to 58 percent on Thursday night. They also limited the turnovers and that allowed them to get into a rhythm. So for the first time since January 3, the Irish were able to break the century mark.

Great defense helps Irish bounce back

In a game where you put up more than 100 points, it is hard to appreciate the defensive effort of a team. But after giving up 78 points and 11 three pointers against North Carolina on Sunday, the Irish needed to have a great performance defensively to beat Clemson on the road. They managed to limit Clemson to just 43.8 percent shooting and only gave up six threes. The most impressive part for the Irish is the 17 steals they racked up. They also forced 28 turnovers, which led to transition baskets — the area the Irish do the best in. Finally, they only committed nine fouls on the night. This kept the Tigers off the free throw line and away from easy points.

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Next Up

The Irish will now return to South Bend on Sunday afternoon to host Georgia Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. ET. The Irish beat Georgia Tech in their first meeting 76-55. The Yellow Jackets are 13-8 on the year and 3-5 in the ACC.