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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish Roll over Bethune-Cookman

By Jordan Small

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Jessica Shepard #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the fourth quarter in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Jessica Shepard #23 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs during the fourth quarter in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women's Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The title defense began for the Notre Dame women’s basketball team on Saturday. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Irish defeated Bethune-Cookman.

After nearly two weeks off, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team was back in action on Saturday. The #1 seed Irish took on the #16 seed Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in South Bend. Notre Dame cruised to the second round with a 92-50 victory. Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 23 points. Jessica Shepard added 22 points and 13 rebounds of her own on her way to recording her 15th double-double of the season.

Jessica Shepard rules the day

If you have watched the Irish play at all this season, you know that the team has talent at all five positions. While Arike Ogunbowale and Jackie Young get so much attention, Jessica Shepard has been quietly putting together an incredible senior season. On Saturday, her performance once again was important.

Shepard recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds. On top of that, she recorded four assists and two steals. She also shot 60 percent from the field. The most impressive part was that she had recorded the double-double by halftime. If the Irish are going to have a chance at repeating, it will be because of the play of Shepard on both ends of the floor and in the transition game.

Irish look fresh in the first round

The Irish won the ACC Tournament on Sunday, March 10. Since then, the Irish have been off while they awaited the start of the NCAA tournament. For the first week, they were able to enjoy spring break and be away from basketball for a little bit. This past week, the Irish were back in the gym getting ready for Bethune-Cookman. Having so much time in between games can be tough on teams as they can get out of a rhythm. But the Irish came out firing on all cylinders on Saturday and looked good on both ends of the floor. On offense, the Irish 54.5 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent from the free throw line. Defensively, they held the Wildcats to just 50 points on 26.7 percent shooting. They pretty much closed off the inside as Bethune-Cookman attempted 24 three-pointers. Building such a big lead also allowed head coach Muffet McGraw to take her starters out of the game with over six minutes still to play in the fourth quarter. At this time of the year, things like that can be super important.

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Next Up

The Irish will await the winner of Michigan State-Central Michigan. The second round game will be played on Monday in South Bend.