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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Irish to face Michigan State in Round 2

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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After beating Bethune-Cookman in the first round, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team will play Michigan State on Monday in the NCAA Tournament.

On Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame took on Bethune-Cookman in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Irish defeated the Wildcats 92-50. Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 23 points and Jessica Shepard added a double-double in the win. The Irish will now take on Michigan State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Irish

The Irish opened up the NCAA Tournament in style. They played well on both ends of the floor and did exactly what they needed to do to get the job done. But that was expected, as they were playing on their home court against a 16-seed. From here on out, things will continue to get tougher for them. They will now be tasked with Michigan State in their last game in South Bend this season.

A big point of focus for the Irish should be to continue the strong defensive play. Against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday, they held the Wildcats to just 50 points on less than 30 percent shooting. While that is going to be increasingly harder as the tournament goes on, the Irish need to try their best to keep their opponents’ scoring down. Notre Dame can outscore just about any team in the country, but it will need to stay sharp defensively if they want to continue on their path to repeating.

Michigan State

Michigan State comes into Monday’s matchup at 21-11. They are coming off an 88-87 win over Central Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. One player to keep an eye out for is Shay Colley. She is averaging 14.5 points per game this season — good for first on her team. Against Central Michigan on Saturday, she had 13 points and seven rebounds.

How to watch

Tip-off for the matchup is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.