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Where Notre Dame women’s basketball ‘fell apart’ against Michigan, according to Niele Ivey
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- Where Notre Dame women’s basketball ‘fell apart’ against Michigan, according to Niele Ivey
The post Where Notre Dame women's basketball 'fell apart' against Michigan, according to Niele Ivey appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said defensive breakdowns from the opening minutes set the tone for No. 18 Notre Dame's 93–54 loss to No. 14 Michigan on Saturday in the Shamrock Classic in Detroit, the program's largest margin of defeat in more than 20 years. The Fighting Irish fell behind 7–0 before scoring, and Michigan led wire-to-wire at Wayne State Fieldhouse.
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"The offense we can fix," Ivey said, as reported by Eric Hansen of On3. "It's not about the offense. It's not about the offense. That comes with time or comes within the game. We know we have capable scorers, but it's the defensive part that I think is where we fell apart today."
Ivey pointed to the opening minutes as decisive.
"We always want to start the game with a defensive-mindset intensity, and we didn't start — it was a 7-0 run," she said. "Had to call timeout, and we never really recovered from the way that they started the game, and it's because of our defensive effort."
Michigan (3–0) capitalized throughout the game, shooting 50% from the field while holding Notre Dame to 28% overall and 2-of-22 from 3-point range. Olivia Olson led all scorers with 30 points, while Mila Holloway added 12, Syla Swords had 11, and Ashley Sofilkanich finished with 10.
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For Notre Dame (3–1), the most surprising element was the offensive struggle from a unit that had been considered its most stable early-season strength. Two-time All-American Hannah Hidalgo, coming off a Fighting Irish-record 44-point game, was limited to 12 points on 4-of-21 shooting with seven turnovers. She extended her streak of double-digit scoring to 71 career games with a late three-point play with 2:21 remaining.
© Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Cassandre Prosper scored 17 points and KK Bransford added 15 for Notre Dame, but the Irish could not slow Michigan's momentum. Swords hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first quarter to create separation, and the Wolverines pushed the lead to 46–29 at halftime. A 16–0 run in the fourth quarter sealed the outcome.
Notre Dame returns home to face No. 8 Southern Cal on Friday. Michigan hosts Binghamton on Tuesday before meeting No. 1 UConn at the Hall of Fame Women's Showcase.
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Information from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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