Irish trounce Wake Forest , 100-64

Taking care of business

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish picked up another ACC win on Thursday with a 100-64 beatdown of the wake forest Demon Deacons.

From the ND press release:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Notre Dame offense continues to put up historic numbers, as the Irish downed Wake Forest on Thursday evening, 100-64. Through 15 games Notre Dame has 1337 total points, the most through the first 15 games of a season in program history. It is also the fourth time this season the team has posted 100 points, which has happened just three other times in program history.

It was a balanced effort with six players in double figures. Hannah Hidalgo led the way with 23 points followed by Liatu King (17), Sonia Citron (16), Maddy Westbeld (14), Olivia Miles (13) and Kate Koval (11). Additionally, five players had at least 5 boards, and Miles led the way with 9 assists. Hidalgo tied a season high with 6 steals.

“Having a lot of depth and opportunities for rotations and matchups, I was really pleased with this win,” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said after the game. “With the physicality and long stretch of the season, having more bodies to be able to compete is only going to help us.”

In terms of game flow, Notre Dame built a 10-0 run out of the gate and had a 25-15 advantage after Q1. Seven different players scored, and Hidalgo led with 6 points.

The All-American turned it up a notch in the second quarter and finished the half with a game-leading 17 points after going 6-8 from the floor and 4-4 from the charity stripe. The ACC’s leader in steals also had 5 of them.

Notre Dame had a 53-31 advantage at the break after a put-back jumper from Westbeld. She had her first 5 points of the season in the first 20 minutes.

“The way the crowd embraced her when she got into the game was awesome,” Ivey said. “It’s so hard as a senior to have to sit out for so long, so I’m really happy for her.”

As a team in the first half, Notre Dame had 21 fastbreak points, shot 62.5 percent from the floor, and went 5-8 from deep as the lethal Irish air attack continues this season. Notre Dame entered the game leading the nation with a 44.3 percent success rate from beyond the arc.

Wake Forest’s leading scorer, Rylie Theuerkauf did not score before the half.

After swapping buckets to open the third quarter, the Irish would go on an 8-0 run, sparked by 4 straight points from Citron to make it 62-33 heading into a Wake Forest timeout. The Demon Deacons went on a 10-0 run of their own, one which was stopped by a Hidalgo free throw.

The Irish would close the period with a jump shot from King and a layup from Koval to extend the Notre Dame lead to 24, making it 76-52 heading into the fourth.

The home team held the Demon Deacons to their lowest offensive quarter of the night to close it out as Wake Forest only scored 12 points in the final period. Notre Dame’s defense held them scoreless in the final 4:35.

The Irish were just as dominant on the offensive end of the floor in the final minutes as they closed out the fourth period with an 11-0 run. A Westbeld trey triggered the double-digit run, followed by baskets from Miles, Karlen, Prosper, and Koval to finish out their fourth ACC win of the season.

“It’s super exciting to have everyone back,” King said. “Coach Ivey says it all the time, ‘pick your poison.’ Any of us can go out there and give opponents a hard time.”

The Irish head to Clemson on Sunday for a clash at Littlejohn Coliseum. The game will air on The CW and starts at 2 p.m.