COLUMBUS, Ohio — The quarters couldn’t have been more different.
In the second quarter, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team looked like the nation’s best defensive team as it limited Notre Dame to three points.
The Bulldogs used the momentum they built from a 13-point halftime lead to extend that cushion to 15 with 6 minutes, 41 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
That’s when nearly everything turned in favor of the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame closed the third quarter on a 16-1 run that helped it erase the largest deficit in national title game history. That run set the stage for Arike Ogunbowale’s 3-pointer just before time expired that lifted Notre Dame to a 61-58 victory against MSU before a crowd of 19,599 at Nationwide Arena.
“In the first half we executed the defense really good,” MSU senior Victoria Vivians said. “We held them to 17 points in the first half. We were scoring a little bit, too. In the second half, we just didn’t execute. We didn’t play defense. It was just bad. It was stagnant.”
The Bulldogs’ defense in the second quarter was as good as they have played this season. Every shot Notre Dame took was contested, which played a key role in its 1-for-9 showing. Vivians’ steal on a post pass was one of four she had in the first half. Teaira McCowan (18 points, 17 rebounds) also blocked a shot that went off the body of Marina Mabrey in a 10-minute stretch that nearly everything went the Bulldogs’ way.
“Mississippi State was a tremendous defensive team,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “They really gave us a lot of problems in the first half. We lost our composure a little bit, but we got it back and we just kept fighting.”
The Bulldogs used strong pressure on the ball to limit the Fighting Irish’s ability to make clean passes. As a result, MSU forced 12 turnovers and held Notre Dame to 7-for-23 shooting (30.4 percent) from the field.
Notre Dame came into the game averaging 85.8 points per game. Its lowest scoring game of the season came in a 66-54 victory against Penn on Dec. 9, 2017.
Notre Dame’s previous low for points in a first half this season was 27 in an 84-70 victory against Tennessee on Jan. 18 in Notre Dame, Indiana.
A layup by Kathryn Westbeld ignited the game-changing run. Eight of the points came from the free-throw line and eight came on drives or on offensive rebound follows.
“They stopped trying to run any offense,” MSU coach Vic Schaefer said when asked what adjustments Notre Dame made in the second half. “They just put their heads down and drove to the rim. That happens sometimes. Our defense is so good, if you’ve got kids that can drop their head and go to the rim, and that’s basically what they did.”
Westbeld said the Fighting Irish weren’t playing their game and that McGraw encouraged the players to get their mental game back. The words worked as Notre Dame also raised its intensity on defense and closed down driving lanes and made it as tough as possible for McCowan (7-for-19 from the field) to score in the paint.
“I think a lot of us were shook a little bit,” Westbeld said. “Our minds were kind of going everywhere. I think she tried to calm us down as much as possible and just get focused on the main goal again.”
Jessica Shepard (team-high 19 points) said her goal was to take McCowan to the basket when she was at the high post. She also used good positioning to seal McCowan on the block and convert good entry passes.
McGraw said rebounding was a key in the second half. MSU had a six-rebound edge (22-16) in the first half. It finished with a 38-35 advantage. Notre Dame won the battle of points in the paint, 32-28.
“I think we were able to get some rebounds and get going a little bit more in transition,” said McGraw, who earned her 800th career victory. “Just really couldn’t get anything going in the second quarter, so I think the third quarter we definitely came out and were a little more focused on trying to use the high ball screen.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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