Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 20, 2021 49 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY TYLER HORKA I t had been 982 days since Notre Dame last scored more than 100 points in a single game. But that streak is over. The Fighting Irish opened the 2021-22 season with a 105-69 victory over Ohio at Purcell Pavilion Nov. 9. Head coach Niele Ivey's team fol- lowed that up with a 76-50 win against Western Illinois two nights later. The Irish only led Ohio by five points at the half. They only led Western Illinois by 11. Both blowouts were products of ex- ecuting halftime adjustments. "I'm encouraged as a coach we can come in and stress different points of emphasis, and they turn around in the second half and bring it," Ivey said. "For me, it's encouraging that we can come in together, discuss what we need to discuss, and then come back a better team in the second half." Notre Dame's first win meant more than hitting the century mark for the first time in two and a half years. It meant more than second-half adjust- ments, too. It showed why the 36-point margin of victory might be something to get used to rather than an anomaly. The Irish only won three games by 10 points or more last year. Their largest margin of victory was 20. Notre Dame lost to the same Ohio Bobcats team 86-85 nearly one year to the day of the role re- versal between the two teams. Then, two nights later, it beat another team by a margin wider than any last year. It's early. But this Notre Dame team might be different. "The best part is, it was fun," junior forward Sam Brunelle said. "And it has been a while since I could say we had a fun game. Playing with this group is exciting. It's fun." That's because it can be anyone's mo- ment at any given time. The season opener was the Brunelle show. And the Maya Dodson show. The former scored 20 points in 17 minutes. The latter, a graduate transfer from Stanford, scored 25 points in 27 min- utes. Freshman combo guard Sonia Cit- ron had 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists in her college debut. Fresh- man point guard Olivia Miles dished out 11 assists. Miles took over as Ivey's go-to player in Game 2. She scored 16 points, se- cured 11 rebounds and dished out six more assists. Sophomore Maddy West- beld stepped up with 15 points and 18 rebounds, a new Purcell Pavilion record on the boards. Dodson deferred a bit to those two, but she showed ability for consistency to carry over from game to game with 14 points and eight rebounds. "I'm very encouraged by getting so many people opportunities to play and getting so many contributions from the entire team," Ivey said. "This is going to be a group that will continue to grow and learn each night." It's one thing to have good players making individual efforts. It another to have good players coming together for the betterment of the team. Ivey has gotten the latter through two games this season. "Every game we're going to try to come out and set the tone with our killer mentality," Ivey said. "[In the] ACC, be- cause it's such an incredible conference and league, we know we have to come out ready to play." ✦ Fighting Irish Get Off To Strong Start Sophomore forward Maddy Westbeld set a Purcell Pavilion record with 18 rebounds in Notre Dame's 76-50 victory over Western Illinois Nov. 11. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Notre Dame Only Signs One Recruit In Early Signing Period KK Bransford is officially Irish. The four-star guard who is ranked as the No. 29 overall recruit in the class of 2022 according to ESPN HoopGurlz signed her letter of intent to play for Notre Dame Nov. 10. She is the only incoming freshman head coach Niele Ivey and the Irish signed in this cycle. "She was someone I targeted right away in the 2022 class," Ivey said. "She's just a phenomenal young woman on and off the court. She fits our culture perfectly. And then there's what she does on the court — she's versatile. She reminds me a lot of Jackie Young and Arike Ogunbowale." With comparisons like those, it's easy to see why Ivey was content with taking one player in the early signing period despite having just 10 scholarship players on her current roster. Bransford, a 5-foot-11 senior at Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, will fit in well with what Ivey is trying to establish in South Bend. She's a back-to-back state champion who averaged 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game as a junior while earning Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year honors. "KK has a college body right now," Ivey said. "I think the sky's the limit for her. She's capable of making an immediate impact. She's different from the guards we have because of her size and versatility. "With how she plays, she's going to do whatever she can to help the team and whatever I need." — Tyler Horka 2021-22 WOMEN'S EARLY BASKETBALL SCHEDULE As of Nov. 12 Date Opponent Result/Time (ET) Nov. 1 Emporia State^ W, 104-46 Nov. 9 Ohio W, 105-69 Nov. 11 Western Illinois W, 76-50 Nov. 14 at Syracuse* 12 p.m. Nov. 18 Fordham 7 p.m. Nov. 21 Bryant 5 p.m. Nov. 26 vs. Georgia# 4:30 p.m. Nov. 27 vs. Oregon State# 7 p.m. ^ Exhibition; *ACC; # Daytona Beach Invitational in Daytona, Fla.