Valparaiso Beacons at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Loyd helps No. 6 Notre Dame rout Valparaiso

"I just thought they really attacked every facet of the game," Dorow said after her team dropped to 0-3. "It was very impressive on their part."

The sixth-ranked Irish used a late first-half run to extend a 10-point lead to 22 at the intermission, and then put any thoughts of an upset out of mind with a 12-0 run to start the second half as the Irish improved to 3-0.

Liz Horton was the only Crusader to reach double digits in scoring with 11 points as Valparaiso shot 28 percent (13-of-45) from the floor.

Valparaiso was the first opponent in Notre Dame program history, that first game coming in 1977, and the Irish improved to 25-0 all-time against the Crusaders with Saturday's victory.

Notre Dame's Jewell Loyd led all scorers with 22 points and sat out the final 12:50 of the contest with the game well in hand.

The Irish enjoyed a 34-8 advantage in points off turnovers and outscored the Crusaders 16-0 on the fast break. Notre Dame's advantage in athleticism was apparent early.

"It was definitely a learning experience," said Valparaiso forward Sharon Karungi, who had seven points and seven rebounds. "They are really athletic. It was really great to play such good, athletic players."

The biggest advantage, however, came in the paint, where Notre Dame outscored Valparaiso 62-10.

"They definitely had the upper hand on the inside," said Karungi. "They had a couple of players that were a lot bigger than us."

Karungi had 15 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's loss at Illinois.

"And we couldn't even give her the ball today," Dorow said, throwing credit the way of the Irish interior players. "They're not only big and strong, but they're also very mobile and they're very aggressive."

Freshman Lindsay Allen chipped in 15 points as the Irish won for the 20th consecutive time over an in-state opponent, the last loss coming to Indiana in 2006.

"(Allen) and Jewell were really kind of the sparks offensively," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said of her backcourt duo. "Really pleased with both of them."

Loyd in particular earned the attention, and admiration, of Dorow.

"I think she's going to present a lot of matchup problems for everybody," Dorow said. "She's just so quick and she's explosive. She rebounds the ball hard. She could play anywhere she wants to play. She's a great player, there's no doubt about it. She's going to have a really nice year."

How can I watch Beacons vs. Fighting Irish?

• TV Channel: Beacons vs Fighting Irish 2021 College Basketball, week 2, is broadcasted on .
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Location: South Bend, IN
Attendance: 8,508 | Capacity: