Notre Dame Fighting Irish at NC State Wolfpack

Ogunbowale, No. 5 Notre Dame beats No. 9 NC State 95-72

Arike Ogunbowale scored 22 points and Notre Dame took over with 12 unanswered points in a dominating third quarter to beat N.C. State 95-72 on Monday night.

"I thought the second half was about as well as we've played all year," Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. "I thought we put 20 really good minutes together defensively. We got some steals, we rebounded, we got the break going. And I think when we can get going in transition, we can score."

The Irish (24-3, 11-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) certainly proved it, too.

Leading just 41-36 at halftime, Notre Dame soon got rolling at a fast-paced clip to build a lead that steadily grew into a lopsided margin.

Freshman Elissa Cunane scored a season-high 28 points for the Wolfpack (22-3, 9-3), who shot just 39 percent after halftime.

N.C. State coach Wes Moore said the team normally sends one or two guards back to defend against transition chances, but tried sending all three back this time. It didn't work, and compounded matters by helping the Irish dominate the boards against a Wolfpack team that had been outrebounded only twice all year.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: The reigning national champions responded with veteran precision to most anything the Wolfpack tried to do. Notre Dame dominated the glass (45-28) to finish with 18 second-chance points, scored 24 points off turnovers and had 37 fast-break points.

"I think the third quarter was just our defense," said Jessica Shepard, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds. "We know anytime we get stops on defense, that means we can get out and run."

PLENTY OF PINK

This is always an emotionally significant event in Raleigh: the annual Play4Kay game named in honor of late Hall of Fame Wolfpack coach Kay Yow, who died in January 2009 after a long fight with cancer.

The team donned pink and white uniforms while Moore wore a pink blazer, the color of breast cancer awareness. On the other sideline, McGraw wore pink heels that featured Yow's name and one of her sayings about letting life's challenges "kick you forward."

With Monday's loss, the Wolfpack fell to 2-4 under Moore in Play4Kay games.

"We often refer to Coach Yow and some of her quotes and just what a special person she was," said Moore, who spent two seasons as an assistant coach under Yow. "I think it always a little extra here, but I wish we could back it up by winning a game or two on the occasion as well."

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish host Duke on Thursday.

N.C. State: Wake Forest visits the Wolfpack on Thursday.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

How can I watch Fighting Irish vs. Wolfpack?

• TV Channel: Fighting Irish vs Wolfpack 2021 College Basketball, week 16, is broadcasted on ESPN2.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Venue: Reynolds Coliseum

Location: Raleigh, NC
Attendance: 5,500 | Capacity: