Early struggles landed No. 20 Notre Dame in a tie for seventh in a field of 15 at the Central District Invitational in Parrish, Fla.
The Irish stumbled out of the gate, posting a team score of 315 in the first round Saturday, but responded with a second-round 300 to finish with a combined score of 615, 39-over-par. Host No. 23 Michigan State leads with a comfortable 14-stroke lead, finishing with a 13-over-par 589.
The field tightens up considerably behind the Spartans, with the second through sixth teams separated by only nine strokes.
No. 14 Kent State is in second, ending the day with a 27-over-par 603. No. 25 Texas A&M and No. 37 Ohio State are tied one stroke behind that; Ohio State's 296 was the lowest team round of the day. No. 31 Texas rounded out the top five with a 31-over-par 607.
First-round shortcomings followed by second-round improvements were the order of the day for Notre Dame, with each golfer either matching or improving her first-round scores.
Freshman So-Hyun Park, who leads the Irish with a 72.53 scoring average, shot 75-75 and finished at 6-over-par for the day, tied in 12th overall.
Junior Lisa Maunu birdied her final hole to shoot a team-low 74 in the second round. Along with her first-round 77, she finished at 7-over-par and ed for 16th overall.
Freshman Katie Conway contributed scores of 79 and 76, finishing at 11-over-par for the tournament.
After shooting an 84 in the first round, sophomore Annie Brophy cleaned up her game, shooting a 75 in the second round. Brophy finished the day 15-over-par.
Sophomore Kristin Wetzel rounded out the Irish squad, finishing 19-over-par on the day. After struggling in the first round with a team-worst 85, she bounced back with a 78.
The Invitational concludes today, with the third and final round starting at 8 a.m.
