Notre Dame women’s basketball fell to Florida State on the road Sunday 70-65, breaking a five-game win streak.
After a back and forth first half that saw Florida State up by a single point at the break, it was a nightmare third quarter that doomed the Irish in Tallahassee. Notre Dame found themselves on the wrong end of a 22-9 in the ten minutes after halftime. Notre Dame was snake bitten from the field during that stretch, shooting an underwhelming 3-14, far below the 41.4% mark they notched throughout the game as a whole.
The Irish stormed back in the fourth quarter, bringing the game within one possession in the final 10 seconds on the back of nine points from freshman guard Olivia Miles and seven from graduate student forward Maya Dodson. A final drive at the hoop only produced a missed layup and a loose ball that was ruled by officials to have been sent out of bounds off an Irish limb. Notre Dame stretched the game out to the final whistle through a combination of smart fouls and another quick scoring trip, but that missed layup with 10 seconds left proved to be the closest Notre Dame would come to sending the game to overtime.
The result comes at the end of a long stretch of games for Niele Ivey’s squad, who competed in four games over an eight-day span. The fatigue was noticeable, as the Irish missed chances on fast breaks that they often do not and seemed sluggish on the defensive end in transition. The adrenaline and home energy that powered the Irish to big wins over nationally ranked opponent North Carolina State as well as Virginia Tech appeared to be drained in a loud Florida State environment
But the Irish now get to enjoy a full three days of rest before their next contest, back in the friendly confines of Purcell Pavilion (where the Irish are 11-0 this year), against Miami. The Hurricanes should present a slightly more manageable challenge for the Irish, as they currently possess only a 5-6 record in ACC play and are coming off of a brutal 85-38 dismantling at the hands of North Carolina.
To contain Miami, the Irish will likely need to key in on graduate student guard Kelsey Marshall who has been the main source of the Hurricanes’ scoring this year. Marshall is the only player on Miami’s roster to average double figures on the scoresheet per game. In the aforementioned ill-fated UNC game, Marshall was responsible for just under 40% of the total points scored by Miami. Marshall is also a force creatively for the Hurricanes as she’s totaled 61 assists this year.
Notre Dame will look to get back to their winning ways this Thursday in South Bend when they take on Miami at Purcell Pavilion. The game will tip off at 6pm and will be broadcasted locally.
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