Coming off a big win over James Madison, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team now prepares to face the Lafayette Leopards on Sunday.
Last year, the Irish took a 96-42 victory over the Leopards. Graduate forward Kylee Watson started the first quarter strong for the Irish, scoring the first five points of the night with a layup, free throw and hook shot. Sophomore guard Hannah Hidalgo followed by putting up four points alongside graduate forward Maddy Westbeld, who added on two points for the Irish to make the score 11-6.
Lafayette narrowed the score to 11-8, but Westbeld responded with a layup to put the Irish up 13-8. Two points from then-senior forward Natalija Marshall and two points from then-graduate forward Becky Obinma put the Irish ahead 17-8. While the Leopards managed a layup of their own to make it 17-10, Westbeld scored another layup to finish the first quarter with a 19-10 Irish lead.
Lafayette opened the second quarter with nine points, but the Irish replied with a jump shot from Marshall, a jump shot from junior guard KK Bransford, a layup from then-graduate guard Anna DeWolfe, a layup from Westbeld and three points from Hidalgo to make the score 30-19. While two more points scored from the Leopards created a 10-point difference, Hidalgo added three more points and Watson added a free throw to finish the second quarter with the Irish ahead 38-23.
Westbeld and DeWolfe started off the third quarter strong, both adding two points to bring the score to 42-23. Watson contributed eight points for the Irish and Hidalgo added on two points in response to the four points scored by the Leopards, making the score 52-27.
Westbeld kept the ball rolling as she added two points alongside a three-pointer from DeWolfe to make the score 57-29. Hidalgo kept being a leader on the court as she added on five points for Notre Dame for a 62-29 score. A jump shot from Obinma and a layup from Marshall made the score 66-29 nearing the end of the quarter. Lafayette hit the final shot of the quarter to make the score 66-31 Irish.
Sitting with a 35-point lead, the Irish headed into the fourth quarter ready to go as Westbeld put up three points and Bransford added on a layup to bring the score to 71-31. The Leopards put up four points but were no match for the Irish as Hidalgo responded with a three-point shot and two layups, Westbeld added a jump shot, DeWolfe added a three-point shot, Marshall added on a jump shot and Obinma added on a layup to make the score 87-38.
As Lafayette responded with two points, Marshall added on three points for herself alongside graduate guard Sarah Cernugal, who put up her three points of the night to make the score 96-40. Lafayette made the final two points of the Dec. 6 game, but the Irish took the 96-42 win.
Hidalgo led on the court for the Irish in the game last year, finishing with 26 points. Westbeld also was a team leader with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the night alongside Hidalgo who finished with six.
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will face Lafayette on the road on Nov. 17, starting at 2 p.m.
