Defense, transition game fuel ND women's hoops rout of Kansas

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — After cruising through its first seven games, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw knows that the competition is about to get a little tougher.

With games looming against No. 10 Maryland on Wednesday and third-ranked UConn on Saturday, the Irish will be challenged. So far this season, No. 2 Notre Dame hasn’t been tested much.

Jewell Loyd scored 23 points and Michaela Mabrey added 17 to help Notre Dame rout Kansas 89-47 on Sunday at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge.

The Irish have now won its first seven contests by an average of nearly 47 points a game.

“A lot of people have been contributing so far, which is great,” McGraw said. “We know Wednesday is going to be different. That’s the most important game right now.”

Notre Dame (7-0) got off to a slow start against Kansas. The Irish led only 22-17 with 8:34 left in the first half before going on a 20-4 run to close it.

Mabrey got the burst started with a 3-pointer from the wing. Her second 3-pointer during the burst made it 32-21. Lindsay Allen also hit a 3 and had five points in the run.

“Once they got going in transition it led to easy baskets,” Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said. “They create chaos on defense with their length, and it’s tough to match.”

Kansas finished with 23 turnovers.

The Irish led 42-21 at the half.

Things didn’t get much better for Kansas (5-2) in the second half as the Irish pulled away. McGraw started emptying the bench before the midway point of the second half with her team up 40.

Before leaving the game, Loyd caught a gorgeous alley-oop pass for a lay-up from Allen.

She almost had another one off a half-court pass from Allen, but missed the shot.

“That was an easy one I should have had,” said Loyd, smiling.

Before Sunday’s contest, the Irish had played a stretch of

five games in seven days. Notre Dame hadn’t had a schedule like that since 1979-80 when the Irish played five games in six days, including two in one day.

“Well the players certainly like that schedule, but as a coach I know we need a little more practice,” McGraw said.

This was only the second meeting between the schools. The Jayhawks lost the other meeting in the regional semifinals of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame plays Maryland on Wednesday in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The men’s team is playing at home that night, so the arena wasn’t available.

• NOTRE DAME 89, KANSAS 47

At Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.

KANSAS (47): Chelsea Gardner 7-14 1-1 15, Jada Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Natalie Knight 5-8 0-0 13, Lauren Aldridge 1-5 0-0 2, Chayla Cheadle 1-6 0-0 2, Asia Boyd 3-8 0-0 7, Terriell Bradley 2-9 0-2 4, Caelynn Manning-Allen 2-4 0-0 4, Bunny Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Timeka O’Neal 0-0 0-0 0, Lorraine Enabulele 0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 21-55 1-3 47.

NOTRE DAME (89): Brianna Turner 3-6 1-2 7, Taya Reimer 2-4 2-2 6, Lindsay Allen 4-6 2-2 11, Michaela Mabrey 5-7 2-2 17, Jewell Loyd 8-11 6-7 23, Madison Cable 1-4 0-0 3, Kathryn Westbeld 2-4 2-2 6, Mychal Johnson 2-7 2-2 6, Markisha Wright 1-1 2-2 4, Hannah Huffman 1-4 0-0 2, Whitney Holloway 1-1 0-0 2, Diamond Thompson 1-1 0-0 2, TOTALS 31-56 19-21 89.

Halftime: Notre Dame 42, Kansas 21.

Shooting: Kansas 21 of 55 for 38.2 percent; Notre Dame 31 of 56 for 55.4 percent. 3-pointers: Kansas 4 of 12 for 33.3 percent (Knight 3-4, Boyd 1-3, Aldridge 0-2, Bradley 0-2, Gardner 0-1); Notre Dame 8 for 13 for 61.5 percent (Mabrey 5-7, Allen 1-1, Loyd 1-1, Cable 1-2, Westbeld 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Rebounds: Kansas 29 (Gardner 6, Manning-Allen 4); Notre Dame 33 (Westbeld 7, Reimer 5, Wright 4, Turner 3, Huffman 3). Assists: Kansas 13 (Knight 6, Aldridge 3, Cheadle 2); Notre Dame 21 (Reimer 4, Allen 4, Mabrey 4, Westbeld 4. Blocked shots: Kansas 4 (Manning-Allen 2); Notre Dame 4 (Turner 2). Steals: Kansas 5 (Gardner 3); Notre Dame 14 (Huffman 4, Cable 3, Westbeld 2, Turner 2). Turnovers: Kansas 23 (Aldridge 6, Bradley 5, Cheadle 4, Gardner 3); Notre Dame 11 (Reimer 2, Mabrey 2, Westbeld 2). Total fouls (fouled out): Kansas 15 (none); Notre Dame 8 (none). Technical fouls: Kansas none; Notre Dame none.

Officials: Tom Danaher, Maggie Tiernan, Kevin Ruland. Records: Kansas 5-2, Notre Dame 7-0. A—n/a.