Notre Dame women pull away, beat Arizona State

BIMINI, Bahamas — Lauren Ebo scored 20 points, Sonia Citron added 15 and No. 7 Notre Dame took control late in the third quarter and raced to an 85-65 win over Arizona State in the women's basketball Goombay Classic on Saturday. 

The game was tied at 43 when Ebo stepped to the foul line with 3:03 to play in the third quarter. Ebo made both shots and the Irish raced away. 

Notre Dame made 16 of its final 21 shots while ASU made 8 of 21. 

“Arizona State came out on fire,” Notre Dame head caoch Niele Ivey said after the game. “We needed to match their intensity. Second half, I really focused on my defense, and it got us a lead in the second half.”

Kylee Watson followed Ebo with a layup and the Fighting Irish outscored Arizona State 12-2 over the final three minutes of the third quarter to take a 55-45 lead. Notre Dame was 4 of 5 from the field and 4 of 6 from the line while ASU made 1 of 7 shots. 

Olivia Miles scores 19, No. 7 Notre Dame women roll past American in the Bahamas

Women's basketball: Dara Mabrey scores 19 in No. 9 Notre Dame's win over Ball State

Arizona State made the first bucket of the fourth quarter but Notre Dame scored the next nine points and cruised to the finish. 

KK Bransford scored 14 points and matched Ebo's nine rebounds for the Irish (6-0), who play No. 14 Maryland in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Thursday before a showdown with rival and third-ranked UConn (4-0) next Sunday.

Olivia Miles added 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 

Miles was named the MVP of the tournament and Ebo and Citron received "all star" honors. Over the two games, Miles averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

''We’re able to adapt in any situation, any environment,” Miles said of what she learned about the team on the trip. “Wherever we are — at home or on the road — we can adjust.”

Tyi Skinner scored 15 points and Jaddan Simmons had 14 for the Sun Devils, who suffered their first loss after five wins under new coach Natasha Adair. 

Notre Dame scored six straight points early in the second quarter to take a 24-15 lead but then the Sun Devils made 9 of 12 shots to race to a 34-31 halftime lead. Notre Dame ended up with a 45-29 rebounding advantage, 18-6 on the offensive end, outscoring ASU 54-28 in the paint and 20-6 in second-chance points. The other big difference was at the foul line, where Notre Dame was 21 of 36 compared to 9 of 15 for ASU, which had 26 fouls, 14 more than the Irish. 

Arizona State returns home to play Grand Canyon on Wednesday before playing UMass in the inaugural Briann January Classic on Friday. After a long career in the WNBA, January had her number retired by the Sun Devils last season and joined the school's Hall of Fame. 

No. 7 Notre Dame 85, Arizona St. 65NOTRE DAME (6-0): Watson 5-6 0-0 10, Westbeld 0-2 3-6 3, Citron 7-14 0-1 15, Mabrey 2-10 2-2 7, Miles 5-12 3-4 13, Ebo 6-10 8-14 20, Bransford 5-8 4-7 14, Brown 1-1 1-2 3, Cernugel 0-0 0-0 0, Cha 0-0 0-0 0, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 31-63 21-36 85ARIZONA ST. (5-1): Mokwuah 1-1 0-0 2, Erikstrup 1-5 0-0 3, Hunt 2-10 2-4 6, Simmons 4-10 6-7 14, Skinner 6-14 1-2 15, Thompson 2-3 0-0 4, Greenslade 0-0 0-2 0, Crisp 5-9 0-0 11, Newman 3-3 0-0 6, Sousa 2-3 0-0 4, Totals 26-58 9-15 65

3-Point Goals_Notre Dame 2-10 (Citron 1-2, Mabrey 1-6, Miles 0-1, Ebo 0-1), Arizona St. 4-16 (Erikstrup 1-3, Hunt 0-2, Simmons 0-3, Skinner 2-4, Crisp 1-3, Sousa 0-1). Assists_Notre Dame 20 (Miles 6, Westbeld 6), Arizona St. 7 (Simmons 3). Fouled Out_Arizona St. Mokwuah, Skinner, Greenslade. Rebounds_Notre Dame 45 (Bransford 9, Ebo 9), Arizona St. 29 (Newman 7). Total Fouls_Notre Dame 12, Arizona St. 26. Technical Fouls_None. A_261.