Women’s ACC Basketball Tournament
Courtesy The Atlantic Coast Conference / March 15, 2019
ACC Commissioner John Swofford (center, fifth from right) presents the championship trophy to Notre Dame team captain Arike Ogunbowale along with teammates and coaches: Carol Owens (Asst. Head Coach; Sharla Lewis; Head Coach, Muffet McGuire. Photo by Joe Daniels
GREENSBORO -– No. 4 Notre Dame claimed its fifth Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title in six years by routing No. 3 Louisville 99-79 on Sunday.
Notre Dame senior forward Jessica Shepard (#32) had a season-high 30 points and 13 rebounds. Junior guard Jackie Young added 21 points and 10 rebounds, graduate forward Brianna Turner scored 20 points and senior guard Marina Mabrey, along with senior guard Arike Ogunbowale, scored 12 apiece for the top-seeded Fighting Irish (30-3).
The defending national champs never trailed in beating the Cardinals for the second time this season and avenging their loss in last year’s ACC championship game — their only one in conference tournament play since joining the ACC in 2013-14.
Bionca Dunham scored 18 points and ACC player of the year Asia Durr finished with 15 for the second-seeded and short-handed Cardinals (29-3), who couldn’t keep the Irish out of the lane and struggled from long range.
Notre Dame outscored Louisville 72-40 in the paint while building a 44-29 rebounding edge. The Cardinals, the ACC’s second-best 3-point-shooting team, shot a season-worst 11 percent from long range and missed all 12 3s they tried over the final 25 minutes.
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