No. 5 Notre Dame opens 2nd half on 17-0 run in 85-57 rout

Published Dec. 21, 2022 2:07 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Maddy Westbeld scored 10 points in four minutes and No. 5 Notre Dame started the second half on a 17-0 spree en route to a 85-57 win over Western Michigan on Wednesday.

The Fighting Irish (10-1) led 38-30 at the half, but scored on seven of their first eight possessions during the third quarter with a trio of 3-pointers.

The Broncos (5-6) missed their first nine shots from the field in the period and saw their three-game winning streak snapped.

Westbeld scored a season-high 23 points, including 15 in the third quarter, and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Sonia Citron added 16 points for Notre Dame, Olivia Miles dished 12 assists to go with eight points, and Kylee Watson netted 10 points by going 5 for 5 from the field.

Lauren Ross led Western Michigan with 15 points. Hannah Spitzley added 12 points, 10 in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: The Irish now dive into the league grind in earnest, where they'll have competition for the Atlantic Coast Conference title from No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 North Carolina State and No. 8 Virginia Tech. Notre Dame already played the Hokies on the road, and will also have road games against the Tar Heels and Wolfpack.

Western Michigan: The Broncos turn their attention to Mid-American Conference play after an uneven preconference slate that saw them lose by margins of 48, 32, 38 and 28, and win against overmatched opponents by as much as 61 and 28.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: Host Boston College in the ACC home opener on New Year’s Day.

Western Michigan: Have a two-week hiatus and then start MAC play at Toledo on Jan. 4.

___

AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25