Wake Forest University
Notre Dame
No. 2 Notre Dame Ends Deacs' Winning Streak
2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWBB)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Second-ranked Notre Dame took control early Thursday night in defeating Wake Forest women's basketball 86-52 at LJVM Coliseum in ACC action, snapping the Demon Deacons' four-game winning streak.
The loss drops Wake Forest to 15-12 on the season and 6-8 in ACC play. Notre Dame has now won 18 games in a row and moved to 25-1 on the season, 13-0 in conference play. The Demon Deacons' ACC winning streak was the second-longest in program history, falling one game short of the record that was set during the 1987-88 season.
Ariel Stephenson led Wake Forest scoring with 17 points while Elisa Penna was the only other Deacon in double figures with 10 points. Milan Quinn finished with nine and Amber Campbell had seven points and four assists.
Notre Dame opened the game on a 14-3 run, but the Demon Deacons responded with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the lead to five at 14-9 with 3:50 to go in the quarter. That was the closest Wake Forest would come, though, as Notre Dame responded with a 10-3 run over the final minutes to double up the Deacs in the quarter, 24-12.
Wake Forest scored four-straight points with two free throws from Ariel Stephenson and a jumper by Amber Campbell to open the second quarter in cutting the lead to eight at 24-16. The Fighting Irish then flexed its muscles and went on a 17-6 run over the remaining 8:04 of the quarter to take a 41-22 lead to halftime.
Out of the break, Notre Dame continued to extend its lead, topping the Deacs by as many as 33 points late in the third quarter. Marina Mabrey capped the scoring in the game by hitting a jumper with 36 to go, giving Notre Dame its largest lead of the game at 34.
The Irish shot 56.5 from the field on 35-of-62 shooting. Brianna Turner scored a game-high 19 points while pulling down 11 rebounds for her second-career double-double. Notre Dame had five players in double figures as Arike Ogunbowale posted 16, Mabrey finished with 11 and both Kristina Nelson and Kathryn Westbeld added 10 points in the victory.
After an open date this weekend, Wake Forest closes its regular season slate at home Thursday, Feb. 25, against Virginia Tech. The Deacs will honor Kandice Ball, Ataijah Taylor, Keyonna Allen and Keri Fulp on Senior Night prior to the game. First tip inside LJVM Coliseum is set for 7 p.m.
