ND WOMENS BASKETBALL: Muffet honored, Irish blow past Boilermakers 76-39

Dec. 17—SOUTH BEND — On a cloudy day in South Bend, the gloomy skies didn't rain on Notre Dame's celebration of former head coach Muffet McGraw who then watched the No. 14 Irish slide past Purdue 76-39 Sunday afternoon.

Irish freshman guard Hannah Hidalgo approached a quadruple-double, finishing with 23 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. She was joined by teammates Maddy Westbeld (15 points, 12 rebounds, and Nat Marshall (14 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks).

"I am so proud of her, oh my gosh," Westbeld said of her teammate Marshall. "We have been through every up and down. We started here together, and now to see her flourish, finally be healthy, and play with the confidence that we knew that she was capable of playing with...the sky is the limit for her."

Notre Dame cleaned up in nearly every facet of the game, shooting 31-61 (51%) from the floor and forcing the Boilermakers to commit 21 turnovers and shoot just 14-57 (25%).

Nine different Purdue players scored Sunday night. Abbey Ellis was held six points below her season average, leading the in-state visitors with eight points.

"I think so," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said on whether it was the teams best defensive showing this season. "Holding a team like Purdue to 39 points, they were so locked in on the scouting report and just did everything we needed them to do taking away their tendencies."

The Irish focused on scoring inside with drives from Hidalgo and Westbeld posting up. It was the bread and butter for the home team, and they spread it all over from the beginning of Sunday's action.

"That's always our focus," Ivey said about Notre Dame's advantage inside the paint. "My gameplan is always to go inside to establish our dominance. I think we have some of the best posts in the country. We had 44 points in the paint, that's exactly what I'm always preaching. I feel like we had size against Purdue so that was a focus of ours."

It didn't take long for Notre Dame to build its lead. Scoring the game's first 11 points, the Irish gathered five Boilermaker turnovers in the game's first four minutes to score transition layups on the other end.

Notre Dame missed its next four shots though, and Purdue ran off seven straight points to cut the deficit to 11-7.

Hidalgo scored back-to-back layups and Anna DeWolfe gathered a long offensive rebound to pull the trigger on just one of two Irish 3-pointers in the first half, causing Notre Dame to exit the first 10 minutes up 20-11.

At halftime, Notre Dame had raced out to a 35-18 lead over the Boilermakers.

The second half continued the Irish's dominance but not without a few taps on the shoulder from the injury bug.

DeWolfe went to turn around following a Purdue possession but fell and quickly hobbled over to the bench, holding her right foot in the process. Trainers taped her ankle up and DeWolfe was able to return to the game shortly after.

Ivey said postgame that it was just a tweak, joking about her many trips to the Grotto to pray over the Irish's lack of health on the roster with Olivia Miles (knee), Sonia Citron (knee sprain), Emma Risch (hip soreness) and Cassandra Prosper (leg) all nursing injuries.

Purdue never got closer and Notre Dame showed no sign of relenting, paying homage to their former coach in attendance.

"That honestly was what I really wanted," Ivey said about the stress-free game. "Today is a day to honor one of the greatest coaches of all time. So, to be able to come out and give her a dominant performance was what I was praying for."

A REASON TO CELEBRATE

Notre Dame honored former head coach Muffet McGraw with a pregame ceremony outside Purcell Pavilion Sunday morning. With the festivities starting at 10:45 a.m., a dense crowd surrounded where the university was set to unveil a statue of the two-time NCAA championship head coach who coached in South Bend for 33 seasons.

Ann Hirsch was the sculptor of the statue, which showed McGraw with her hands on her hips standing over confetti to represent the multiple championships she won with the Irish. Shamrocks adorned the statues platform to recognize past players under McGraw.

Former player Mollie Peirick-Busam was a late addition to the ceremony. She read off a prepared speech from Ruth Riley-Hunter, another player for the former head coach who was unable to make the statue unveiling.

McGraw, who Sara Liebscher (Associate Vice President of Development) joked is getting the first female statue on campus that isn't a saint, spoke briefly after the unveiling.

"I think everyone here along the way contributed to my journey," McGraw said. "First, the fans, I am so thankfully for your constant support through the years."

"For all the women who came before me, whose relentless determination and perseverance created a path for women at Notre Dame, its one that I am proud to follow."

She also addressed a full crowd at halftime.

"I remember early on when you could come to games and sit wherever you wanted," McGraw joked to the sold-out crowd at Purcell. "I knew that we would be able to build something. I remember our first sell-out, January 15, 2001. Connecticut came in number one, and they left number two. Then we went on to win the national championship against, ironically, Purdue."

Purdue (6-5, 0-1 Big Ten) returns to West Lafayette to face the Indiana State Sycamores on Wednesday while Notre Dame (8-1, 0-0 ACC) remains home with the Irish hosting the Western Michigan Broncos on Thursday.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Purdue — 11; 7; 7; 14 — 39

(14) Notre Dame — 20; 15; 26; 15 — 76

Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.