No. 1 Notre Dame clamps down on defense, a good sign as March is getting closer

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — It’s been a good week for the Notre Dame women’s basketball team: Return to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 on Monday, then turn in perhaps its best defensive game of the season on Thursday.

Forget the 82 points that Notre Dame scored in its win over Miami on Thursday night. The big number for Fighting Irish coach Niele Ivey was 42 — the season-best in points allowed by her team this season, the reward for a night of airtight defense.

“We did everything we needed to do defensively,” Ivey said.

The Irish set the defensive tone from the outset. Miami missed its first nine shots as Notre Dame built a quick 10-0 lead, and the Hurricanes went on to have streaks of 0 for 12, 0 for 7 and 0 for 6 later in the game.

Miami was 0 for 16 from 3-point range, the second-worst showing from beyond the arc by an ACC team in conference play in the last 20 years. Clemson went 0 for 19 against Louisville in a game four years ago.

“It shows the progression of what we’ve talked about coming into the season,” Ivey said. “We wanted our identity to be our defense.”

The 42 points allowed by Notre Dame was four better than its previous low on the season (46 against James Madison) and the 27% shooting by the Hurricanes was the Irish’s second-best effort in that department this season.

“They’re undefeated in the league for a reason,” Miami coach Tricia Cullop said. “They’re a really good team.”

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