Quick Recap: Fighting Irish Defeat Cal 90-79 in the Citi Shamrock Classic

St. Louis Dub

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish WBB team just completed their second game of the 2022-23 regular season. They got the win against the Cal Bears by a final score of 90-79. This game was played in St. Louis, though, for the Citi Shamrock Classic. Both Niele Ivey and Charmin Smith, Cal’s head coach, hailed from St. Louis. The game was a collaboration among both institutions to play each other in the coaches’ roots of St. Louis. Additionally, the Enterprise Center in St. Louis is where the Irish won the 2001 national championship. This was also the first ever College Women’s Basketball game aired on NBC. Notre Dame on NBC took on a different meaning today with the WBB taking center stage on NBC.

The Irish had general control of the game for most of the 40 minutes. They jumped out to a strong lead in the first quarter among a higher scoring affair. In the third quarter, Dara Mabrey hit her second three-pointer of the game, tying her sister Marina for most threes made in their careers in program history. Dara only had those two three-pointers, so her next one on the season will result in her holding the sole record.

The Irish did have overall control, but early in the fourth quarter, Cal got the score within 3. Cal’s Jayda Curry tried to take on a lot by herself as she ended with 24 points. It wouldn’t be enough, though, as they wouldn’t get closer than that. The Irish closed out a solid run to end the game and leave no actual doubt. The Irish are now 2-0 on the season, and their next game is at Northwestern on Wednesday night.

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