CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Notre Dame knew it would face full court pressure from the outset of Thursday’s Class A quarterfinal against top seed Gilmer County.
That didn’t do much to help the No. 8 Irish figure out ways to beat it.
As a result of its turnovers, Notre Dame found field-goal attempts tough to come by, and the Titans set the tone early and often to cruise 67-26 at the Charleston Coliseum.
“We stuck to our identity and roots and definitely did what got us here in the first place,” Gilmer head coach Amy Chapman said. “Our defense showed up. We played discipline defense with lots of ball pressure and did a great job taking ND out of their comfort zone. Their technique was good. They played physical without fouling, got in passing lanes and did a great job rebounding. Offensively, we didn’t stay content. We worked for good shots.”
Gilmer (21-4) scored the first 11 points, led 17-3 after one quarter and was hardly threatened as it pressured ND (12-7) consistently and never let the Irish settle in.
Lena Frymier paced the Titans with seven points in the opening quarter and 6-foot-4 center Ava Dobbins contributed six, while Chapman credited guard Malory Casteel for helping to up the team’s defensive energy from the jump.
“She’s a dog on defense,” Casteel said. “She gets low and up close, and in the back of her mind, we have 6-4, 6-4 and 6-foot protecting the rim in case somebody does get by her, which isn’t very often. Mallory’s very good on defense.”
The Titans began the second quarter much like the first — scoring 11 unanswered points to gain a 28-3 lead.
The Irish made three three-pointers for all of their offense in the opening half and went to the intermission with a 38-9 deficit. ND had 17 field-goal attempts and 20 turnovers through two quarters, while Frymier and backcourt mate Allie Ellyson scored 10 points apiece to pace the Titans. Ellyson also had six first-half assists.
“A lot of our turnovers were live-ball turnovers and they’re able to get out and finish in transition,” ND head coach Kahli Wilson said. “A big thorn in our side today was our lack of ability to execute.”
There was no sign of a second-half letdown as the Titans took a 59-17 lead into the fourth and went deep into their bench to afford the regular rotation extra rest.
Frymier led Gilmer’s three double-figure scorers with 17 points and added four steals. Ellyson scored 15 to go with eight steals and Dobbins added 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Titans’ Blair Dobbins, a 6-4 reserve, scored 13 points to go with six boards off the bench.
Selena Wilson led ND with 13 points, 10 of which came after halftime.
“We have 6-4 people, and Mallory who’s 5-4 matching up with her full court to bother her and get her out of her comfort zone,” Ellyson said. “Then we’d switch in the paint and have a 6-4 big guarding her, and it’s hard to game plan for a team with so many different defensive assignments on you.”
The Irish attempted 34 shots and turned it over 34 times.
“Obviously that’s not the outcome we want to have, but that’s one heck of a team,” coach Wilson said. “Gilmer is No. 1 for a reason.“