SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Madison Cable matched her career-high with 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead No. 3 Notre Dame to an 82-46 victory over North Carolina State on Thursday.
The Wolfpack (16-7, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) couldn't stop Cable early as she scored 13 of Notre Dame's first 19 points and the Irish (22-1, 10-0) jumped to a 19-12 lead. Cable hit shots from the outside, scored on fast-break layups and was 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The Irish broke the game open when Brianna Turner scored on back-to-back layups to spark a 12-0 run late in the third quarter. Cable capped the run when Turner jumped to catch a high pass under the basket and passed to Cable in the lane, who drove in afor a three-point play when she was fouled.
Miah Spencer led the Wolfpack with 13 points and Dominique Wilson had 11.
Turner added 14 points for the Irish and Arike Ogunbowale and Lindsay Allen had 10 points each. Allen added eight assists.
The Irish outscored NC State 42-20 in the paint and had a 38-28 rebounding advantage. The Irish also scored 27 points off of 24 turnovers by the Wolfpack
The Irish extended the lead to 82-42 with 61 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Marina Mabrey. The loss was the biggest of the season for the Wolfpack. Their previous biggest loss was 73-44 to Miami on Dec. 30.
The Irish defense stymied the Wolfpack, who were held to 33 percent shooting as they repeatedly put up bad shots with two air balls, one shot hitting the side of the backboard and another hitting the bottom.
The Wolfpack started the game slow, missing their first seven shot, falling behind 9-2. The Irish extended the lead to 15-4 early on a layup by Cable on a fast break. NC State used an 8-4 spurt to narrow the lead to 19-12 at the end of the first quarter and eventually closed to 23-17 on a jumper by Wilson. A 3-pointer by Lindsay Allen sparked a 7-0 run by the Irish.
The Irish eventually extended the lead to 38-23 on another jumper by Allen, but were held scoreless over the final 2:57 of the half as the Wolfpack closed to 38-25.
TIP-INS
North Carolina State: The Wolfpack's last win over a top-five team came against No. 5 Duke in the ACC tournament four years ago. Their last road win against a top-five team came against No. 2 Old Dominion in 1985. ... The Wolfpack fell to 0-5 against the Irish. ... It was N.C. State's first trip to South Bend, the last ACC team to make the trip.
Notre Dame: The Irish have won 25 straight at home, tying for the third-longest streak in school history. The record is 51 straight set from 1998 to 2002. ... Lindsay Allen made her 100th straight start, extending her school record. The junior has started every game since arriving at Notre Dame. ... The Irish have won 28 straight games in the month of February. ... Notre Dame has had at least four players in double figures in 14 games this season.
UP NEXT
North Carolina State travels to Wake Forest on Sunday.
Notre Dame plays at No. 13 Louisville on Sunday.
