SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Arike Ogunbowale scored 30 points to help No. 1 Notre Dame overcame 18 turnovers and beat No. 2 Louisville, 82-68, on Thursday night.
Brianna Turner added 16 points and Jackie Young had 14 for the Irish (15-1, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). They regained the top spot in The Associated Press poll this week and won their eighth straight since an 89-71 loss to Connecticut.
Asia Durr had 29 points for Louisville (14-1, 2-1), and Bionca Dunham added 10. The Cardinals cut a 10-point deficit to 2 twice in the fourth quarter — including at 68-66 with 1 minute 48 seconds remaining — but a basket from Turner a 3-pointer by Ogunbowale propelled the Irish to a 14-2 run to finish the game.
Durr scored 19 points in the first half, including 12 straight for her team in a 3:47 span across the first and second quarters, to help the Cardinals to a 35-33 halftime lead.
Notre Dame’s biggest lead of the half was 4 points, at 15-11, when Turner converted a pass from Ogunbowale with 3:12 left in the first quarter. Durr scored Louisville’s next 8 points to make it 19-16 before the Irish took a 20-19 lead on two free throws each by Ogunbowale and Young.
An 8-1 run by Louisville to start the second quarter gave the Cardinals a 27-21 lead and forced Coach Muffet McGraw to call a timeout. At that point, Louisville had forced eight turnovers without committing one.
Louisville’s lead reached seven twice in the second quarter, the last time at 35-28 on Dunham’s layup with 2:38 to play. Notre Dame, which hit just two field goals in 14 attempts in the quarter, closed on a 5-0 run, all from the free-throw line as Louisville forced 11 turnovers.
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