Notre Dame, inspired by Westbeld, rout Villanova 98-72

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- With top-seed Notre Dame struggling to a halftime tie against Villanova on Sunday in a second-round women's NCAA Tournament game, a visibly angry Muffet McGraw had seen enough.

When the Irish returned from the locker room, enter Kathryn Westbeld, who sat out the first half with a left ankle sprain, and the Irish found their way to the regional semifinals for the ninth straight season with a 98-72 victory over pesky Villanova.

Westbeld turned her ankle early in Notre Dame's 99-81 first-round victory Friday against Cal State Fullerton and was listed by McGraw as a game-time decision. She was dressed for pregame warmups but clearly struggling, so McGraw started Kristina Nelson and tried freshman Danielle Patterson before using sophomore walk-on Kaitlin Cole, whose offensive rebound and layup had tied the game at halftime, 45-45.

Using the juice provided by Westbeld's return, the Irish started the third quarter with a 12-3 run and outscored the Wildcats (23-9) by a 28-8 margin for a commanding 73-53 after three quarters to move into next Saturday's regional semifinal at Spokane, Wash., against 14th-ranked Texas A&M.

Jessica Shepard had her fourth straight double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead Notre Dame. Arike Ogunbowale and Jackie Young had 24 points each and Marina Mabrey added 15 for the Irish (31-3), who held the Wildcats to just 27 second-half points in winning their 25th straight game at Purcell Pavilion.

The Irish clearly were inspired after the intermission by Westbeld, who left the floor with 4:02 remaining to a standing ovation. The Irish were ahead 94-64 and Westbeld, who had two points and six rebounds in 16 minutes, received a heartfelt embrace from McGraw.

Jannah Tucker led Villanova with 19 points, Kelly Jekot added 16 and Adrianna Hahn had 11 for Villanova, which missed all five 3-pointers it took in the second half after hitting 10 of 15 in the first 20 minutes.

McGraw, whose friendship with Perretta goes back 40 years when he took over the Villanova program, had a surprise for his Wildcats at the start. The Irish started in man-to-man defense after primarily playing zone since their 100-67 loss to Louisville on Jan. 11. But Villanova quickly solved it, with Jekot scoring seven points by dashing past the slower Shepard for layups, and Nelson was having trouble keeping up with the smaller, quicker Wildcats as well.

The Wildcats had a 12-11 lead at the media break with 4:08 to play. When the teams returned to the floor, the Irish went back to a 2/3 zone and McGraw inserted Patterson. The Wildcats took advantage by hitting two 3-pointers, one each by Tucker and Hahn, to take an 18-13 lead when a clearly disappointed McGraw called a 30-second timeout to settle her team with 2:18 remaining.

McGraw further made her point by inserting Cole. The Irish finished with 6-0 run to take a 19-18 first-quarter lead, but McGraw was clearly mad, tossing a clipboard to the floor at the buzzer.

Villanova continued hitting its 3-pointers, the Wildcats hit seven in their first 11 attempts as the teams reached the second-quarter media timeout tied at 34-34. A three-point play by Ogunbowale and a steal and score by Young gave the Irish a 39-34 with 3:09 before half when Perretta called a timeout.

Whatever he said worked as the Wildcats closed on an 11-6 run, Hahn hitting a pair of 3-pointers and Tucker another as Villanova finished the first half hitting 10 of 15 and the game was tied at 45.

BIG PICTURE

Villanova: The Wildcats, who made 16 of the 38 3-pointers they attempted in Friday's 81-74 overtime victory against South Dakota State, kept right on shooting against the Irish, making 10 of the 15 in the first 20 minutes that ended in a 45-45 tie. They missed all five they took in the second half.

Notre Dame: The inspirational play of Westbeld, who had two points and six rebounds in 16 minutes of the second half as Notre Dame pulled away from a 45-45 halftime tie with a 28-8 third quarter. She

UP NEXT:

Notre Dame: A Sweet 16 appearance Saturday at Spokane, Wash., against No. 14 Texas A&M, which owns a 2-1 mark against the Irish, including that 76-70 victory in the 2011 championship game at Indianapolis. Notre Dame won the last meeting 83-74 on Dec. 21, 2012 at the World Vision Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.