WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) – Brianna Turner had 19 points and 11 rebounds and No. 2 Notre Dame remained undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference by beating Wake Forest 86-52 on Thursday night.
Arike Ogunbowale had 16 points, Michaela Mabrey 11, and Kathryn Westbeld and Kristina Nelson added 10 each for the Fighting Irish (25-1, 13-0 ACC), who won their 18th straight.
Notre Dame, which has won the past two ACC championships, clinched a top-four seed and bye to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
Ariel Stephenson scored 17 and Elisa Penna had 10 for the Deacons (15-12, 6-8), who shot 37.7 percent (20 of 53) and made just 5 of 17 3-pointers to snap a four-game winning streak.
Turner had 14 points in the first half as the Fighting Irish built a 41-22 halftime lead.
The 6-foot-3 center had 12 points in the first quarter, including eight straight and 12 of 14 points over a six-minute span, to put Notre Dame up 24-12.
The Deacons managed to cut the lead to 24-16 in the opening 1:39 of the second quarter, but Ogunbowale scored eight points during a 12-2 run that pushed Notre Dame’s lead back to double digits.
The Irish would then open the third quarter with a 19-7 run to push its lead to 62-29 with 2:16 remaining. Wake Forest would pull no closer than 26 points the rest of the game.
TIP-INS
Notre Dame: Improved to 4-0 all-time against the Deacons, and 3-0 as conference opponents. … Has now won 30 consecutive games against ACC opponents, and improved to 51-1 since joining the league three seasons ago.
Wake Forest: Is now 0-for-53 against teams ranked in the top five. … Snapped its longest ACC winning streak since taking five straight between Jan. 12-27, 1988.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame: Visits No. 10 Florida State on Monday.
Wake Forest: Hosts Virginia Tech Thursday.