LOS ANGELES -- Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins was nowhere near her best against UCLA. Fortunately for the Fighting Irish, her teammates did more than enough to beat the Bruins.
Freshman Jewell Loyd had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Kayla McBride scored 18 points, and No. 5 Notre Dame wasn’t threatened in the second half in beating the 19th-ranked Bruins 76-64 on Friday.
Diggins had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, but shot 5 of 17 and committed four turnovers.
Natalie Achonwa had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (4-0), who shot 29 of 60 (48.3 percent) to UCLA’s 24 of 61 (39.3 percent).
"I was so pleased with how the game went because we hit adversity early," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "It wasn’t easy, nothing was easy for us today. As ugly as it was, it was great for a young team to come of age."
Regarding Diggins, a first-team All-American as a junior last season, McGraw acknowledged the fact that it wasn’t one of her better games.
"No, she didn’t (play at her usual level)," McGraw said. "She feels the burden of being the one. When Jewell and Kayla played the way they did, it allowed her to relax."
McBride sat out a little more than three minutes early on after injuring her right ankle. After being re-taped, she came back into the game and didn’t show any ill effects.
"It’s OK," she said of her ankle. "The
Loyd, who shot 8 of 12 including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, made three straight baskets midway through the first half to cap a 15-2 run that put the Irish ahead for good.
Achonwa scored four points during an 8-2 run to start the second half, giving the Irish a 44-31 lead. UCLA drew within eight on two straight baskets by Markel Walker, but that was as close as the Bruins would get. Notre Dame then went on another 8-2 spurt for a 57-43 advantage with 10 1/2 minutes left.
Walker had 21 points and nine rebounds and Alyssia Brewer scored 10 points for the Bruins (2-1), who played without junior point guard Thea Lemberger, sidelined by a sprained left knee. Lemberger, listed as day-to-day, had 18 points and no turnovers in 35 minutes to lead the Bruins to an 86-80 victory at then-No. 11 Oklahoma on Nov. 14.
"It definitely affected us," UCLA coach Cori Close said regarding Lemberger’s absence. "Thea is really a smart player. She plays with great purpose. We’re thankful we’re getting her back soon.
"We’re going to learn from this. We play teams like Notre Dame because that’s what we’re building to become. We did force them into things, we just didn’t always capitalize."
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