Fighting Irish Top Cincinnati 64-42 at Home, Prepare to Take on Villanova

Kayla McBride led Notre Dame (20-1, 8-0 BIG EAST) to a big win in front of a home crowd Saturday night at the Purcell Pavilion, scoring 19 in the BIG EAST victory over the Bearcats (8-13, 0-8 BIG EAST) that made them the first team in women’s college basketball to reach 20 wins in the 2012-2013 season.

McBride shot 75% from the floor, and scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half–a performance reminiscent of teammate Skylar Diggins‘ effort in the Irish’s 77-67 win over the #12 Tennessee Lady Vols (17-5, 8-1 SEC).

Kaila Turner added 11 points, accounting for more than half of the team’s bench points in Saturday’s game, and Markisha Wright had a game-high nine rebounds from the bench.

The Irish remain ranked second in the country behind the Baylor Lady Bears (20-1, 10-0 Big 12). While there were a number of top 25 upsets over the weekend, the frighteningly dominant top four teams held rank–Baylor, Notre Dame, Connecticut (20-1, 7-1 BIG EAST), Stanford (20-2, 9-1 Pac-12).

The women’s team looks to extend its 15-game win streak at Villanova’s Pavilion Tuesday night. Coach Muffet McGraw will have a shot at earning her 700th career win, and the Irish have a chance for a decisive BIG EAST win against the Wildcats (16-5, 5-3).

In a week of conference matchups, Baylor will take on Kansas (15-4, 5-4 Big 12) Wednesday night, Connecticut will take on Marquette (11-10, 3-5 BIG EAST) Tuesday night, and Stanford takes on Arizona (11-10, 3-7 Pac-12) Friday night.

Just eight games and a huge rematch against Connecticut remain for the Irish before the madness begins.