On Thursday night, Wake Forest women’s basketball faced off against No. 7 Notre Dame in South Bend. The Fighting Irish gave the Demon Deacons a reality check, as they handed their biggest loss of the season, losing 86-47.

“That was an uncharacteristic performance from us tonight, especially on the defensive end of the floor,” head coach Megan Gebbia said.

The Fighting Irish opened the game with a 7-0 run. Wake Forest began to respond with senior Olivia Summiel hitting a shot from behind the arc to cut the lead to just four, but sloppy play on both sides of the ball allowed Notre Dame to quickly extend their lead to 10. The Fighting Irish attacked the Demon Deacons’ weak interior defense for easy drive in layups and capitalized off offensive rebounds for second-chance points. Notre Dame guard Maddy Wesbeld put the finishing touch on a perfect first quarter nailing a buzzer-beater 3-pointer which extended the lead to 13.

Notre Dame picked up where they left off to start the second quarter. The Fighting Irish went on an 8-2 run, continuing to capitalize on the Demon Deacons’ weak defense and countless turnovers. Sophomore guard Elise Williams answered with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 16. Junior guard Jewel Spear had a difficult night from the field, starting out zero for five, but she was able to nail a 3-pointer. Unfortunately, Wake Forest still trailed by 15. The Fighting Irish went on another scoring tear to close out the first half and go into the locker room up 44-25.

The Demon Deacons put up a fight early in the third quarter, trading baskets with the Fighting Irish. However, Notre Dame quickly found their stride and went on a 12-2 run to take a 29-point lead going into the fourth quarter. Senior Kaia Harrison proved to be a challenge for the Notre Dame defense, though, scoring six points in the quarter and grabbing four rebounds.

Up 29 going into the fourth quarter, Notre Dame was looking to put the game away. Wake Forest tightened up their interior defense, but the Fighting Irish answered with excellent shooting from the perimeter to go on an 11-2 run to finish out the contest. Notre Dame closed out the game with a final score of 86-47.

“These types of games are hard to win when playing against a top-10 team on the road,” Gebbia said. “Now it is about how we respond and learn from this. We can take a lot from this in our growth process, and that starts tonight in terms of reflecting on what happened tonight and how we go about fixing it.”

Wake Forest continues their road stretch, facing off against ACC foe Miami on Sunday at 2 p.m in Coral Gables.