Three-Point Play: Notre Dame 66, Louisville 61

As the late Yogi Berra reportedly noted in his days, it was déjà vu all over again for the Notre Dame women’s basketball on Sunday afternoon.

Six days after rallying from a 55-50 fourth quarter deficit at Duke to pull out a 68-61 victory, Notre Dame fell behind 55-49 at No. 13 Louisville before staging more late-game heroics in a nearly identical 66-61 triumph.

The victory gave head coach Muffet McGraw’s No. 3-ranked Fighting Irish a 23-1 overall record and sole possession of first place in the ACC with an 11-0 ledger. The Cardinals saw their 15-game winning streak snapped, falling to 10-1 in league play and 18-6 overall. Notre Dame’s “Big 3” of sophomore forward Brianna Turner, junior point guard Lindsay Allen and grad student Madison Cable propelled the late-game heroics.

Turner (13 points, six rebounds), who had missed several shots from close range earlier, used her 6-3 height and leaping skills to score three unanswered field goals to knot the game at 55-55, and stuffed a Louisville lay-up attempt in the closing minute, giving Notre Dame possession.

Like at Duke, Allen had to sit a spell with foul trouble and the offense was out of sync without her, but she provided the steady hand on both ends of the floor in the fourth quarter, including a jumper that tied it at 57. She was 5-of-7 from the floor, finishing with 12 points.

Cable (13 points, 12 rebounds), battling tonsillitis that prevented her from giving post-game interviews, took over in the clutch again, just like at Duke and after tallying a career high 25 points against North Carolina State three days ago. Cable’s two free throws gave the Irish the lead for good at 59-58 — and then she followed with a trey, where the Irish had been 1-for-8, to extend the cushion to 62-58 near the two-minute mark. It was Cable’s trey at Duke that also gave Notre Dame the lead for good at 57-55.

After three games in seven days, Notre Dame doesn’t play again until hosting Miami next Sunday.

1. The Clutch Gene

It is preposterous to fathom a basketball team can win 26 straight games decided by single digits or in overtime, but that’s what Notre Dame did again. Over time, “the clutch gene” can become an indigenous aspect of a team’s personality. After shooting 18-of-46 (39 percent) from the floor through three quarters, Notre Dame was 6-of-9 (67 percent) in the fourth. It was 1-of-8 from three — until Cable’s triple made it 62-58 when most needed.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals were 20-of-47 (.427) from the field through three quarters, and then 5-of-22 (.227) in the fourth — and 1-of-13 to close the game. Very few teams can possess the poise Notre Dame does in tight situations. It takes years and years of consistent excellence. That’s how even very good programs such as Duke and Louisville have lost 10 and nine consecutive games, respectively, to the Irish.

''It's extremely frustrating,'' said Louisville guard Briahanna Jackson. ''We had them the entire game. I feel like it's just a level of maturity that we still have to reach.”

2. Arike Arrives (Again)

A freshman doesn’t receive true validation in collegiate athletics until responding well in tough atmospheres on the road versus quality teams. Consider guard Arike Ogunbowale there now. At Duke last Monday, she converted her first four shots and kept the Irish afloat while tallying 16 points (second to Cable’s 18) and handing out two assists in 26 minutes. At Louisville, Ogunbowale made her first four shots again, and during a stagnant first half scored 11 of the team’s 30 points as it went into the intermission. She finished with a team high 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting (including a three) in 27 minutes. You can’t spell Ogunbowale without “gun,” but her firepower inside and out has become pivotal to Notre Dame’s fortunes.

3. On The Rebound

Notre Dame is a bona fide contender for a sixth straight Final Four, but perhaps the most pronounced different between them and No. 1 UConn and No. 2 South Carolina (the two meet on Monday night) is size and length under the boards. Louisville out-rebounded Notre Dame 20-9 on the offensive glass, which helped keep it control for most of the contest. Guards can take up the slack on occasion, as Cable did with her 12 caroms, but there might need to be some fortuitous bounces off the rim too if the Irish meet up again with the Huskies or Gamecocks.