TOLEDO – The No. 2 Notre Dame women’s basketball team looked tournament ready Saturday.
The top-seeded and undefeated Irish opened the NCAA Tournament by routing No. 16 seed Robert Morris 93-42 in Savage Arena.
Notre Dame (33-0) advances to play No. 9 seed Arizona State Monday night in a second-round game in Toledo. The 6:30 p.m. game will be televised by ESPN2.
The Irish used a 25-4 first-half run to take a 50-15 lead at halftime of the blowout.
Michaele Mabry led the Irish with 16 points. Jewell Loyd and Natalie Achonwa each scored 15, while Madison Cable had 13 and Ariel Braker 10.
Notre Dame, which will get to play back at home for the regional with a win on Monday night, has played in the Final Four of the tournament the last three years.
The Irish outscored Robert Morris 50-8 in the paint and also drained 10-18 shots from 3-point range.
Robert Morris, which finishes at 21-12, shot 27 percent from the field.
