SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw learned something about her team Monday night. The top-ranked Irish can win ugly.The Irish struggled at times on offense, but Arike Ogunbowale scored 13 points to help them beat a pesky Fordham squad, 67-36 in a preseason WNIT quarterfinal game.Ogunbowale, who earned ACC player of the week honors earlier in the day, had a steal and layup to put the Irish up by 20 points early in the fourth quarter, just four minutes after Fordham had cut the lead to eight.Its a great thing to learn about this team, that we can win ugly, McGraw said. We missed a lot of shots and we were frustrated early, but we kept our composure.After shooting over 52 percent in a 60-point win over Central Michigan to open the season, Notre Dame shot 42 percent against Fordham, including making just one of eight 3-pointers.The offense the other night, we couldnt miss, McGraw said. Tonight, we couldnt make a shot, but we kept working on defense and never let it get to us.The Rams werent any better, shooting just 23 percent, including 2 of 19 from 3.Lindsay Allen finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Irish (2-0).Gmrice Davis led Fordham (1-1) with nine points and 15 rebounds.PLAYER OF THE GAMEThe Irish hit just one of their first 12 shots to open the second half after ending the first half by going scoreless for nearly three minutes before Allens leaner in the paint gave them a 14-point halftime advantage.Anna Kellys jumper from the left corner with three minutes left in the third quarter cut Notre Dames lead to 36-28, but the Irish got a spark from an unlikely source. Reserve center Kristina Nelson scored the next six points while grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds.I thought Kristina Nelson was player of the game, she made some huge plays for us, McGraw said.Notre Dame loosened up from there and turned it into a rout in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Rams 20-4 in the final 10 minutes.When (Nelson) made that mini run and got those hustle plays, that revved us up a little bit, Allen said. It gave us that energy that we needed.SURPRISE VISITORFormer Notre Dame mens coach Digger Phelps stopped by the Fordham shoot around at Purcell Pavilion earlier in the day and stayed long enough to give the undersized Rams some inspiration.He just walked in out of nowhere and made a great speech to the kids, said Fordham coach Stephanie Gaitley. He talked to them about one of his teams that was small and had injuries, and they left it all out there. As you can see, we go four guards out, but I was really proud of our effort, I thought we gave a great defensive effort. Their size and talent just over-powered us at the end.BIG PICTUREFordham: Gaitley remains stuck at 99 wins in her sixth year at Fordham, which is making its first appearance in the preseason WNIT. This game also marked the first time Fordham has faced the nations top-ranked team.Notre Dame: Jackie Young, last years Naismith National High School Player of the Year, sat out a second game with a thumb injury, but could be back on Thursday as the Irish continue working toward their second ever preseason WNIT championship (2004).UP NEXTFordham: The Rams play a consolation game on either Friday or Saturday against an opponent yet to be determined.Notre Dame: The Irish host Green Bay in the WNIT semifinal round on Thursday Discount Thunder Jerseys . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. Cheap Thunder Jerseys . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. 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RENO, Nev. -- Nevadas Josh Hall and UNLVs Cheickna Dembele are among the freshmen players the NCAA has cleared to play basketball this season after their eligibility had been held up due to questions about the transfer of their academic records.Nevada coach Eric Musselman told the Reno Gazette-Journal he received the good news Wednesday about Hall, a 6-foot-6, 190-pound swingman he says can play any position other than center.Hall averaged 15.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 blockss per game as a junior at Genesis Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia.dddddddddddd The NCAA previously ruled him ineligible because he was home-schooled during the 10th grade.The Rebels Dembele, 6-foot-11, 235-pound forward, is originally from Mali, Africa, where his transcripts had been held up. He most recently played at Scotland Performance Institute in Pennsylvania. ' ' '