Notre Dame guard Kayla McBride carried the offense for most of the first half as the No. 2 Irish took a 28-18 lead into halftime against No. 9 Tennessee in Purcell Pavilion.

As both teams struggled to get anything to fall, McBride finished with 11 points in the first half.

Notre Dame guard Skylar Diggins started to come around at the end of the half. After only scoring 3 points in the opening 12 minutes, Diggins tallied the Irish's last 7 points to finish the first 20 minutes with 10.

The Irish only shot 11 of 31 from the floor, and the team's second-leading scorer, Natalie Novosel went 0 for 4 and only played 7 minutes in the first half.

Meighan Simmons scored 8 for Tennessee, which went 7 of 35 from the floor in the first half. The Volunteers also struggled at the free-throw line, making only 4 of 10 at the stripe.

Tennessee has been able to stay in the game thanks to nine offensive rebounds.