SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame’s Lindsay Allen was the one with the last-second touch, hitting buzzer-beating shots at the conclusion of the second and third quarters. Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell wanted her chance to steal the show with one of her own, and that’s what she got. Mitchell finished as the game’s leading scorer, but her hurried heave from almost half-court at the final whistle left her three points short of 30 and the Buckeyes three shy of forcing overtime. A pair of free throws from Notre Dame senior guard Madison Cable 7.5 seconds earlier gave the No. 3-ranked Fighting Irish the cushion they would need to escape 75-72 and remain undefeated at 7-0. “I thought we just made some errors that we don’t usually make turning the ball over, missed a lot of threes,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “But overall, I thought we got our composure when we needed to.” After defeating their first five opponents by an average margin of 35 points, the Irish have emerged victorious from a pair of close calls against the Buckeyes and UCLA by eight in overtime. To round out the third game in seven days, Notre Dame next takes the court Saturday against top-ranked Connecticut. Playing shorthanded without frontcourt starters Brianna Turner and Taya Reimer, the Irish out-rebounded No. 10 Ohio State 45-34. In addition to scoring a team-high 25 points, Cable nabbed 11 rebounds and had three steals. Allen finished with 20 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Kathryn Westbeld and freshman guard Arike Ogunbowale also posted double figures with 14 and 10 points. …
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