Oct 30, 2013 2 min read

Facing one of the elite programs in NCAA Division I, California University suffered a 114-48 loss to preseason No. 7 Notre Dame at the Purcell Pavilion Wednesday night.

The Vulcans started five returners against the Fighting Irish, who were picked second in the preseason ACC coaches’ poll after sweeping the Big East regular-season and tournament titles last year. Notre Dame finished with a 35-2 overall record, capped by a third consecutive appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Junior forward Emma Mahady led Cal with 11 points, all in the first half, after making five-of-nine attempts from the floor. She also had three rebounds, two assists and three steals while playing a game-high 34 minutes.

Junior transfer Kaitlynn Fratz added eight points and three steals off the bench, and senior Elena Antonenko scored seven points and pulled down three rebounds. Senior guard Kate Seebohm finished with teams highs of four rebounds and four assists, and scored five points.

The Vulcans made their first two shots on Wednesday before the Fighting Irish scored 21-unanswered points over nearly five minutes to take a 24-4 lead with 13:40 left in the first half.

The Fighting Irish, who have won 29-straight exhibition games, led by as many as 77 points en route to setting a school exhibition record with 114 points.

Freshman Taya Reimer and sophomore guard Jewell Loyd each scored a game-high 27 points for the Irish.

Cal continues preseason play Sunday, when it travels to Pittsburgh in an exhibition at the Peterson Events Center. Tipoff is 2 p.m.