Jan. 21, 2006
WASHINGTON (AP) – Megan Duffy scored 16 points and No. 24 Notre Dame defeated Georgetown 54-52 for its first Big East road win of the season.
Melissa D’Amico had 10 rebounds for the Irish (12-5, 3-3 Big East), who scored only one field goal in the last 10 minutes as late-charging Georgetown put together a 19-4 run.
Bethany LeSueur scored 19 points and Kieraah Marlow added 12 for the Hoyas (8-9, 1-5). Kate Carlin’s 3-pointer from the right wing fell short at the buzzer, sending Georgetown to its third straight defeat.
Notre Dame’s Breona Gray had the chance to seal the game, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 14.9 seconds to play. She got to the line after stealing Nikki Bozeman’s pass on the previous possession.
The Irish led 32-18 at halftime. They extended the lead to 17 three times, the last coming on Charel Allen’s layup with 10:07 left.
Notre Dame led 19-6 as the Hoyas shot 1-of-11 from the floor in the opening 6-plus minutes.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame now has won three of its last four games since suffering its first three-game losing streak in eight years … the Irish are 5-1 this season in games decided by five points or less (only loss: 66-63 at St. John’s on Jan. 4) … Notre Dame is 20-2 all-time against Georgetown, including an 8-1 mark in Washington, D.C. … the Hoyas are the sixth opponent in Irish women’s basketball history against whom Notre Dame has registered 20-or-more wins (others are: Marquette – 27, Dayton & Detroit – 22, Loyola (Ill.) & Xavier – 20) … the Irish have held Georgetown to less than 70 points in 16 of 17 BIG EAST Conference meetings, going 16-0 vs. the Hoyas when they register such a defensive effort … Georgetown’s 52 points were the fewest it has scored vs. the Irish at McDonough Arena since Jan. 6, 1998 (a 69-44 ND win) … the 52 points also were the fewest allowed by Notre Dame to a BIG EAST opponent this year (previous: 61 by Louisville on Jan. 14) and the third-fewest by any foe this year (season-best: 45 by Michigan on Nov. 18) … GU’s 18 first-half points tied an Irish opponent season low, originally set by Valparaiso on Dec. 28 … after shooting a combined .582 (39-67) from the foul line during its three-game losing streak, the Irish have connected at a .697 clip (53-76) in their last four outings … Notre Dame is 10-2 this season when leading at halftime and has won 35 of its last 39 such contests … since joining the BIG EAST 11 seasons ago, the Irish are 156-9 (.945) when limiting opponents to less than 60 points, including a 6-0 mark this year … sophomore center Melissa D’Amico tied her career high with 10 rebounds, matching the total she had on Nov. 27 vs. No. 24/21 USC … senior forward Courtney LaVere grabbed her 500th career rebound in the Georgetown win (she now has 503 all-time caroms).