March 21, 2004
| NCAA Tournament First Round Notre Dame 69, SW Missouri State 65 (OT) |
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By TOM COYNE
AP Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Courtney LaVere scored four of her 11 points in overtime and made a key block Sunday, helping Notre Dame escape 69-65 in overtime against Southwest Missouri State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Irish (20-10) improved to 14-0 on their home court despite going 12:11 without a field goal after opening a 16-point lead midway through the first half.
The Lady Bears (28-4) led twice by two points late in the second half, but needed a driving layup by Morgan Hohenberger past Jacqueline Batteast with 28 seconds left to force overtime.
In the extra period, Monique Hernandez gave the Irish the lead with a baseline jumper. LaVere scored inside with 2:02 left to make it 63-59, then blocked a shot inside by Meg Tierney. LaVere then put the Irish ahead 65-59 with a basket inside with 40 seconds left.
Jenni Lingor sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers for Southwest Missouri around a pair of free throws by Notre Dame’s Megan Duffy to cut the lead to 67-65. Le’Tania Severe made a pair of free throws and the Irish held on.
Notre Dame will host 13th-seeded Middle Tennessee State (24-7) on Tuesday in a second round East Regional game. The Lady Raiders upset No. 12 North Carolina 67-62 earlier in the day.
Batteast led the Irish with 17 points and 11 rebounds but turned the ball over seven times. Megan Duffy added 16 points and Severe had 11 as the Irish shot just 33 percent, including 22 percent in the second half.
Lingor and Kari Koch had 15 points each for the Lady Bears and Stephanie Busbey added 10 points. The Lady Bears shot 38 percent for the game, including 46 percent in the second half.