Feb. 5, 2005
By ALAN ROBINSON
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The fans drawn by freshman Charel Allen almost made it seem like a home game for Notre Dame. Courtney LaVere made certain it wasn’t a game at all once Pitt’s leading scorer got into foul trouble.
LaVere came off the bench to lead No. 6 Notre Dame’s pivotal 14-0 run late in the first half and the Fighting Irish went on to their seventh consecutive victory, beating Pittsburgh 75-47 Saturday.
LaVere scored 11 of her 17 points in the first half to help Notre Dame (20-3, 8-2 Big East) turn a 24-18 lead into a 38-18 advantage over a 5-minute stretch in which Pitt star Marcedes Walker drew her third foul.
“We did a good job from stopping Pitt from moving the ball in transition,” coach Muffet McGraw said. “Marcedes is a tough matchup for any team, and we couldn’t handle her one-on-one. She still played well even after getting in foul trouble.”
Walker, also a freshman, had 13 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 6:32 remaining for Pitt (11-10, 3-7).
“I shouldn’t have gotten two dumb fouls,” said Walker, whose absence allowed Notre Dame to take an extra defender off her. “I’ve been double-teamed for quite a while now, but I’ve still got to work on it.”
Allen, who is one of Pennsylvania’s leading high school scorers ever, also didn’t start but scored 16 points while being cheered on by hundreds of fans from her Monessen, Pa., hometown. Allen never seriously considered Pitt, saying she disliked the school’s hilly, urban campus.
It seemed like home to her on Saturday.
“I didn’t think I would make an impact so early,” said Allen, who scored in double figures for the third time in six games. “My coach wants me to shoot more – that’s what she keeps telling me.”
With Walker out, the 6-foot-1 LaVere and 6-3 Teresa Borton dominated inside against Pittsburgh, which was far less physical without the Big East’s third leading rebounder.
LaVere started the run with a steal and finished it with consecutive baskets, then added two free throws after Pittsburgh scored for the first time in five minutes on Jessica Allen’s 3-pointer, her only basket.
Borton had two blocked shots, a steal and a basket, and Crystal Erwin added a steal and basket during the run, which repeatedly saw the Panthers settle for 3-point attempts when they couldn’t get the ball inside. Borton finished with 10 points and four blocked shots, and Erwin had 8 points.
Pitt was only 5-of-26 on 3-pointers, with Vika Sholokohova going 1-of-9. Notre Dame was so successful pounding the ball inside it attempted only six 3-pointers, making two.
Jacqueline Batteast added 12 points for Notre Dame, whose seven-game streak includes four victories over ranked opponents – topped by a 65-59 decision at three-time defending national champion Connecticut that ended the Huskies’ 112-game Big East home winning streak.
Walker, a muscular former high school shot putter, had little help offensively. Katie Histed had eight points and five rebounds, but missed 12 of 15 shots as the Panthers shot 25 percent (17-of-68) to Notre Dame’s 43.5 percent (27-of-62).
Pittsburgh lost its seventh in nine games and its sixth in its last seven home games, despite a season-high crowd of 5,652 drawn by a $1 ticket promotion and Allen’s return.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame picks up its 20th victory of the season, marking the 12th consecutive 20-win season for the Irish and 16th 20-win campaign in the 18-year Muffet McGraw era … for the fourth time in the past seven seasons, Notre Dame earned its 20th win in 23 games or less (also 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-01) … the Irish improve to 15-0 all-time against Pittsburgh, including an 8-0 mark on the UP campus (2-0 at the Petersen Events Center) … Notre Dame’s 15-game winning streak vs. Pittsburgh matches a 15-game success string vs. St. John’s for the longest Irish active winning streak against a BIG EAST Conference opponent … Notre Dame stretches its current winning streak to seven games, tying a season long (first seven games of the year) … the 28-point margin of victory was the largest of the season for the Irish, surpassing a 26-point differential (65-39) at Dayton on Dec. 9 … Notre Dame is 8-1 on the road this season and has held eight of those nine opponents to less than 60 points (Syracuse had 61 on Jan. 19, but needed a last-second basket to reach the mark) … the Irish are 16-0 this season when they lead at halftime … Notre Dame is 15-0 this year when its bench outscores the opposition’s reserves, highlighted by a season-best 39 points at Pittsburgh … the Irish held the Panthers to their second-lowest point total in the 15-game series and recorded their largest margin of victory in the series since an 89-51 win on Feb. 17, 1996 … Notre Dame had four double-figure scorers for the eighth time this season and improves to 11-1 this year when it has at least three double-digit scorers … the Irish pulled down a season-best 50 rebounds, one more than their previous high which had been set twice before (most recently vs. St. John’s on Jan. 26) … the Notre Dame defense forced at least 20 turnovers for the 12th time this season … junior forward Courtney LaVere scored a game-high 17 points, her largest scoring output since returning from knee surgery Dec. 30 and her second-highest scoring total of the year (18 vs. Illinois State on Nov. 12) … freshman guard Charel Allen just missed her career-high scoring total (17 at Syracuse on Jan. 19), but did post her eighth straight game with at least eight points (10.6 ppg. in that time) … junior guard Megan Duffy narrowly missed her fourth double-figure assist game of the year, logging all nine of her assists without a turnover in the first half; Duffy is averaging 7.2 apg. in the past 10 games … with four blocks vs. Pittsburgh, senior center Teresa Borton moved into a tie for fifth place on Notre Dame’s career blocks list with 133 rejections (also Shari Matvey from 1979-83).