Jan. 18, 2011
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Skylar Diggins scored 17 of her 22 points in the first half and added six assists to lead No. 11 Notre Dame to an 80-58 win over No. 16 Georgetown on Tuesday night.
Natalie Novosel added 19 points, Brittany Mallory had 14, and Devereaux Peters pulled down 12 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (16-4, 5-1 BIG EAST).
Sugar Rodgers had 15 points and six rebounds, and Rubylee Wright added 13 points and six assists for the Hoyas (14-5, 2-3).
Notre Dame finished the first half on an 11-2 run and went into the locker room with a 45-33 lead. Georgetown left six points on the board as the Hoyas missed the front-end of the bonus on three straight trips to the line in last few minutes of the half.
Georgetown’s full-court press forced the Irish into three quick turnovers early in the second half before Novosel stole the ball for a layup that put the Irish up 59-42 with 14:44 to play.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame earns its first win over a ranked opponent in five outings this season … the 22-point margin of victory was the largest for the Fighting Irish against a Top 25 opponent since Feb. 25, 2004, when an unranked Notre Dame side knocked off No. 21/19 Miami (Fla.), 93-58 at Purcell Pavilion … the last time Notre Dame defeated a team ranked in the top 20 of the Associated Press poll by a larger margin than 22 points was Nov. 22, 2000, when the Fighting Irish posted an 83-56 win at No. 19 Wisconsin in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge (current Notre Dame assistant coach Niele Ivey was the starting point guard for the Fighting Irish that day and nearly had a triple-double with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists) … the last time Notre Dame defeated a team ranked higher than Georgetown by a larger margin than 22 points was Nov. 21, 1998, when the Fighting Irish logged an 84-57 win over No. 6/4 Duke at Purcell Pavilion … Notre Dame moves to 24-3 all-time against Georgetown (13-0 at Purcell Pavilion), with the 24 series wins tying for second-most against one opponent in program history (the Fighting Irish also have 24 victories over Valparaiso, plus 30 wins over Marquette) … this was Notre Dame’s largest win in the series with the Hoyas since Feb. 21, 2007, when the Fighting Irish recorded a 73-48 win at Purcell Pavilion … the Fighting Irish have held Georgetown to fewer than 70 points in 19 of their 22 matchups as members of the BIG EAST Conference (1995-96 to present), going 19-0 in those contests … Notre Dame shot better than 50 percent from the field for the 12th time this season and topped the 45-percent mark for the 17th time … the Fighting Irish nailed a season-high eight three-pointers, their best production from beyond the arc since Feb. 23, 2010, when they also sank eight treys in an 82-67 win over Marquette at Purcell Pavilion … Notre Dame forced at least 20 turnovers for the 15th time this season (in addition to 19 takeaways in two other outings) … the Fighting Irish also collected double-digit steals for the 15th time this year … sophomore guard Skylar Diggins turned in her second consecutive 20-point night, fourth of the season and 11th in her career … Diggins also dished out at least five assists for the 13th time this year … senior guard Brittany Mallory scored a season-high 14 points and matched her season best with three three-pointers … senior forward Devereaux Peters snared a game-high 12 rebounds, her fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season (all in the past eight games) and the seventh of her career.