Jan. 19, 2005
By JOHN KEKIS
AP Sports Writer
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) – Jacqueline Batteast scored 19 points to lead No. 11 Notre Dame past Syracuse 74-61 on Wednesday night.
Notre Dame (15-3, 3-2 Big East) improved its record against Syracuse to 15-1 since the Irish joined the Big East for the 1995-96 season. The Orange’s lone victory came in the 2002 Big East tournament.
Megan Duffy and Charel Allen each had 17 points, and Courtney LaVere had 13 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season for the Irish, who outrebounded Syracuse 40-27.
Notre Dame’s bench also contributed 30 points while Syracuse’s three reserves netted only three points, all on free throws.
Rochelle Coleman led the Orange (10-6, 2-3) with 16 points, Chineze Nwagbo had 15, Jessica Richter 14. Freshman center Vaida Sipaviciute had 10 points, eight blocks, and six rebounds.
The Orange trailed by 13 at halftime and drew to 56-49 on a three-point play by Nwagbo at 11:04. Batteast was called for her fourth foul on the play and had to sit. The Irish missed their next five shots, but Syracuse also sputtered and only managed to close to 57-51 on a layup by Sipaviciute at 7:27.
Batteast returned and hit a driving layup, Teresa Borton followed with another layup, and Batteast hit a pair of free throws and a three-point play to boost the Notre Dame lead to 66-54 with 3:27 remaining, putting the game out of reach.
Syracuse, riding a modest two-game win streak in the league, took a 15-9 lead midway through the first half. The Orange went 5-for-9 from the field while Notre Dame shot just 4-for-18.
That changed in a hurry. After a Notre Dame timeout, the Irish hit six of their next seven shots and scored 14 straight points to take control.
Batteast began the run with a jumper in the lane, Duffy followed with four straight points and LaVere added six, her turnaround jumper in the lane giving Notre Dame a 23-15 lead with 9:13 left.
LaVere was a torrid 6-for-7, scoring all of her points in the opening period. She drained a 3-pointer from the right corner with 1:17 left to boost the lead to 40-26. It was her first 3 of the season and only her second attempt from beyond the arc.
A 3 by Duffy from the right wing in the final minute gave the Irish a 43-30 lead at the break.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame earns its fifth consecutive victory over Syracuse, improves to 18-2 all-time against SU (8-1 at Manley Field House) and sweeps the season series from the Orange … last season, the Irish won both ends of home-and-away series with Miami and Syracuse, while spltting a pair with Georgetown … this year, Notre Dame still has two-game sets remaining with Rutgers and Boston College, as well as return road trips to Connecticut and Seton Hall … Notre Dame now has won all 14 regular-season matchups with Syracuse since the Irish joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96 … Wednesday’s win marked the 16th time in the 20-game series with Syracuse that Notre Dame has scored at least 70 points … the Irish defeated the Orange by double digits for the 16th time in their 18 series wins … Notre Dame is 34-2 (.944) all-time against New York-based schools, and has a 15-1 (.938) record when playing in the Empire State … the Irish improve to 6-1 on the road this season, although Wednesday’s game marked the first time Notre Dame had given up more than 59 points on the road (it took a Rochelle Coleman bucket with five seconds left to put SU over the mark) … Notre Dame topped the 45-percent shooting mark for the second consecutive game and is 7-0 this season when connecting on at least 45 percent of its shots … the Irish took a 13-point lead to the locker room and jumped to 13-0 this year when leading at halftime … the Notre Dame bench also played a pivotal role in the win, outscoring its Syracuse counterparts, 30-3; the Irish are 11-0 this season when their bench outscores the opposition’s understudies … Notre Dame had four double-figure scorers for the sixth time this season and moves to 9-1 this year when it has at least three players in double figures (only loss was in overtime vs. No. 15 Michigan State) … freshman guard Charel Allen scored a career-high 17 points, one more than the tally she had against No. 6 Duke on Nov. 17 … junior forward Courtney LaVere turned in her best performance since returning from arthroscopic knee surgery Dec. 30, posting her second double-double of the season (also 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. Duke) … junior guard Megan Duffy had at least six assists for the fifth consecutive game … Irish head coach Muffet McGraw registered her 399th career win in 18 seasons at Notre Dame (399-152, .724).