Nov. 26, 2010
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| Notre Dame Quotes
– WBCA Classic Tournament Central
NOTRE DAME, Ind. (AP) – Devereaux Peters scored 18 points and No. 18 Notre Dame closed the first half with a 23-2 run, dominating IUPUI 95-29 on Friday in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Classic.
Junior guard Natalie Novosel added 12 points, and forward Erica Solomon had 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (3-2), who forced 19 first-half turnovers while taking a 41-13 lead into the locker room.
Notre Dame also went 17 of 35 from the field in the first half, scoring 26 in the paint.
“I was disappointed with the defense initially,” said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, whose team opened with an 11-2 run but watched IUPUI close within 16-10 before the Irish got on track.
“I thought we really could have gotten out on the trap a little more than we did. But we did force a lot of turnovers,” McGraw said. “I thought that when we went to the bench we got more energy. Erica came in and did a great job.”
Peters added six rebounds in her 20 minutes of action, and also drew praise from her coach.
“When she went to the basket, she was unstoppable,” McGraw said. “She was phenomenal inside. She looked just go graceful. She made some great plays inside, had a couple of hook shots, used her left hand a little bit. I thought she was just moving really well without the ball. She did a nice job at all ends of the floor.”
Peters said she was trying to get into a rhythm after a rough couple of games.
“I was just trying to get back into the flow of things,” she said. “I really tried to make an impact today.”
The closest the Jaguars came to getting a player in double figures was seven points each from junior Jasmine Horne and freshman Demetri Nunley-Lash.
“We have so many young kids, and it’s the first time playing in front of 7,000 people,” said IUPUI coach Austin Parkinson. “I told them when a team goes on a run, a lot of times it’s like quicksand. When you are not used to that, you really don’t know how to stop it.”
The Irish, who stopped a two-game losing streak, will face Wake Forest in the next stage of the round-robin tournament. IUPUI (1-3) faces Butler in the next round.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame’s 66-point margin of victory is the second-largest in school history, topped only by a 78-point spread (113-35) against Liberty on Nov. 24, 1989, in the UCF Rotary Classic in Orlando, Fla. … Friday’s margin also is the largest home win in school history, surpassing the 63-point difference (91-28) against Morehead State just 11 days earlier …prior to this season, Notre Dame had won three times by 60-or-more points in the program’s first 33 seasons (and not once since that November 1989 win over Liberty) … Friday’s 29 points by IUPUI tie for the fourth-fewest points allowed by Notre Dame in a single game — the only lower opponent point totals came on Jan. 31, 1978 (68-25 win at home vs. Grace), Jan. 21, 1982 (84-27 win at Valparaiso) and Nov. 15, 2010 (91-28 win at home vs. Morehead State); the Fighting Irish also defeated Saint Mary’s (Ind.), 92-29 on Dec. 8, 1981, at Purcell Pavilion … for the third time in five games this season, Notre Dame forced at least 35 opponent turnovers and recorded at least 20 steals … conversely, Notre Dame turned the ball over a season-low nine times, its fewest giveaways since Feb. 6, 2010, when it had a similar nine-turnover day in an 86-76 win over Pittsburgh at Purcell Pavilion … the Fighting Irish have won 22 of their last 25 regular-season tournament games … Notre Dame extends its current winning streak against Indiana schools to 13 in a row and improves to 118-32 (.787) all-time against the rest of the Hoosier State, including a 58-11 (.841) record at home … junior forward Erica Solomon registered her first career double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds (topping her previous high of 10 rebounds on Jan. 24, 2009, at Villanova) … Solomon also matched her career best with three steals, a mark she equaled for the third time after most recently doing so on Nov. 15 vs. Morehead State … freshman forward Ariel Braker posted season highs with 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks … sophomore guard Kaila Turner collected her first career “5-5-5” game with eight points and career-high-tying marks of five assists and five steals; she last had five assists on Nov. 15 vs. Morehead State, and five steals on Dec. 20, 2009, vs. Charlotte at Purcell Pavilion … Friday’s attendance of 8,848 was a season high.