Dec. 19, 2004
MILWAUKEE (AP) – Jacqueline Batteast’s three-pointer as time expired gave No. 7 Notre Dame a 50-47 victory over Marquette on Sunday at the Al McGuire Center.
It was Notre Dame’s only 3-point field goal of the game, which was highlighted by each team’s star post players – Batteast and Marquette’s Christina Quaye. Batteast had game highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds to pick up her third double-double of the season, while Quaye led Marquette with 20 points and eight rebounds.
“Batteast, what can you say about her? She is an all American for a reason, she stepped up and took the big shot and made many key plays for her team today,” said Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell.
Neither team shot well as defense was the order of the day. Marquette shot 28.6-percent (16-of-56) while Notre Dame shot 34.8-percent (16-of-46), making rebounding and turnovers the key stats in the game. Marquette won the battle of the boards 47-31. It was Notre Dame¹s largest rebounding deficit of the season. However, the Irish forced 19 turnovers, including 11 steals (seven by Megan Duffy).
“I thought Marquette played a great game,” said Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw. “Their defense was outstanding. They worked hard on the boards. I thought Quaye looked unstoppable at times, we had trouble defending her, but her getting into foul trouble may be the difference in game.”
Twenty of Marquette¹s 47 rebounds came on the offensive end.
“Rebounding was a big emphasis for us,” said Mitchell. “If we want to be playing March in the post season, we have to rebound.”
The game stayed close early in the second half as the lead changed hands seven times in the first ten minutes of the half.
Notre Dame slowly pulled away thereafter, extending its lead to five, 38-33, at the 7:29 mark on Charel Allen¹s lay-in.
Both teams found their shooting touch late in game as the teams began to trade baskets. Marquette tied the score at 40 when Danielle Kamm hit a falling 17-footer as the shot clock expired with 3:23 remaining.
Breona Gray quieted the home crowd of 2,573 with a jumper that gave the Fighting Irish a 45-44 lead with 1:32 remaining.
The score stayed that way until Kamm fouled Duffy with 16 seconds remaining. Duffy made both free throws, giving the Fighting Irish a three point advantage and the Golden Eagles the ball.
Kamm hit a three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left to tie the game and hurried down the floor as Batteast took a pass from Duffy and hit the three as the buzzer sounded to seal the win.
Marquette took its first lead of the game at the 3:31 mark of the first half when Christina Quaye¹s three-pointer made the score 22-19. Marquette took a narrow one-point lead 24-23 with them into the locker room at halftime.
Both teams had trouble finding energy early on in Sunday’s game as the teams combined for 1-20 shooting in the first 8:18 of the game. Marquette made its first field goal at the 10:53 mark after missing its first 11. Svetlana Kovalenko connected on a lay in on an assist from Quaye.
“I think the low field goal percentages were a credit to the defense,” said McGraw. “Both teams may have suffered from the post-final exam syndrome. Both teams were probably a little tired mentally.”
Notre Dame struck first at the 19:30 mark on Jacqueline Batteast¹s lay in, but then went 9:18 before scoring another field goal.
“It was a physical game. It was one of those games where you had to keep your composure and fight through it,” said Duffy.
Notre Dame shot 17-of-20 from the free throw line while Marquette was 11-of-19.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame picks up its 10th win of the season, the earliest the Irish have ever reached double-digit victories (in terms of the calendar); in 2000-01, Notre Dame got its 10th win on Dec. 21, ironically also at Marquette … the Irish are 4-0 on the road this season, marking just the fourth time in school history they have won their first four true road games in a season (also 1982-83, 1998-99 and 2000-01) … Notre Dame jumps to 26-4 all-time against Marquette, the most victories against one opponent in school history … the Irish also have won 25 of their last 26 matchups with the Golden Eagles, although the past three encounters have been decided by an average of only 6.0 ppg. … Notre Dame is 110-23 (.827) all-time against former members of the North Star Conference (which included ND from 1983-88), including wins in 22 of their last 23 such matchups … Notre Dame has won 12 of its last 13 games against Conference USA squads and is 49-21 (.700) all-time against that league, although Marquette will join the BIG EAST next season … the Irish have held six of their last seven opponents to less than 60 points, including three games of under 50 points … with Sunday’s win, Irish head coach Muffet McGraw passed former ND men’s coach Digger Phelps for the most victories ever by a Notre Dame basketball coach — McGraw is now 394-150 (.724) in her 18th season with the Irish, while Phelps posted a 393-197 (.666) mark from 1971-91 … Sunday’s last-second heroics by senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast were unusual for Notre Dame — the last buzzer-beating win for the Irish came on Jan. 14, 1995, when Letitia Bowen hit a putback at the horn to win at Detroit, 67-65 … Batteast notched her third double-double of the season and 35th of her career with game highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds … in addition, she moved into fifth place on Notre Dame’s career rebounding list with 827 caroms, one more than Margaret Nowlin (826 from 1988-92) … Batteast also scored her 1,500th career point in the first half, becoming only the seventh player in school history to eclipse that milestone … junior guard Megan Duffy tied her career high with seven steals, part of 11 thefts by Notre Dame … several former Irish women’s basketball alumnae were in attendance Sunday afternoon, including standout posts Sandy Botham (1984-88) and Heidi Bunek (1985-89); Botham currently is the head coach at Wisconsin-Milwaukee, while Bunek works in the Milwaukee school system.