June 3, 2002
Box Scores and Final Statistics from European Tour in PDF Format
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team returned to campus Sunday after a successful 12-day tour of Italy and France, going 3-1 in its four-game series with Italian professional teams. Among the Irish victories on the trip was an 82-76 conquest of 14-time Italian Serie A (First Division) champion Pool Comense 1872 on May 28.
Forward Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend, Ind./Washington HS) and guard Kelsey Wicks (Gillette, Wyo./Campbell County HS) shared team-high scoring honors on the tour, averaging 14.8 points per game during the series. Batteast, the reigning United States Basketball Writers’ Association (USBWA) National Freshman of the Year, also registered two double-doubles and carded 11.3 rebounds per game while in Europe.
Center Teresa Borton (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) collected team-high rebounding laurels, averaging 12.3 boards per contest. She posted double-figure rebounding totals in three of the four games, finishing with nine caroms in her other outing. Like Batteast, she averaged a double-double on the tour, adding 10 points per night.
“This was a great trip for us for a lot of reasons,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “We showed great improvement from one game to the next and our offensive execution was very strong at times. We also did a nice job in the post, which is something we will need to have in order to be successful.
“But, the best thing I saw on this trip was the chemistry developing between these players,” she continued. “It doesn’t matter what combination we put on the floor; it seems as though we’re not losing anything at all. It was also great to see the way the freshmen are maturing. There’s certainly room for improvement in all areas, but this trip was a big step in the right direction.”
Box scores and complete final statistics from Notre Dame’s four-game European tour are available (in PDF format) via the link at the top of this release. Individual game recaps, as well as Wicks’ regular diary entries and daily updates, are available on the special “European Vacation” women’s basketball page of the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com), and an extensive photo gallery from the trip will be posted later this week.
— ND —