Dec. 12, 2001
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Freshman forward Jacqueline Batteast posted her third double-double of the season with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds to pace Notre Dame to a 71-48 win over Western Michigan Wednesday night before a crowd of 7,173 at the Joyce Center. The victory was the 42nd consecutive home triumph for the Irish, extending the nation’s longest active home court winning streak.
Senior guard/forward Ericka Haney added season highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds, charting her first double-double of the year and sixth of her career. Junior guard Alicia Ratay chipped in with 10 points for Notre Dame, which remained unbeaten in seven career meetings with Western Michigan.
Curleta Harris came off the bench to score a team-high 12 points for WMU (2-7). Casey Rost contributed 10 points for the Broncos, who shot just 27.4 percent (17-of-62) from the field, the lowest ratio by an Irish opponent this season.
The game was virtually even through the first 10 minutes of play. Western Michigan took an early 5-3 lead, but Notre Dame bounced back with five of the next points to move in front by two with 15:39 left in the first half. The two teams then went nearly basket-for-basket over the next five minutes, culminating with a turnaround jumper by Bronco forward Kristin Koetsier, which cut the Irish lead to 16-12 at the 10:28 mark. As it turned out, those would be the final points WMU would score in the first half.
Notre Dame put the Broncos on their heels in the latter stages of the period, going on a 16-0 spurt over the final 10:13 to take a 32-12 lead at the half. The Irish shot a season-best 60 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while holding Western Michigan to an opponent season-low 12 points on 17.9 percent shooting (5-for-28).
In the second half, Notre Dame preserved its lead, never letting the visitors get closer than 17 points and opening up its largest lead at 56-27 with 10:26 remaining. On offense, the Irish cooled off somewhat in the second half, but still managed to shoot a season-high 46 percent from the field and 60 percent from the three-point line. Notre Dame wound up outscoring Western Michigan, 38-14 in the paint and tallied 13 points in transition.
The Irish (4-4) will have the next nine days off while they concentrate on exams. Notre Dame returns to the court Saturday, Dec. 22, when it completes a three-game homestand with a 1 p.m. (EST) matchup against Marquette.
– ND –