Nov. 29, 2002
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* Notre Dame modified its starting lineup slightly Friday evening, as sophomore guard Kelsey Wicks joined Jacqueline Batteast, Teresa Borton, Alicia Ratay and Le’Tania Severe in the Irish starting five. It was just the second career start for Wicks, who previously got the nod at Seton Hall on Feb. 2, 2002. This lineup is 1-0 this season and 1-0 all-time.
* Notre Dame now has won four of its five career games against USC, including the last four in a row. The Irish also are 6-1 vs. Pacific-10 Conference teams since joining the BIG EAST Conference prior to the 1995-96 season.
* Notre Dame held USC to only 57 points this evening, the 105th time the Irish have held an opponent under 60 points in the last seven seasons (since the start of the 1995-96 season). In that time, Notre Dame is 103-2 (.981) when the opposition doesn’t break the 60-point mark.
* Notre Dame recorded its first road win of the season Friday night at USC in its first road game of the 2002-03 campaign. By contrast, the Irish did not find the win column on the road last season until Jan. 2, 2002 at Miami — Notre Dame’s sixth game away from home.
* For the second time in as many games, the Irish have five players score in double figures. As was the case Tuesday night vs. Cleveland State, four of the five Notre Dame starters tallied in double digits Friday at USC. Prior to the Cleveland State game, the last time the Irish had five double-figure scorers was March 30, 2001 vs. Connecticut in the NCAA Final Four.
* Notre Dame appears to have found its shooting touch during the first two games of this season. The Irish are shooting 58.1 percent from the field (68-117) and all five starters are connecting at better than 50 percent so far this year: Teresa Borton – .722 (13-18), Le’Tania Severe – .667 (10-15), Alicia Ratay – .538 (7-13), Katy Flecky – .522 (12-23), Jacqueline Batteast – .519 (14-27).
* The Irish connected on 84.2 percent of their free throws (16-19) vs. USC, their best shooting percentage from the foul line since Jan. 26, 2002 vs. Virginia Tech, when Notre Dame hit for the same free throw percentage (16-19, .842).
* Notre Dame limited USC to just 27 rebounds, the fewest by an Irish opponent since Rutgers managed only 22 boards on Feb. 16, 2002.
* Notre Dame has forced 55 turnovers during its first two games this season, an average of 27.5 takeaways per game. The Irish also have recorded 32 steals in two games, an average of 16 thefts per contest.
* Senior guard Alicia Ratay appeared in the 100th game of her Notre Dame career and started for the 99th time in an Irish uniform. Ratay ranks 10th in school history for games started and can tie Margaret Nowlin for ninth on the Notre Dame all-time list with her next starting assignment.
* Ratay led the Irish in scoring vs. USC with 17 points, marking the 35th time in her career she has led Notre Dame in scoring. Ratay also cracked double figures for the 75th time in her career, moving the Lake Zurich, Ill., native within one of Niele Ivey for sixth place on the Irish all-time list. With her 17-point outing Friday, Ratay now has 1,396 career points, putting her 34 points behind Ivey for eighth place on that ND career chart.
* Sophomore forward Jacqueline Batteast recorded her first double-double of the 2002-03 season with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Batteast ranked second in the BIG EAST Conference last year with 11 double-doubles.
* Sophomore center Teresa Borton set a new career high with three steals vs. USC. Her previous best was two thefts against St. John’s on Feb. 13, 2002.
* Freshman guard Megan Duffy scored her first career basket on a steal and breakaway layup with 7:51 remaining in the game.