Jan. 4, 2003
Jan. 4, 2003
* For the second consecutive game, the Irish used the starting combination of sophomore forward Jacqueline Batteast, freshman forward Courtney LaVere, sophomore center Teresa Borton, junior guard Le’Tania Severe and senior guard Alicia Ratay. Notre Dame now is 1-1 when fielding this starting five.
* Today’s attendance of 9,483 fans was the fifth-largest women’s basketball crowd in Joyce Center history. Nineteen of the 20 largest crowds in school history have been recorded in the last four seasons, and each of the top 20 audiences have occurred during the 16-year tenure of head coach Muffet McGraw.
* Today’s loss snapped Notre Dame’s 33-game non-conference winning streak at home. It was the first non-conference setback at the Joyce Center for the Irish since an 81-69 loss to another Big Ten Conference team, Wisconsin, on Dec. 9, 1996. It also was just the fourth loss for Notre Dame in its last 84 home games.
* Purdue recorded its first win over Notre Dame at the Joyce Center since an 87-83 victory on Nov. 30, 1994. The Boilermakers now lead the all-time series with the Irish, 11-4, including a 4-2 mark in South Bend.
* Today’s loss broke Notre Dame seven-game home winning streak against ranked opponents. The last time the Irish lost to a Top 25 foe at the Joyce Center was Dec. 8, 1998, when No. 1 Connecticut claimed a 106-81 win. That also was the last time the Irish lost by more than 17 points at home.
* Notre Dame fell to 71-5 (.934) all-time when playing at home as a ranked team.
* Notre Dame placed three players in double figures, marking the 10th time in 11 games this season that the Irish have had at least three players score 10 points.
* The Irish shot at least 50 percent from the field for the seventh time this season, hitting half their field goal attempts today (20-40). Notre Dame now is 6-1 when it connects at a 50-percent rate from the field.
* Freshman forward Courtney LaVere posted her third consecutive double-double with a season-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Two of LaVere’s three double-doubles this season have come against top-10 opponents (#5 Tennessee and #7 Purdue).
* Junior guard Le’Tania Severe notched season highs of seven rebounds and six assists. She also scored 10 points, reaching double figures for the seventh time this season. She had only seven double-figure scoring games in her career prior to this year.
* Senior guard Alicia Ratay was held scoreless for the first time in her 109-game Notre Dame career. Her previous low scoring game was two points vs. Marquette on Dec. 21, 2001.
— ND —