April 2, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – Two members of the 11th-ranked Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team swept the BIG EAST weekly honors for the week ending April 1, 2007. Defensive midfielder Alicia Billings (So., Potomac, Md.) was named the BIG EAST defensive player of the week for her play in wins over Connecticut and Duquesne during the week and attack standout Jillian Byers (So., Northport, N.Y.) was selected as offensive player of the week for the second time this season.
Billings contributed on both sides of the ball in a 12-11 BIG EAST win over the University of Connecticut on March 30 and was part of a defense that limited Duquesne to just seven goals in a 15-7 victory on April1.
Against Connecticut, Billings scored twice, grabbed two ground balls and one caused one turnover in the 12-11 victory. Her two goals came with the Irish trailing 6-5 and 7-6 in the second half and each time knotted the score before the Irish went ahead late in the game on the way to the one-goal win.
In the 15-7 win over Duquesne, the sophomore defender scored one goal and had four ground balls and two caused turnovers in the contest.
For the year, Billings has five goals and four assists for nine points in 11 games. She has 15 ground balls, eight draw controls and four caused turnovers for the year.
Byers, who was the BIG EAST offensive player of the week for March 5, had eight goals and two assists for 10 points in two games, getting four goals and one assists in each game.
In the 12-11 win over Connecticut, Byers had five points, taking 13 shots, with eight being on goal. She added one ground ball, one draw control and one caused turnover.
Two days later, Byers threw out another five-point effort (4 goals, 1 assist) in the 15-7 win over Duquesne. She had 10 shots against the Dukes, getting six on goals while grabbing a pair of ground balls with one draw control.
On the year, Byers is tied for the team lead with 45 points, scoring 38 goals and seven assists for the year. She also has 10 ground balls, 12 draw controls and six caused turnovers. A sophomore on the Irish attack, Byers has five games this season with five or more points. She currently leads the BIG EAST in goals with 38 (3.45 per game) and is tied for third in the conference in points with 45 (4.09 per game.)
Billings and Byers, along with their Notre Dame teammates are 9-2 on the season and 2-1 in BIG EAST play. The Irish will play twice at home this week as they host fifth-ranked Duke on Thursday, April 5 in a 4:00 p.m. game at Moose Krause Stadium. They then play host to California on Saturday, April 7 in a 1:00 p.m. game, the fourth of five consecutive home games for the women’s lacrosse program.