Dec. 30, 2004
DeKALB, Ill. (AP) – Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast proved to Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw that she and her teammates could play after a long layoff.
Batteast scored 21 points to lead the sixth-ranked Irish to a 73-49 win over Northern Illinois on Thursday night. Notre Dame (11-1) hadn’t taken the court since Dec. 19 and McGraw was concerned that her team would be rusty.
“I was worried we might lose our edge,” she said.
Batteast sparked an early 12-0 run that gave the Irish a 17-6 lead. The Huskies (2-8) cut Notre Dame’s lead to seven points several times in the first half, but could get no closer.
The Irish led 36-26 at halftime and opened the second half with a 20-9 run. The Irish improved to 5-0 on the road this season.
Northern Illinois guard Stephanie Raymond, who led the Huskies with 15 points, was not overly impressed with Notre Dame.
“Yeah, they were ranked. Big deal,” Raymond said. “They’re No. 6 in the country and there are people who don’t even know who Northern Illinois is, and we were only down 10 at the half. So what does that say? We just came out in the second half not ready to play and never got back in a groove.”
Freshman guard Tulyah Gaines added 12 points for the Irish, and Notre Dame’s bench outscored the Huskies’ reserves 25-11. The Irish also outscored Northern Illinois 28-8 in the paint.
Kristin Wiener added 14 for the Huskies, who struggled with their shooting.
“You’re not going to win many ballgames, especially one against a team that’s ranked No. 6 in the country, when you’re only shooting 23 percent from the floor,” Northern Illinois coach Carol Hammerle said.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame moves to 11-1 this season, marking only the second time in school history the Irish have won 11 of their first 12 games (they went 23-0 to start the 2000-01 season) … This year’s club also joins the ’00-01 squad as the only Notre Dame teams ever to win their first five true road games of the season (the 2000-01 team won its first 10 road contests) … in those five road games this season, the Irish are allowing only 50.0 points per game, with no opponent scoring more than 59 points in a road contest; Notre Dame also is limiting opponents to a .316 field goal percentage (90-for-285) and a .163 three-point percentage (14-for-86) in their own arenas this year … the Irish now are 8-5 all-time against Northern Illinois, including a 4-3 mark in DeKalb … Notre Dame held the Huskies to their lowest point total in series history while also recording the largest margin of victory in the rivalry — there had previously been three 23-point wins in the series … Notre Dame has won its last eight games against current Mid-American Conference teams, dating back to 1995 when NIU beat the Irish, 87-64, in DeKalb … Thursday’s game also was the last of four this season against teams Notre Dame used to play in the old North Star Conference; the Irish also defeated Valparaiso, Dayton and Marquette and are now 111-23 (.828) all-time against former NSC schools, including wins in 23 of their last 24 matchups … Notre Dame held NIU to opponent season lows of 13 field goals and a .236 field goal percentage .. conversely, the Irish shot better than 50 percent from the field for the third time this season (.510, 25-for-49) … for the first time this season, all 11 Irish players cracked the scoring column, with freshman walk-on guard Amanda Tsipis completing the feat on two free throws in the final five seconds … senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast collected her fifth 20-point game of the season and 26th of her career, tying her with former teammate Alicia Ratay (1999-2003) for fifth place in school history … Batteast also registered her 83rd double-figure scoring game, pushing her into sole possession of fifth place in that category, ahead of Karen Robinson (82 from 1987-91); Ratay is next in that department with 95 … since her worst shooting night of the year (6-for-25 on Dec. 2 vs. No. 15 Michigan State), Batteast has come back with a vengeance, averaging 18.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with a .600 field goal percentage (27-for-45) in the past four games … freshman guard Tulyah Gaines set new career highs with 12 points (previously had five at Dayton on Dec. 9) and seven rebounds (previously grabbed two on two occasions) … Notre Dame is 9-0 this season when it leads at halftime and is 86-7 (.925) in such games dating back to the start of the 2000-01 season … the Irish have held eight of their 12 opponents to less than 60 points, going 8-0 in those games and improving to 137-6 (.958) in such contests over the past decade.