Jan. 31, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the third time in a week, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team used a stout defensive effort to defeat a ranked opponent, downing No. 23 (ESPN/USA Today) Boston College, 52-50, on Saturday afternoon at the Joyce Center. It is the sixth win over a Top 25 foe for the Irish this season and their fifth against a ranked team in the past seven games.
Sophomore guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne HS) scored a game-high 16 points for Notre Dame, making six of 11 shots from the field, including three of five from beyond the arc. She also tied her career high with four steals and had just one turnover while playing all 40 minutes. Her backcourt mate, senior Le’Tania Severe (Pembroke Pines, Fla./Fort Lauderdale HS) matched her season high with 15 points and added three steals without a turnover in 39 minutes. Sophomore forward Courtney LaVere (Ventura, Calif./Buena HS) offered up 11 points from the bench for the Irish (13-7, 6-2 BIG EAST).
Kathrin Ress led a trio of BC players in double figures with 14 points, while Jessalyn Deveny carded a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Amber Jacobs chipped in with 10 points for the Eagles, who remain winless in six career visits to South Bend.
The win was the sixth in the last seven games for Notre Dame, and in all six victories, the Irish have held their opponents to 50 points or less. In fact, Notre Dame has allowed just 171 combined points in its last four games, setting a school record for the fewest points in a four-game span. It also marks only the second time in school history that the Irish have held four consecutive opponents to 50 points or less – they had a streak of five such games from Dec. 13, 1997-Jan. 8, 1998.
Saturday’s matchup with Boston College was tight from the opening tip to the final buzzer, with neither side leading by more than five points the entire way. There also were 12 ties and seven lead changes in the contest, including three ties in the final five minutes.
Boston College (14-5, 4-4) jumped out to an early 6-3 lead when Jacobs hit a fast break layup with 16:26 left in the first half. Notre Dame responded with an 8-0 run to take the largest lead of the game for either team (11-6) at the 13:51 mark. The Irish still had a 14-10 lead three minutes later, but the Eagles fought back behind seven points from Ress in a 10-2 run that gave the visitors a four-point lead with 4:58 to go in the period. However, Notre Dame closed the half on a 7-2 run, taking a 23-22 lead at the break on two free throws by junior Katy Flecky (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch HS) at the 57-second junction.
The second half began with Notre Dame trying to break free of Boston College three times, but each time the Irish scored, the Eagles came back with a tally of their own. BC finally overtook Notre Dame on a pair of Deveny free throws with 14:50 remaining. Then it was time for the Irish to begin reeling in the Eagles. Boston College took leads of at least three points three times, but Notre Dame erased its deficit on each occasion, tying the game for the 10th time at 45-45 when junior center Teresa Borton (Yakima, Wash./West Valley HS) hit a spinning layup with 4:43 left.
After the teams traded three free throws, Duffy gave Notre Dame the lead for good, nailing a runner in the paint as the shot clock expired with 2:02 remaining. Deveny misfired on her team’s next possession and Flecky was fouled on the rebound, but the Irish junior made only one of her two free throws, making it a 51-48 margin at the 1:30 mark. Jacobs came back with a driving layup 17 seconds later, setting the stage for a frantic final minute.
Trailing by one, Boston College’s Clare Droesch came up with a crucial steal, giving the visitors a chance to retake the lead. Jacobs missed on a three-point try, but Ress grabbed the offensive rebound to keep the Eagles in business. After a timeout, BC went back to Jacobs again, but the all-BIG EAST guard did not connect on a shorter jumper and Irish junior forward Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend, Ind./Washington HS) collected the rebound with 14 seconds left. The Notre Dame All-America candidate, who was hampered by foul trouble all afternoon, made the first of her two foul shots, but missed the second, leaving the door open for BC. The Eagles called upon Jacobs a third time and while she got an open look at a game-winning three-point shot, it would not fall as time expired and the Irish had the victory.
Notre Dame will return to the Joyce Center hardwood Wednesday, Feb. 4, when it plays host to Georgetown at 7 p.m. (ET). It will be the second matchup of the season for those two teams – back on Jan. 7 in Washington, D.C., the Hoyas scored seven points in the final 14 seconds to stun the Irish, 76-73 .
— ND —