Feb. 15, 2005
BOSTON (AP) – Megan Duffy had all 14 of her points in the second half as fifth-ranked Notre Dame overcame a 15-point deficit to beat No. 25 Boston College 54-47 Tuesday night for its 10th straight victory.
Notre Dame holds a one-game lead over Rutgers and Connecticut atop the BIG EAST. The Fighting Irish (23-3, 11-2) play at No. 14 Rutgers on Saturday.
Jacqueline Batteast scored 15 points for the Irish, who dropped the Eagles (16-7, 7-5) to 0-6 this season against ranked opponents. Clare Droesch paced BC with 10 points.
Duffy’s two free throws gave the Irish a 44-43 lead with 2:22 to go. After a BC turnover, Charel Allen’s baseline drive pushed Notre Dame’s edge to three points.
The Eagles closed to 46-45 on Lisa Macchia’s layup with 1:08 to go, but Teresa Borton’s offensive rebound and layup off a desperation 3-point attempt by Duffy made it 48-45 with 33 seconds remaining.
Duffy hit four free throws and Breona Gray two in the closing 24 seconds to secure the victory.
The Fighting Irish took a 42-41 lead on Allen’s putback with 4:03 left, but BC regained the edge on Kathrin’s Ress’ foul-line jumper 13 seconds later. It was the Eagles’ first basket in 9:01.
After Notre Dame sliced an 11-point halftime deficit to six, BC opened a 39-28 lead on Aja Parham’s baseline jumper with 13:51 left. But the Irish scored 12 of the next 14 points, cutting it to 41-40 on Batteast’s putback with 5:23 left.
The Eagles held the Irish to their lowest scoring half of the season, leading 26-11 with 1:57 left in the period before taking a 26-15 edge at the break. BC held Notre Dame to 21.7-percent shooting from in the half (5-of-23), mainly double-teaming leading scorer Batteast nearly every time she touched the ball in the low post to disrupt the offensive rhythm.
BC has dropped four of five games since leading scorer Jessalyn Deveny was lost for the season with a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame’s 10-game winning streak is its longest since a school-record 23-game run to open the 2000-01 season … the Irish also become the first team to clinch a first-round bye for the upcoming BIG EAST Conference Championship, which takes place March 5-8 at the Hartford Civic Center … Notre Dame’s 23 victories match the fifth-highest total in school history, a mark attained on four other occasions (most recently during the 1995-96 season) … the Irish improve to 7-2 against ranked opponents this season and have 14 wins over Top 25 opponents in the past two years (five vs. top-10 foes) … Notre Dame’s seven wins over Top 25 teams this season tie Michigan State and Ohio State for the second-highest figure in the nation, topped only by Duke’s nine such victories … the Irish sweep the season series from Boston College, moving to 10-4 all-time against the Eagles and earning their first victory at Conte Forum since Feb. 3, 2001 (81-65) … Notre Dame held BC to its second-lowest point total in the series, surpassed only by a 60-44 win on Feb. 10, 2002 in South Bend … the Irish are 10-1 on the road this season after going 5-9 away from home last year … Notre Dame rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Boston College, marking its largest comeback since March 30, 2001, when the Irish erased a 16-point margin to oust Connecticut, 90-75 in the NCAA Final Four at the Savvis Center in St. Louis … Notre Dame’s .345 field goal percentage was a season low, topping the old mark of .347 vs. Michigan State on Dec. 2 … the Irish scored 15 first-half points, their lowest single-half output since March 9, 2003, when they forged a 13-13 halftime tie with Villanova in a BIG EAST Championship quarterfinal contest (VU won 50-39) … Notre Dame has held its last six opponents under 60 points and is 17-1 this season when keeping foes under that mark … the Irish are 14-1 this year when committing fewer turnovers than their opponents … junior guard Megan Duffy has just four turnovers in her last four games (one vs. BC while playing all 40 minutes — her eighth 40-minute game of the year) … during its 10-game win streak, Notre Dame has held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting eight times … the Irish came up with at least 10 steals for the 11th time this season.