Jan. 10, 2006
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Megan Duffy hit a running layup as the buzzer sounded to give No. 20 Notre Dame a 67-65 overtime victory over Marquette on Tuesday, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Duffy finished with a career-high 32 points, including the tying basket with 26 seconds left in the extra period as the Irish (10-4, 1-2 Big East) beat the Golden Eagles at the buzzer for the second straight season.
Marquette (10-4, 1-2), which has lost 10 straight to Notre Dame, has lost three straight for the first time since losing their last five games of the 2001-02 season.
The Golden Eagles forced the overtime when Krystal Ellis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the score at 57. Ellis then hit a 3 to start the overtime and led in overtime until Duffy, who scored 17 points in the second half, tied it with her 3. After she hit the game-winning basket, the Irish mobbed Duffy and Courtney LaVere picked up her teammate.
Charel Allen added 15 points for the Irish, who shot just 33 percent. Guard Lindsay Schrader led the Irish with 10 rebounds. Notre Dame was 22-of-33 from the free-throw line.
The Golden Eagles had a chance to go ahead in the closing seconds, but Christina Quaye missed inside in traffic and Duffy came up with the loose ball and took off for the game-winning shot.
Danielle Kamm led the Golden Eagles with 17 points, but had just six after halftime. Jasmine McCullough had 12 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late in the second half. Carolyn Kieger had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Quaye had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame now leads the all-time series with Marquette, 27-4, including a 16-1 mark at the Joyce Center … the Irish have won 10 in a row and 26 of the past 27 meetings with the Golden Eagles … the past four games in the series have been decided by an average of 5.0 points per game, with the last two ending on buzzer-beating shots (three-pointer by Jacqueline Batteast in 2004-05; Megan Duffy’s running layup in overtime in 2005-06) … actually, dating back to last year’s game, the past four periods of play between Notre Dame and Marquette have ended on buzzer beaters (Batteast’s trey last year; MU’s Carolyn Kieger hits 15-foot baseline jumper at halftime horn on Tuesday; MU’s Krystal Ellis banks in a three-pointer from the right wing at the regulation siren to force OT; Duffy’s coast-to-coast runner wins in OT) … prior to Batteast’s shot last year, the Irish had gone nearly a decade since the last time they won a game on a buzzer-beating shot (Letitia Bowen’s putback at Detroit on Jan. 14, 1995) … Tuesday marked Notre Dame’s first overtime game since an 82-73 loss to No. 15 Michigan State on Dec. 2, 2004 at the Joyce Center … it was the first OT win for the Irish since March 21, 2004, when Notre Dame downed Southwest Missouri State, 69-65 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Joyce Center … it was the first regular-season overtime victory for Notre Dame since Feb. 19, 2000, when the Irish won at No. 8/11 Rutgers, 78-74, behind a memorable 7-for-7 three-point shooting night from Alicia Ratay … Notre Dame’s rally from an 11-point first-half deficit was its first double-digit comeback since Feb. 15, 2005, when the Irish climbed out of a 15-point first-half hole at Boston College and wound up winning, 54-47 … Notre Dame continues to show remarkable resiliency when coming off a double-digit loss — in such a scenario, the Irish are 39-6 (.867) in the past 11 seasons, including a 24-1 (.960) record when that next game is at home … Notre Dame committed just 11 turnovers vs. Marquette and has only 20 giveaways in its last two games combined following a season-high 24 turnovers at St. John’s on Jan. 4 … senior guard Megan Duffy scored a career-high 32 points, the most by a Notre Dame player since Jacqueline Batteast also had 32 vs. No. 10/9 Ohio State in the Preseason WNIT championship game on Nov. 20, 2004 at the Joyce Center; Duffy’s 32 points also tied her for the 10th-highest single-game scoring performance in school history … Duffy now has 1,045 career points, moving into 19th place on the Notre Dame all-time scoring list past fellow point guard Mollie Peirick (1,034 from 1994-98) — next up on the scoring chart for Duffy is Carrie Bates (1,060 from 1981-85) … Duffy connected on a career-high 12 free throws and tied her personal best with 13 attempts (she went 11-of-13 at St. John’s on Feb. 17, 2004) … Duffy was 3-for-4 on her free throws in the final two minutes of regulation and OT, making her 24-of-26 (.923) in those situations this season … sophomore guard Charel Allen posted her second consecutive double-figure scoring game (and fifth of the year) with 15 points off the bench (her season high is 16 in the season opener vs. Michigan on Nov. 18) … freshman guard Lindsay Schrader registered her third double-digit rebounding night of the season with a team-best 10 boards (the fifth time this year she’s led the team in that category) … junior forward Crystal Erwin had eight rebounds vs. Marquette and is averaging 7.6 rebounds in her last eight games (8.7 rpg. in BIG EAST play) … senior forward Courtney LaVere had nine points and seven rebounds (one off her season high), giving her 999 career points and putting her on the doorstep of becoming Notre Dame’s 22nd 1,000-point scorer.