Dec. 9, 2004
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Notre Dame had to wait a week to get back on the winning track.
But the seventh-ranked Irish did it in a big way Thursday, running over Dayton 65-39 behind a 14-point performance from Charel Allen and allowing the fewest points by an opponent this season.
“Charel had a great game,” Notre Dame coach Muffett McGraw said. “We’ve been trying to get her to shoot more. In the last three games, she’s only had two or four points. So she stepped up tonight.”
Notre Dame (8-1) was trying to bounce back from a 82-73 overtime loss to Michigan State that snapped a 25-game home winning streak and put the first blemish on the Irish’s record this season.
“They were ready to get that last loss out of their system,” McGraw said. “When you lose, you just really want to play again quickly. So the week off was hard. I think I would rather have not had a week off and gone right back and played.”
The well-rested Irish outran Dayton and used a pressing defense to overwhelm the Flyers, who had 26 turnovers.
“We’ve really been working the last three days on our press and our zone, and I felt it was pretty effective,” McGraw said.
Both teams worked to get the ball inside, but Notre Dame dominated in the paint, outscoring Dayton 44-22. Breona Gray and Melissa D’Amico scored 12 points apiece for the Irish.
Cara Wright had 19 points for the Flyers.
Notre Dame came out strong at the beginning of the second half, scoring six quick unanswered points to take a 28-14 lead. The Irish then went into a full-court press and began to force turnovers and make breakaway baskets.
Dayton (4-4) only shot 29 percent from the field and only made one of 14 3-point attempts.
However, Dayton put the clamps on Notre Dame’s two leading scorers. Jacqueline Batteast, who was averaging 19.9 points a game, was held to seven. And Megan Duffy, who was posting a 14.8-point-per-game average, was limited to five.
“They’re the No. 7 team in the country, and we held their top two players to seven and five points,” Dayton coach Jim Jabir said. “We did good things defensively. We just needed to do a better job on the offensive end and take care of the basketball.”
McGraw applauded Dayton’s half-court defense.
“We scored a lot in transition,” she said. “But they did a great job. I thought they really made it tough for us.”
The game was a homecoming for Duffy, a Dayton native who starred at Chaminade-Julienne High School.
“It’s almost like a second home,” she said of the University of Dayton Arena.
The junior point guard praised the Flyers.
“They had a lot of people coming at us,” she said. “You’ve got to give them credit tonight.”
— ND —
POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame improves to 22-6 all-time against Dayton, tying for the second-highest win total against one opponent in school history (Marquette – 25; Detroit – 22) … the Irish have now won four in a row and seven of their last eight games against the Flyers … Notre Dame is 56-17 (.767) all-time against current Atlantic 10 Conference members, but defeats an A-10 institution on its home floor for the first time since Jan. 5, 1995, when the Irish ousted Xavier, 72-63 in Cincinnati … a former member of the North Star Conference, Notre Dame is now 109-23 (.826) all-time against other former NSC members, having won 21 of its last 22 games against North Star alums … the Irish held Dayton to an opponent season-low 39 points, the fewest Notre Dame has allowed in a game since March 2, 2004, in a 54-33 win over Syracuse at the Joyce Center … the 26-point margin of victory also is the widest for Notre Dame since a 93-58 win over #21/19 Miami (Fla.) on Feb. 25, 2004, also at the Joyce Center … the Irish forced 26 turnovers Thursday night, the sixth time in nine games this year Notre Dame has come with 20-or-more takeaways … Notre Dame also held UD to an opponent season-low .288 field goal percentage … in their first three games of the season, Irish opponents were shooting .333 from the three-point line (17-for-51); in the past six games, Notre Dame is holding the opposition to a .165 three-point percentage (15-for-91), including a 1-for-14 effort by Dayton Thursday night … Notre Dame is 3-0 on the road this season, after opening last year with 0-4 and 1-7 marks in true road contests … Notre Dame’s bench accounted for 33 points in the win over Dayton … the Irish freshmen class also made an impact, scoring 31 points and shooting .609 from the floor (14-for-23) … freshman center Melissa D’Amico set a season-high with 12 points on 6-for-8 shooting, while freshman guard Tulyah Gaines added a personal-best five points … sophomore guard Breona Gray tied her career high with 12 points, matching the total she set earlier this season on Nov. 14 vs. Nebraska … sophomore guard Susie Powers collected a career-high six rebounds and added three assists (she has nine assists and two turnovers this year) … junior guard Megan Duffy logged a game-high five assists, the fifth time this season she has had a five-assist night … Duffy also had four steals, giving her a team-high 23 thefts this season (2.56 per game).