March 30, 2003

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Purdue is now 6-0 in neutral site games this season…22-1 when leading at the half…10-2 on national television…10-2 when playing on Sundays. The Boilermakers are now a Big Ten-best 30-12 in the NCAA Tournament all-time — a winning percentage of .714.

This is Purdue’s 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. PU has made 10 straight appearances since 1994. They are now 4-1 all-time in the East Region, but their Final Four appearances have come when they have been seeded in the West (1994), Midwest (1999) and Mideast (2001).

Previewing Tuesday’s East Regional Final game, Purdue and Uconn have had only one previous meeting: Dec. 1, 1990 in which Purdue won 89-87 in overtime.

Today’s game was a rematch of the 2001 National Championship game, which Notre Dame won 68-66.

Purdue leads the all-time series vs. Notre Dame 12-4.

Erika Valek is now averaging 22.0 points in Purdue’s first three NCAA Tournament games. She scored 23 points in the First Round against Valparaiso and 24 in the Second Round against Virginia Tech and led the team with a game-high 19 today.

Shereka Wright, who leads Purdue in both scoring (18.9 points) and rebounding (6.2), scored 12 points today and grabbed a team-best 10 boards. She has led PU in scoring on 19 occasions in 2003…in rebounding now 12 times…and in both seven times.

Today was Purdue’s eighth-straight win. PU last lost on Feb. 23 at Ohio State, 56-51.

Purdue defeated Notre Dame, 71-54, in the teams’ regular season meeting in South Bend. Wright led PU in scoring with 18 points. Erika Valek scored 15 points.

Notre Dame’s Alicia Ratay was averaging 16.0 ppg in the NCAA Tournament and was right on that average today with 16 points.

The 12 rebounds by ND’s Jacqueline Batteast was a game-high.

Notre Dame was 12-7 this season in games played away from home. They were 10-4 on the road and 2-3 in neutral site games.