Feb. 9, 1997

Top-Ranked Huskies Down Irish

STORRS, Conn. – Top-ranked Connecticut held 15th-ranked NotreDame to just 28 percent field goal shooting and a 54-36 reboundadvantage to defeat the Irish 72-49 in a Big East game Sunday afternoonat Gampel Pavilion.

Center Kara Walters led four Connecticut players in double figureswith 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies improved to 22-0 overalland 13-0 in Big East play.

The Irish were paced by senior center Katryna Gaither who had agame-high 19 points and 12 rebounds. Notre Dame, which had won 10consecutive games entering the contest, is 20-5 overall and 12-1 inconference play after losing its first game since January 4. The losssnapped the Irish longest win streak since the 1990-91 season.

The Huskies shot just 31 percent from the field in the first halfbut used a 10-1 free throw advantage to build a 35-25 halftime lead. TheIrish went cold in the second half, connecting on just 6-of-33 shots, asConnecticut outscored Notre Dame 37-24 in the second half.

Notre Dame hosts Boston College Wednesday night at the Joyce Center.Game time is set for 7 p.m

NOTRE DAME (49)                      fg    ft    rb               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tpMorgan          34  3-15   2-4   0-5  3  3    8Bohman          13   1-5   1-1   0-3  0  2    3Gaither         37  9-22   1-3  5-12  1  2   19Peirick         29   1-4   2-2   0-2  1  2    4Augustin        29   3-5   2-2   0-0  1  2    8Jordan           2   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0Mcmillen        26   1-7   3-4   0-1  0  3    5Ervin            2   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  1    0Henderson       21   0-4   0-0   1-4  0  3    0Hutchinson       7   0-2   2-2   1-2  0  3    2_______________________________________________TOTALS         200 18-65 13-18  7-29  6 21   49_______________________________________________Percentages: FG-.277, FT-.722. 3-Point Goals:0-11, .000 (Morgan 0-6, Peirick 0-1, Augustin0-1, Mcmillen 0-3). Team rebounds: 7. Blockedshots: 4 (Gaither 3, Peirick). Turnovers: 20(Gaither 4, Peirick 4, Augustin 3, Henderson 2,Mcmillen 2, Morgan 2, Bohman). Steals: 7 (Peirick3, Mcmillen 2, Augustin, Morgan).CONNECTICUT (72)                      fg    ft    rb               min   m-a   m-a   o-t  a pf   tpBerube          26   1-8   3-6   2-7  4  3    5Duran           31   5-8   0-0   1-4  3  0   13Wolters         26  7-13   2-3  2-10  2  2   16Sales           27  3-13   1-2   2-6  2  4    7Williams        26   3-8   3-5   1-4  3  2   10Arnold           3   0-1   0-0   0-0  0  0    0Rose             4   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0Hansmeyer        3   1-1   1-2   0-0  0  0    3Gaine            2   0-0   0-0   0-0  0  0    0Ralph           25   2-5   6-8   2-5  3  2   10Hunt             4   0-0   0-0   0-2  0  1    0Sauer           20   3-5   2-2   1-8  1  1    8Northway         3   0-1   0-0   0-1  1  0    0_______________________________________________TOTALS         200 25-63 18-28 11-47 19 15   72_______________________________________________Percentages: FG-.397, FT-.643. 3-Point Goals:4-12, .333 (Duran 3-4, Sales 0-2, Williams 1-3,Arnold 0-1, Ralph 0-2). Team rebounds: 7. Blockedshots: 7 (Wolters 5, Duran, Sauer). Turnovers: 21(Williams 5, Ralph 4, Duran 2, Sales 2, Sauer 2,Arnold, Berube, Gaine, Hunt, Rose, Wolters).Steals: 6 (Duran 2, Sales 2, Ralph, Williams).__________________________________Notre Dame         25   24  -   49Connecticut        35   37  -   72__________________________________Technical fouls: None.  A: 10,027. Officials:Sally Bell, Angie Lewis, Dennis Demayo.