Feb. 22, 1997
Irish Win School-record 24th Game
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Senior guard Beth Morgan scored a game-high 24 points to lead three Notre Dame players in double figures as the Irish posted a 75-61 victory against Seton Hall in the final home game of the 1996-97 campaign. It was Notre Dame’s 24th victory of the season which set the school’s single-season wins mark record.
Katryna Gaither scored 18 points and Mollie Peirick added 12 as the Irish improved to 24-5 overall and 16-1 in the Big East.
Seton Hall, which fell to 10-16 and 7-11 in the Big East, was led by Dana Wynne’s 19 points and game-high 12 rebounds. Also in double figures for the Pirates was Sandy Mitchell who finished 12 points.
This was the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Notre Dame claimed an 87-47 victory over Pirates on January 2 handing Seton Hall one of its worst losses in school history.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first 16:35 of the contest, but the Pirates came back and closed to within one (20-19) with 7:40 left in the first half and the Irish held a 35-32 advantage at the half. Tahnee Heins’ three-point basket with 17:59 left in the second half tied the game at 37-37, but then Notre Dame when on a 22-6 run to put the game out of reach over the next 11 minutes of the contest.
The Irish led by many as 19 in the second half on three occasions. Morgan scored 16 of her game-high 24 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
Notre Dame shot 42.6 percent from the field, while the Pirates, who hit on 37.9 percent in the second half, finished with 41.8 accuracy from the field for the game.
The Irish held a 46-33 rebounding advantage in the game.
Notre Dame closes out the 1996-97 regular season when the Irish travel to Morgantown, W. Va. for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against the Mountaineers on Tuesday, February 25.
SETON HALL (61) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tpBrookins 15 2-4 0-0 1-1 0 3 4Wynne 35 6-13 7-14 4-12 2 5 19Golay 14 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 5 2Heins 30 4-11 0-0 1-5 4 2 9Koren 29 1-2 0-1 0-2 3 2 2Weir 15 1-4 2-2 1-1 1 1 4Busichio 8 0-1 1-2 0-0 0 0 1Allen 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Mitchell 26 4-9 4-4 1-5 1 4 12Grant 8 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 2Fisher 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Davis 16 3-6 0-1 0-1 0 1 6_______________________________________________TOTALS 200 23-55 14-24 10-30 12 23 61_______________________________________________Percentages: FG-.418, FT-.583. 3-Point Goals:1-10, .100 (Heins 1-4, Koren 0-1, Busichio 0-1,Mitchell 0-4). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 1(Wynne). Turnovers: 20 (Mitchell 5, Brookins 3,Grant 3, Heins 3, Davis 2, Koren 2, Wynne 2).Steals: 8 (Busichio 2, Davis, Golay, Grant,Heins, Mitchell, Weir).NOTRE DAME (75) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tpMorgan 37 8-23 7-9 4-9 3 3 24Bohman 27 3-8 2-4 4-8 3 3 8Gaither 29 7-9 4-10 4-8 0 4 18Jordan 18 1-2 1-2 0-1 0 2 3Augustin 24 1-4 2-2 0-4 3 2 4Peirick 28 4-6 2-3 1-4 3 1 12Mcmillen 17 0-4 2-2 2-6 4 1 2Ervin 6 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 2 2Henderson 14 1-3 0-0 1-2 2 2 2_______________________________________________TOTALS 200 26-61 20-32 16-42 19 20 75_______________________________________________Percentages: FG-.426, FT-.625. 3-Point Goals:3-15, .200 (Morgan 1-7, Augustin 0-1, Peirick2-3, Mcmillen 0-4). Team rebounds: 4. Blockedshots: None. Turnovers: 19 (Augustin 4, Bohman 3,Gaither 3, Peirick 3, Henderson 2, Jordan 2,Morgan 2). Steals: 11 (Augustin 3, Gaither 2,Morgan 2, Peirick 2, Bohman, Ervin).__________________________________Seton Hall 32 29 - 61Notre Dame 35 40 - 75__________________________________Technical fouls: None. A: 4,874. Officials:Janice Alberti, Athena Argyropoulous, ArtBomengen.