Mar. 15, 1997
Irish Cruise to First-Round Win
AUSTIN, Texas – Katryna Gaither led a balanced attack with 24 points andfifth-seeded Notre Dame led from start to finish in a 93-62 routof 11th-seeded Memphis in an East Region first-round game atAustin, Texas.
The Fighting Irish (28-6), the Big East Conference runners-up,advanced to the second round for the second straight year andwill face Texas in a second-round game on Monday.
Gaither converted a 3-point play and a jumper in an 11-2burst as Notre Dame opened a 23-10 lead just over nine minutesinto the game. Memphis closed within 30-20 after four straightpoints by Tamika Whitmore, but the Irish closed the half withanother 11-2 burst to take a 41-22 lead at halftime afterRosanne Bohman’s layup at the buzzer.
Beth Morgan scored the first four points of the second half,helping Notre Dame extend its lead to 45-22. Memphis got nocloser than 17 the rest of the way and the Fighting Irish led byas many as 31 before emptying the bench.
Morgan had 15 points and Bohman and Jeannine Augustin 12 forNotre Dame, which shot 53 percent (35-for-66) form the field.Gaither also grabbed 12 rebounds, helping the Irish to a 51-38advantage on the boards.
Whitmore had 20 points and 10 rebounds and LaTonya Johnson added15 points for Memphis (22-7).
MEMPHIS (62) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tpJohnson 21 6-15 2-4 3-4 1 3 15Whitmore 26 9-17 2-2 4-10 0 4 20Newlon 24 1-5 3-4 0-4 1 2 5Murry 22 2-4 0-0 2-4 2 3 4Allen 29 1-15 3-5 2-5 2 3 5Humphries 3 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 2Fedric 25 2-6 0-0 0-4 2 4 4Smith 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0Jeffery 9 0-5 0-0 2-2 0 0 0Phillips 18 1-1 0-0 0-1 4 2 3Bolden 18 0-4 1-2 1-2 1 1 1Burkes 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 3_______________________________________________TOTALS 200 24-74 11-17 14-36 14 22 62_______________________________________________Percentages: FG-.324, FT-.647. 3-Point Goals:3-23, .130 (Johnson 1-6, Whitmore 0-1, Newlon0-1, Allen 0-7, Jeffery 0-4, Phillips 1-1, Bolden0-2, Burkes 1-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blockedshots: 2 (Johnson, Allen). Turnovers: 21 (Fedric5, Johnson 5, Murry 4, Allen 3, Jeffery 2,Newlon, Phillips). Steals: 12 (Fedric 3, Murry 3,Newlon 2, Whitmore 2, Allen, Phillips).NOTRE DAME (93) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tpBohman 26 5-8 2-5 3-9 3 2 12Morgan 29 5-13 4-6 1-5 2 0 15Gaither 27 9-15 6-7 5-12 3 2 24Peirick 29 4-7 2-2 1-7 6 3 11Augustin 33 4-7 4-4 0-2 6 0 12Mcmillen 27 3-9 0-1 1-5 2 2 8Grady 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0Henderson 18 4-4 1-2 2-4 2 4 9Hutchinson 8 1-2 0-0 0-2 1 0 2_______________________________________________TOTALS 200 35-66 19-27 13-46 25 15 93_______________________________________________Percentages: FG-.530, FT-.704. 3-Point Goals:4-15, .267 (Morgan 1-4, Peirick 1-3, Augustin0-1, Mcmillen 2-6, Hutchinson 0-1). Teamrebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 4 (Peirick 2, Morgan,Hutchinson). Turnovers: 21 (Augustin 7, Gaither5, Bohman 3, Peirick 3, Morgan 2, Henderson).Steals: 13 (Augustin 6, Gaither 2, Morgan 2,Bohman, Henderson, Mcmillen).__________________________________Memphis 22 40 - 62Notre Dame 41 52 - 93__________________________________Technical fouls: None. Officials: Tom Salerno,Art Bomengen, Anita Myles.