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.