Notre Dame Downs Wisconsin
December 04, 2003 | Women's Basketball
It was a tale of two halves tonight as the University of Wisconsin lost on the road to Notre Dame University 82-64. The Badgers stayed close over the first twenty minutes, but could not keep pace with the Fighting Irish who put the game away in the second half. UW drops to 2-3 on the season, while the Fighting Irish, who were ranked 17th last week, even their record at 3-3.
The Badgers pounded the ball inside in the early-going, and Emily Ashbaugh scored eight of UW's first 11 points to give Wisconsin an 11-6 lead after five minutes of action. Notre Dame responded with a tight defense that forced five turnovers and held UW scoreless for four minutes. On the offensive end, the Irish scored nine consecutive points to take a 15-11 lead with ten minutes to play. Notre Dame guard Megan Duffy led the charge with five points.
Wisconsin tied the score twice more; the last time coming at 24-24 with just over four minutes to go. The Irish ended the half, though, with a 12-5 run to take control of the game and go into halftime with a 36-29 advantage. ND's Duffy, who tallied 19 of her career-high 25 points in the opening frame, scored ten points to fuel the Irish's half-ending surge.
Where Duffy left off outside, Notre Dame's Courtney LaVere took over in the paint, collecting eighteen of her season-high 22 points in the second half. LaVere scored 11 of ND's first 15 points as the Irish cruised to a 20-point margin, 68-48, after ten minutes of action. The Badgers closed the gap to 13 points late in the second half, but Notre Dame went 7-8 from the foul line down the stretch to preserve the victory.
'I really felt that our team was mentally and physically prepared for this game,' analyzed Wisconsin Head Coach Lisa Stone. 'The longer we spend time together as a team, the more we understand our strengths and weaknesses. I think in this game we played against a program with a great tradition, great coaching, and great players, and our team didn't fear our opponent. I thought that was demonstrated in the first half when we were battling.'
Ashbaugh led three Badgers in double figures with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. Ashley Josephson contributed 15 points, and Ebba Gebisa chipped in with 13. Guard Stephanie Rich dished out a career-high 12 assists in directing the Badger offense.
Duffy led the Irish with a game-high 25 points, including six three-point baskets on ten attempts. LaVere added 22 points and nine rebounds, while Jacqueline Batteast grabbed a game-high ten boards.
Wisconsin returns home to the Kohl Center this coming Sunday, December 7 at 1:30 PM for a game against Iowa State University.
