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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Batteast dominates with 21 points in team's 86-69 rout of No. 20 Purdue

Notre Dame needed a win. They got that and much more Sunday with an 86-69 win over No. 20 Purdue.Jacqueline Batteast had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 7 Notre Dame, who entered the contest after dropping two tough games to Big East foes Villanova and Connecticut."That one feels good," Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. "That was probably the best team effort I think we've had all year long." Notre Dame (14-3) and Purdue (10-6) went back and forth for the first 11 minutes, with eight lead changes. But with 8:57 to play in the half and Purdue up 27-24, the Irish came out firing.Powered by outstanding shooting and rebounding, the Irish went on a 19-7 run to go ahead 44-32 with 3:10 to play in the half. The Irish closed the first half on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 54-38 at halftime. Point guard Megan Duffy was 3-for-3 from behind the arc in the first half, en route to 17 first half points."I felt good out there," said Duffy, who finished with 19 points and six assists. Early in the second half, Notre Dame maintained its lead, carrying a 60-45 advantage after just under four minutes of play. But Purdue fought back, going on a 6-2 run to cut the Notre Dame lead to 11 with 14:35 to play. After a Notre Dame timeout, the Irish scored six straight points to extend the lead to 68-51 behind points from Duffy, Teresa Borton and Tulyah Gaines and four rebounds from Batteast, who showed no ill effects of an ankle injury suffered Wednesday night.Purdue never got closer than 13 points, and Notre Dame cleared its bench with two minutes to play, securing the first win over the Boilermakers since the 2001 National Championship game in which Notre Dame defeated 68-66 Purdue for the NCAA title."We just wanted to come out and show them that they're not going to do anything that we don't want them to do in our house," said Batteast, who also had three blocks.Notre Dame gave up 69 points, well above its season-average of 56.9, but the Irish defense was key to the game, according to McGraw."We played with tremendous intensity at the defensive end and really did some great things," McGraw said.Notre Dame had six steals, and Purdue turned the ball over 21 times, with the Irish converting them to 29 points.Notes:u Borton has shot 23-31 from the field in the last four games good for 74 percent.u Batteast's double-double (21 points, 11 rebounds) was her fourth of the season and 36th of her career. Sunday's numbers tied her with Ruth Riley for second on the all-time list of most double-doubles for Notre Dame.