St. John's University Athletics
Notre Dame Shuts Down St. John's, 76-48
2/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Notre Dame (14-8, 6-5) jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the first half, but Stevens knocked down a three at 18:25 to put the Red Storm on the board. The Irish slowly built their lead from there, gaining a 20-9 advantage with 8:35 remaining. Ratay hit two of her eight free throws on the night with 21 seconds to play to give Notre Dame its largest lead (17) of the half. As the buzzer sounded to signal halftime, Stevens hit a jumper to cut the lead to 15 (35-20). The Irish hit 7-of-8 from the line and shot 50.0 percent from the field, while the Red Storm made no trips to the foul line and shot 36.0 in the first half.
The Fighting Irish recorded the first six points of the second half, before Stevens got fouled on a three-point shot and nailed three free throws (43-23). The Red Storm first six points of the half came on foul shots. Junior Crystal Andrews (West Bloomfield, Mich.) had St. Johns first field goal of the half at 13:48 (50-28). A three-point play by Stevens with 7:45 pulled the Red Storm within 20 (56-36), but they would never get an closer. Notre Dame shot 56.5 percent in the second half to take the game, 76-48.
Stevens 20 points came on 6-14 shooting from the field, including two threes, and a six-of-six effort from the line. She also had four rebounds and two steals in her ninth straight game with double-figure points.
Sophomore Patrycja Gulak (Olsztyn, Poland) chipped in 10 points, a team-high six boards, four assists and two steals in 23 minutes. Junior Reka Szavuly (Miskolc, Hungary) dished out four assists, grabbed four rebounds, had two steals and hit one three. In the last 1:45 of the game, junior Angie Leung (Richmond Hill, N.Y.) notched five points, including a three-pointer, and a rebound.
Notre Dame had four players record double-figures, led by Ratays 19. Jacqueline Batteast added 16 and seven boards, while Courtney LaVere and Teresa Borton had 13 and 12, respectively.
The Irish connected on 20-27 from the foul line with the Red Storm converting 9-of-12. ND outrebounded SJU, 33-29, and forced 24 St. Johns turnovers. The game was decided in the paint where Notre Dame had 40 points to the Red Storms eight.
The Red Storm (8-15, 2-10) return to action on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:30pm when they host nationally-ranked Rutgers at Alumni Hall.
