December 7, 1996
No. 7 Notre Dame Wins Big East Opener
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Four Notre Dame players scored in double figures to lead seventh-ranked Notre Dame to a 91-75 victory over Providence in the Big East opener for the Fighting Irish. The Irish are now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the Big East, while the Lady Friars fall to 3-4 and 0-2.
Notre Dame, which lost to Purdue on Thursday night to snap a four-game win streak, was led by Mollie Peirick's season-high 18 points. Rosanne Bohman and Beth Morgan added 17, while Katryna Gaither added 16. Bohman's 18 points marked a career-high for the senior forward.
Gaither, Notre Dame's leading scorer was in foul trouble throughout the contest and played only 14 minutes. Morgan added a game-high 10 rebounds for the Irish.
Providence was led by Nadine Malcolm and Kerri Chatten, who combined for 57 points. Malcolm had a game-high 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Chatten had 25.
Notre Dame led by 10 at halftime after shooting 61.1 percent from the field. The Irish jumped out to an early 19-10 lead with 13:22 left in the first half on Bohman's four-foot jumper in the lane.
The Lady Friars then went on a 15-5 run to take a 25-24 lead on Malcolm's 15-foot jumper with 10:20 remaining. Notre Dame outscored Providence 10-0 over the next two minutes to take a 52-42 lead at the half.
Notre Dame led by as many as 16 points in the second half.
The Irish outrebounded Providence 38-34 in the game and forced 22 turnovers and limited the Lady Friars to 39.1 shooting for the game and just 31.1 percent in the second half.
Providence hit on seven three pointers in the first half, but was missed all six of its attempts in the second half.
Notre Dame returns to action at the Joyce Center on Monday, December 9 when the Irish host Wisconsin at 7 p.m.
PROVIDENCE (75) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Chatten 30 8-14 6-10 0-4 0 5 25 Hinds 34 2-7 0-0 1-3 0 2 4 Malcolm 36 8-16 15-16 4-10 0 1 32 Saunders 23 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 1 5 Wheeler 40 3-12 0-0 1-5 9 4 8 Davis 19 0-2 0-0 0-1 1 1 0 Sullivan 7 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 0 Simonelli 11 0-2 1-2 1-5 0 3 1 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 23-58 22-28 7-30 14 18 75 _______________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.397, FT-.786. 3-Point Goals: 7-19, .368 (Chatten 3-6, Hinds 0-1, Malcolm 1-1, Saunders 1-1, Wheeler 2-10). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 1 (Malcolm). Turnovers: 22 (Chatten 6, Wheeler 5, Malcolm 4, Davis 2, Hinds 2, Saunders, Simonelli, Sullivan). Steals: 8 (Malcolm 3, Wheeler 2, Chatten, Hinds, Simonelli). NOTRE DAME (91) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp Morgan 37 7-19 1-1 0-10 8 1 17 Bohman 26 7-10 3-6 1-4 3 5 17 Gaither 14 7-10 2-3 1-6 1 5 16 Peirick 27 5-7 5-6 2-5 5 2 18 Augustin 32 1-2 0-0 0-2 5 1 2 Jordan 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Mcmillen 22 3-5 2-3 0-1 0 0 8 Henderson 15 3-5 0-0 2-5 1 5 6 Hutchinson 24 2-5 2-2 1-3 4 3 7 _______________________________________________ TOTALS 200 35-63 15-21 7-36 27 22 91 _______________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.556, FT-.714. 3-Point Goals: 6-12, .500 (Morgan 2-4, Peirick 3-3, Augustin 0-1, Mcmillen 0-2, Hutchinson 1-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 3 (Morgan, Jordan, Hutchinson). Turnovers: 20 (Morgan 5, Augustin 3, Peirick 3, Bohman 2, Gaither 2, Henderson 2, Hutchinson 2, Mcmillen). Steals: 9 (Gaither 3, Morgan 2, Peirick 2, Augustin, Mcmillen). __________________________________ Providence 42 33 - 75 Notre Dame 52 39 - 91 __________________________________ Technical fouls: None. A: 687. Officials: Ray Bomeli, Dennis Taylor, Mark Parker.