Dec. 10, 2008

Box Score | Box Score

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- Stephany Skrba scored four of her 20 points in overtime to help Michigan hand No. 8 Notre Dame its first loss, 63-59 Wednesday night.

Skrba scored on two straight possessions in the extra period and the Fighting Irish (7-1) missed a pair of layups in the final seconds. The Wolverines (6-4) held Notre Dame scoreless for the final 3:24.

Michigan's Jessica Minnfield made a spinning layup with 4 seconds left in regulation to tie it and stole a lob pass seconds later to ensure overtime. She added a pair of free throws to ice the game.

Reserve Ashley Barlow scored 14 points to lead the Irish, who had not trailed an opponent in the second half this season.

POST GAME NOTES: Notre Dame played its first overtime game since March 25, 2008, when the Irish downed No. 14/13 Oklahoma, 79-75 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at West Lafayette, Ind. ... Wednesday's loss is the first for the Irish in OT since Jan. 13, 2007, when they dropped an 87-78 decision at South Florida ... Notre Dame sees its season-opening seven-game winning streak snapped after matching the second-best start in school history ... the Irish fall to 9-7 all-time against Michigan and also had their three-game series win streak come to an end, with the Wolverines earning their first victory over Notre Dame since Dec. 2, 2001 (78-63 at the Women's College Basketball Showcase in Grand Rapids, Mich.) ... UM has historically had the upper hand over the Irish in Ann Arbor, improving to 5-2 all-time against Notre Dame at Crisler Arena ... Wednesday's verdict bucked a series trend that had seen the Irish go 8-0 when holding the Wolverines to fewer than 65 points ... it was the second overtime game in the series, along with a 66-60 UM win on Dec. 8, 1979, in South Bend ... Wednesday's loss marked just the third time in the past 31 opportunities that Notre Dame has lost after leading at halftime ... the Irish committed a season-high 23 turnovers ... Notre Dame's four free throws were its fewest from the foul line since Nov. 16, 2007, when the Irish also made four foul shots at Maryland ... Notre Dame's six free throw attempts were its fewest in its BIG EAST Conference era (1995-96 to present) -- the last time the Irish visited the free throw line so infrequently was March 10, 1995, when they went 5-of-6 in an 87-64 loss at Northern Illinois in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinals ... junior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow returned to action Wednesday and scored a team-high 14 points, extending her streak of double-figure scoring games to 11 in a row, going back to last season ... sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski posted her third double-digit scoring night of the year.