Batteast Bucket at Buzzer Downs Marquette, 50-47

Quaye scores 20 in defeat

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MILWAUKEE (AP) ? Jacqueline Batteast?s three-pointer as time expired gave No. 7 Notre Dame a 50-47 victory over Marquette at the Al McGuire Center.

The game was highlighted by the star post players on each team?Marquette?s Christina Quaye and Batteast. Quaye led Marquette with 20 points and eight rebounds while Batteast had 27 points and 10 rebounds. It was Batteast?s third double-double of the season and the 35th of her career.

?Batteast, what can you say about her? She is an All-American for a reason, she stepped up and took the big shot and made many key plays for her team today,? said Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell.

Neither team shot well?Marquette shot 28.6-percent (16-of-56) while Notre Dame shot 34.8-percent (16-of-46). Making rebounding a key stat in today?s game. Marquette won the battle of the boards, 47-31. It was Notre Dame?s largest rebounding deficit of the season.

?I thought Marquette played a great game,? said Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw. ?Their defense was outstanding. They worked hard on the boards. I thought Quaye looked unstoppable at times, we had trouble defending her, but her getting into foul trouble may be the difference in game.?

Twenty of Marquette?s 47 rebounds came on the offensive end.

?Rebounding was a big emphasis for us,? said Mitchell. ?If we want to be playing March in the post season, we have to rebound.?

The game stayed close early in the second half as the lead changed hands seven times in the first ten minutes of the half.

Notre Dame slowly pulled away thereafter, extending its lead to five, 38-33, at the 7:29 mark on Charel Allen?s lay-in.

Both teams found their shooting touch late in game as the teams began to trade baskets. Marquette tied the score at 40 when Danielle Kamm hit a falling 17-footer as the shot clock expired with 3:23 remaining.

Breona Gray quieted the home crowd of 2,573 with a jumper that gave the Fighting Irish a 45-44 lead with 1:32 remaining.

The score stayed that way until Kamm fouled Duffy with 16 seconds remaining. Duffy made both free throws, giving the Fighting Irish a three point advantage.

Kamm hit a three-pointer with 6.7 seconds left to tie the game and hurried down the floor as Batteast took a pass from Duffy and hit the three as the buzzer sounded to seal the win.

Marquette took its first lead of the game at the 3:31 mark of the first half when Christina Quaye?s three-pointer made the score 22-19. Marquette took a narrow one-point lead 24-23 with them into the locker room at halftime.

Both teams had trouble finding energy early on as the teams combined for 1-20 shooting in the first 8:18 of the game. Marquette made its first field goal at the 10:53 mark after missing its first 11. Svetlana Kovalenko connected on a lay in on an assist from Christina Quaye.

?I think the low field goal percentages were a credit to the defense,? said McGraw. ?Both teams may have suffered from the post-final exam syndrome. Both teams were probably a little tired mentally.?

Notre Dame struck first at the 19:30 mark on Jacqueline Batteast?s lay in, but then went 9:18 before scoring another field goal.

?It was a physical game. It was one of those games where you had to keep your composure and fight through it,? said Duffy.

Notre Dame shot 17-of-20 from the free throw line while Marquette was 11-of-19.

Marquette returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 21 against St. Bonaventure at 6 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center.
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