University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Notre Dame
Pittsburgh Falls To Notre Dame, 68-56
2/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2002
PITTSBURGH-Despite a season-low eight turnovers, the University of Pittsburgh women's basketball team came up short as it fell to Notre Dame, 68-56, Tuesday night at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers bid of notching their first victory over the Fighting Irish dwindled late as they dropped to 6-15 overall and 1-9 in Big East play.
Pittsburgh junior point guard Laine Selwyn (Coral Springs, Fla./Coral Springs), however, continued her barrage on the rest of the league, pouring in 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, recording her sixth straight double-double. Selwyn also added six steals and two assists.
After trailing 40-31 at intermission, Pittsburgh clawed its way back into the contest in the second half. The Panthers held Notre Dame to only 10 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half and found itself down just 50-46, following a Bettina Love (Rochester, N.Y./Edison Tech) layup.
However, the defending national champions embarked on a game-clinching 13-3 run over the next five minutes to stretch its lead to 63-49 with 3:03 remaining. Pittsburgh pulled to within 10 points on two occasions, but fell short and dropped its seventh consecutive contest.
Pittsburgh shot 33 percent (20 of 60) from the field while the Fighting Irish hit 41 percent (24 of 59) of their shots. Notre Dame controlled the glass with a 50-32 advantage.
Jessica Ryndycz (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) added nine points on 4-of-5 shooting for the Panthers.
Alicia Ratay drained four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points and Jacqueline Batteast recorded 16 points and 12 boards for the Irish. Teresa Borton also totaled a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Pittsburgh is back in action on Saturday as it hosts St. John's at 2 p.m. in Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers look to avenge last year's 38-33 setback in Jamaica, N.Y.
