By By ADAM PAYNE / Dowagiac Daily News
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - After a disappointing loss at Villanova on Sunday, the last thing the Irish needed was another poor showing.
That's exactly what transpired Wednesday night at the Joyce Center, however, as No. 16 Connecticut soundly defeated the No. 7 Notre Dame women 67-50.
The game was close in the first half, as Notre Dame won the opening tip-off and quickly scored in their first two possessions. Megan Duffy provided her usual spark as she led the Irish up and down the floor.
She then committed two turnovers in consecutive possessions, which proved to be an indication of what was to come. Duffy committed seven of Notre Dame's 17 turnovers while Connecticut committed only nine for the game.
Right off the bat Connecticut was swarming on defense and collecting rebounds while Notre Dame stayed deeper inside on defense, challenging Connecticut to hurt them from the outside. Connecticut's 35 percent first half shooting kept them grounded, but they aired out 13 threes, connecting on five.
Notre Dame was 0-1 for threes in the first half, while 6-foot-2 junior guard Ann Strother hit 3-of-8 threes for the Huskies in the first 20 minutes.
The Irish shot a respectable 48 percent in the first half but still trailed at the break 31-26 as Connecticut amassed nine first-half offensive rebounds.
In the second half the Irish shot only 30 percent, missing 19 of their 27 shots.
Connecticut improved its shooting to 40 percent for the game making 13-of-28 attempts in the second half.
Connecticut star Ashley Battle scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half on 5-of-7 shooting, including two three-point continuation plays.
Charde Houston was the other star for the Huskies, hitting 6-of-7 field goals in the second half and scoring a game-high 19 points for Connecticut.
Crystal Erwin led the Irish with 11. Duffy ended with nine assists and six points, while Teresa Borton scored seven points and collected three blocks and nine rebounds.
Batteast came up hobbling late in the game, but missed no playing time, ending up with eight points.
The Lady Irish (13-3, 0-2) will now face No. 24 ranked Purdue on Sunday. The contest is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.