University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vols' Win Streak Ends At #6 ND, 88-77
January 19, 2015 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2015
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- #5 Tennessee saw its 11-game winning streak come to an end on Monday night at #6 Notre Dame as the Irish posted an 88-77 victory.
Jewell Loyd led the Irish (17-2) with 34 points making 13-of-23 from the floor. Lindsay Allen (15) and Brianna Turner (13) also scored in double figures. The Irish shot 58.2 from the floor. Notre Dame won its fifth in a row at home since a loss to #2 UConn on Dec. 6.
Bashaara Graves topped the Lady Vols (16-3) with a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Cierra Burdick tallied 15 points. Isabelle Harrison had 12 points and nine rebounds. Ariel Massengale added 11 points off the bench.
The Irish have won the last five meetings in the series dating to 2011. That came after Tennessee won the first 20 in the series, which started in 1983, to lead 20-5 all-time.
The Lady Vols lost their 14th consecutive road game against a Top 10 team dating to a 67-64 victory at Duke on Jan. 28, 2008.
Tennessee was never able to take the lead at Purcell Pavilion. The Lady Vols hung within eight points for the first 29 minutes of action. The Irish took their first double-figure lead with 10:26 left in regulation.
Notre Dame built an eight-point lead three times early in the second half, but Tennessee continued to cut it back to a two possession game. Allen's free throws midway through the second half pushed the Irish's lead to 59-49.
The Irish extended its lead to 14 points at 66-52 with a 7-0 spurt finished by a Madison Cable steal and fast break layup with 8:30 left. That capped a 12-3 run.
The Lady Vols made a late push with a 9-2 run to get within six points at 80-74 with one minute left on a Graves' layup.
Notre Dame sealed the win with 8-of-10 free throws in the final 50 seconds.
The Irish held a 40-37 lead at halftime in 20 fast-paced minutes. Notre Dame shot 62.5 percent from the floor and were led by Loyd's 18 points. Graves led Tennessee's scoring parade with 14 points.
Neither team led by more than two possessions in the first half. Notre Dame's six-point lead at 25-19 on a Loyd jumper with 9:44 left in the half marked the largest advantage for the Irish, which did not trail for the entire half.
The game kicked off `We Back Pat' Week, which continues at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Lady Vols return home for the first time in two weeks, as Tennessee hosts LSU on Thursday at 7 p.m., ET. That game airs on the SEC Network and can be heard on the Lady Vol Network.
