The Notre Dame Fighting Irish mascot fires up the crowd before the 2011 NCAA Women’s Final Four championship game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Conseco Fieldhouse on April 5, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Four Notre Dame players scored in double figures as the Irish (2-0) picked up a hard-fought 59-53 victory over Detroit Monday night in South Bend.
Eric Atkins and Joey Brooks tallied 13 points each to lead the Irish.
Ray McCallum led all scorers with 20 while Chase Simon contributed 13 for the Titans.
Irish star forward Tim Abromaitis sat out his second straight game as part of a four-game NCAA suspension for a technical rules violation that occurred during the 2008-2009 season.
Detroit (1-1) led 39-31 early in the second half before the Titans went on a scoreless streak spanning 7:39 that allowed Notre Dame to take a 47-41 edge that would hold for the win.
Detroit shot 29 percent from the field while Notre Dame shot 37 percent.
Notre Dame was 4-4 from the field to open the contest, but McCallum was 4-4 from beyond the arc in the first seven minutes as he single-handedly kept Detroit in the game.
With the score tied at 17, Detroit picked up its seventh foul with 11:48 to go in the first half. Nick Minnerath, who scored 23 points in Detroit’s season-opening win, picked up his third foul at the 8:18 mark and sat the rest of the half.
Detroit’s superior quickness began to assert itself as it notched a 29-22 edge with 4:30 remaining in the first half.
Notre Dame sophomore Jerian Grant nailed two 3-pointers to help pull the Irish back to within three, 31-28, at the half.
The two teams were nearly even statistically in the opening half, although Detroit held the rebounding advantage 21-17. The major discrepancy came in 3-point shooting, where Detroit was 6-14 while Notre Dame was 2-7. McCallum led all scorers with 12 points while Atkins and Brooks notched eight apiece for the Irish at the game’s midway point.
The Titans re-established an eight-point edge, 39-31, early in the second half as both teams clamped down defensively and slowed the tempo. The Irish retaliated with a 16-2 rally, including a scoreless streak by the Titans that spanned over seven minutes. Minnerath’s layup ended the drought at the 6:23 mark to cut the Irish lead to 47-43, but Notre Dame played lockdown defense to preserve the victory.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
