Gophers Pin 54-Point Setback on Visiting Gators

von Ende Finishes with Double-Double of 13 Points, 10 Rebounds

TOWSON, Md. — The all-time series between Goucher and Notre Dame (Md.) in the sport of women’s basketball has been full of blowouts, but never before of the magnitude of the one that took place tonight in the Decker Sports & Recreation Center.

Thanks to one run of 23 consecutive points, the Gophers were able to open up a gigantic 50-9 advantage by halftime, and then the Gators failed to score a point until more than 12 minutes elapsed in the second half. At the final horn, the scoreboard read: Goucher 73, Notre Dame 19.

This was the 21st meeting between the two metropolitan rivals since Goucher joined the NCAA prior to the 1987-88 season. In 13 of those 21 games, one team defeated the other by more than 20 points; in five of those 13 games, the margin of victory was 30 or more points.

But prior to tonight, Notre Dame’s 35-point victory over Goucher (74-39) during the 1989-90 season stood as the most decisive for either team.

Goucher (1-1) had three double-figure scorers tonight: freshman forward Victoria Mitchell (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College) with 16 points, senior forward Amber Smith (Baltimore, Md./Institute of Notre Dame) with 14 points and sophomore guard/forward Elizabeth von Ende (Leawood, Kan./American Hebrew Academy) with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

India Scott was the leading scorer and rebounder for Notre Dame (0-1) as she finished with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

Goucher's 23-0 run in the first half started with the Gophers leading 16-5 with 12:59 remaining before halftime. It ended more than nine minutes later with Dana Carr knocking down a three-pointer for Notre Dame that made the score 39-8.

After shooting 57.1 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, the Gophers cooled off in the second half, but still made 11 of their 31 shots (.355). They out-rebounded the Gators, 55-26.

Notre Dame broke the SRC record for lowest field goal percentage. The Gators were 6-for-47 from the field, a .128 shooting percentage. Previously, the worst shooting performance by one team in the SRC was Goucher's 8-for-51 (.156) against Marymount on February 21, 1997.