No. 17 Notre Dame 67, IUPUI 44

12/21/2007 8:45 PM

By CLIFF BRUNT
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Charel Allen had 12 points and five steals and No. 17 Notre Dame defeated IUPUI 67-44 on Friday night for its eighth straight win.

Devereaux Peters had 11 points and four blocks, Lindsay Schrader scored 10 points and Tulyah Gaines tied a career high with nine assists for the Irish (10-1).

Jernisha Cann led IUPUI with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Julia Whitted added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Jaguars (3-9), who have lost six straight.

Notre Dame forced 28 turnovers in IUPUI's second-ever home game against a ranked opponent. The Irish held the Jaguars to 24 percent shooting in the second half.

The first half was close throughout before Notre Dame finally asserted itself with a 9-0 run that gave the Irish a 34-27 halftime lead. IUPUI shot 50 percent in the first half, but committed 15 turnovers.

The Irish opened the second half on an 8-0 run to push the lead to 42-27. Notre Dame's Ashley Barlow, playing in her hometown for the first time as a college player, scored her first points on a bucket with 16:33 to play, sparking a loud cheer. A section of about 200 fans held up light green signs that read ``Go Ashley.''

Notre Dame's biggest lead was 28 points in the second half.