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<DOCID>womanbb.doc.txt</DOCID>
<AUTHOR>SI</AUTHOR>
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It's a different era of women's basketball compared to the last time Lake Superior State played a Division I opponent two decades ago.



In today's world of big time women's basketball, players have the best of facilities, coaching, television exposure, and fan interest. The Lakers got a taste of the big time when they played their season-opening exhibition game at Notre Dame on Tuesday night in the heartland of college basketball.



Notre Dame defeated LSSU 82-55 in front of 5,626 fans at the Joyce Center, but the loss hardly spoiled the head-coaching debut for Laker coach Jamie Pewinski.



"I am proud of our team. I wanted to see them compete for an entire 40 minutes, and they did that," Pewinski said. "We wanted them to execute some offensive schemes, and they did that very well."



Pewinski noted that the Lakers saw some things from a young, but athletic Notre Dame team that they won't likely see in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The talent of the fighting Irish tested LSSU, whose strengths entering the season are versatility and depth.



"Six through 10 played a bit better then I expected," she said of her reserve players. "They were up to the challenge. Maybe were even a little bit deeper then I expected us to be."



It was LSSU's first matchup with a DI opponent since the Lakers beat Wisconsin in 1987. Wisconsin was a lower-tier team in the Big Ten at the time. In 2006-07, LSSU faced a Notre Dame team whose recent history includes 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and a national title in 2001.



Notre Dame's superior back-court quickness led to early foul trouble for Laker guards. Notre Dame took advantage of 19 LSSU turnovers to pull away from a 6-5 deficit and build a 21-point lead, but the Lakers eventually settled down and trimmed the deficit to 15 points with a chance to cut it to 13.



UND bounced back with a field goal to lead, 44-27, at halftime. Monica Rehmann hit two three-pointers and had eight first-half points, while Danielle Makins came off the bench to score six.

 



 

	



Lake State's Jackie Armstrong opened the second half with a field goal, but the Fighting Irish answered with eight straight points to lead, 52-29. LSSU trimmed the margin to 19 points, 63-45, midway through the second half, but UND had a 26-point command by 5:41.



Charel Allen led Notre Dame with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Irish improved to 25-1 in exhibition games dating back to the 1993-94 season. Breona Gray added 11 points and eight rebounds, followed by Melissa D'Amico with 10 points.



"I thought our intensity was good for 40 minutes," said UND coach Muffet McGraw. "They gave a great effort. Tulyah Gaines and Breona, this game was a credit to them."



"They are a young team and finding their way a bit," Pewinski said of the Irish. "Their freshmen are outstanding, and they are going to get good minutes out of those players. Their athleticism makes them a great team, and they are obviously well-coached."



Armstrong finished with 11 points and five rebounds for LSSU. Mandi Johnson added nine points and 10 rebounds. Makins totaled eight rebounds. The Lakers held their own at the boards, trailing only 51-42. They trimmed their turnover total to 13 in the second half.

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