SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Dec. 29, 2007) – Saint Francis' Britney Hodges (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal) (Dayton, Ohio/Mount de Chantal Academy) racked up game-highs of 18 points and six steals, but it wasn't enough as No. 16 Notre Dame dispatched the Red Flash, 82-39, at the Joyce Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Irish dominated inside in the first meeting between the two teams, out-scoring the Flash 54-10 in the paint, and out-rebounding SFU by a 42-24 margin.

“We just don't have enough scoring, and obviously size is a huge factor," Saint Francis head coach Susan Robinson Fruchtl said. "(Notre Dame's Devereaux) Peters and (Erica) Williamson really gave us a lot of problems on the interior and on rebounding. They had five offensive rebounds each and probably scored on most of those. That was the big difference in the game."

Williamson's career-high 16 points led the Irish and made her the tenth Notre Dame player to score in the double digits this season.

The Red Flash did manage to stage a spirited rally mid-way through the first half, silencing the 6,406 on hand at the Joyce Center.

Saint Francis closed the Irish lead to 21-19 with seven minutes left in the opening period thanks to a 17-4 run. However, Notre Dame responded by scoring 21 of the half's final 27 points, and held the Red Flash to 3 of 24 (12.5 percent) from the floor in the second half to close out the game.

“There are spurts where we play very well,” said Robinson Fruchtl. “We haven't been able to put together a good half though. We play well for 12 minutes or so, then for the next seven or eight minutes we don't.”

“It's frustrating.”

The loss, Saint Francis' second to a top-20 opponent of the season, drops the Flash to 3-8 on the season as they prepare to welcome Dayton in their non-conference finale on Wednesday, January 2.