The two coaches have known each other since McGraw was Mitchell's counselor at the Cathy Rush summer basketball camps Mitchell attended during her collegiate playing days.,”

To fully know what Marquette's game Tuesday night versus Notre Dame meant to head coach Terri Mitchell, you first have to understand the close friendship she has with Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw.

The two coaches have known each other since McGraw was Mitchell's counselor at the Cathy Rush summer basketball camps Mitchell attended during her collegiate playing days.

That relationship made the previous two times Marquette and Notre Dame faced each other – two last-second Fighting Irish wins – all the more difficult on the coaches.

"The last two years, we've looked at each other on the sideline like, 'My goodness. We can't take this,' " Mitchell said after Monday's practice.

Fortunately for Mitchell and her Golden Eagles, no exasperated look was necessary Tuesday night. Marquette put away the Fighting Irish 71-62, never allowing Notre Dame the chance to break its heart at the buzzer once again.

"We've played them close the last two years, and the seniors were sick of being close," Mitchell said after the game. "Finally, we can say it's not about being close. It's about winning the ballgame."

A large reason for the relatively wide margin of victory, which gave Marquette its first win in its past 10 games against the Irish, was the play of senior forward Efueko Osagie-Landry.

Starting her third consecutive game after coming off the bench for the first part of the season, Osagie-Landry was a constant defensive menace to Notre Dame. She finished with four steals and a key second-half block to go along with a season-high 15 points and five assists.

"I just do as I always do," Osagie-Landry said. "Whether starting or coming off the bench, I try to be a spark for this team. Tonight just happened to be my night."

It also happened to be Christina Quaye's night – literally. The senior forward celebrated her birthday by scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds.

Not to be outdone, senior Danielle Kamm also had a noteworthy night. Less than four minutes into the game, Kamm sank a baseline jumper and became the 18th player in program history to record 1,000 or more career points. She finished with seven points, but rounded out her game by providing seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Steals were abundant for both squads Tuesday night. Marquette recorded nine and created 12 Fighting Irish turnovers. Muffet remarked in her post-game address how impressed she was with the Golden Eagles' zone defense and athletic ability.

But Notre Dame was just as pesky on the defensive end. The Fighting Irish came up with 17 steals themselves and forced 20 Marquette turnovers.

"We certainly aren't going to win any style points with 20 turnovers," Mitchell said. "Our communication was off, but we adjusted in the second half. There were a few times, but I'm OK with a few times because they were aggressive, take-it-to-the-basket moves."

In the end, it was that aggressiveness that pushed Marquette ahead for good, a point that was not lost on McGraw.

"We didn't play well at all," McGraw said. "We got some shots but never the shots we wanted."

The Golden Eagles were busy taking all of those.

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