KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — One of the best performances of Skylar Diggins' brilliant career spoiled a night when Tennessee was honoring former coach Pat Summitt.
Diggins scored a career-high 33 points Monday as Notre Dame built a 19-point lead and withstood a late Tennessee rally in a 77-67 triumph over the Lady Vols. Notre Dame earned its 14th straight victory and snapped the Lady Vols' nine-game winning streak.
Now the Lady Vols (16-4) hope the loss doesn't prove doubly painful.
Tennessee center Isabelle Harrison was playing Monday with a meniscus injury in her left knee. Harrison hurt the knee again in the first half while driving to the basket, and the 6-foot-3 sophomore had to be helped off the floor. Tennessee coach Holly Warlick had no immediate word on Harrison's condition.
"I hope she's going to be back because we need her," Warlick said. "She's a vital part of our program."
Before the game, Summitt had a banner raised in her honor at Thompson-Boling Arena. Summitt's 1,098-208 career record in 38 seasons gives her the most wins of any Division I men's or women's basketball coach. Summitt stepped down in April after announcing in 2011 that she has early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.
Summitt's ceremony attracted plenty of star power. The announced crowd of 13,556 included former Lady Vols greats Tamika Catchings, Chamique Holdsclaw, Michelle Marciniak and Candace Parker.
"This is one of the toughest places to play with all those fans out there," Diggins said. "It was a great moment for Coach Summitt, with all those players like Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings on the sidelines. It was a very emotional night tonight, and I thought we did a good job of handling it because they had a lot to play for."
Diggins took over the game early in the first half to put the Irish ahead. She dominated on both ends of the floor again early in the second half. And after Tennessee cut a 19-point deficit to five in the closing minutes, Diggins responded once more.
"She had a phenomenal game. ... She's shooting the ball extremely well," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "She shot 50 percent from the field (13 of 26) against a great defense, managed the game, ran the team. Fourth game in nine days, I thought we looked a little tired in stretches at the end, and I really didn't want to take her out to even give her a quick breath. She really gutted it out for 40 minutes with intense pressure on the ball."
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