Becca Bruszewski made sure it was a sweet Senior Day in South Bend.
Bruszewski scored 12 points in her final home game, and No. 8 Notre Dame cruised past Cincinnati 66-48 before a sellout crowd on Saturday.
''We were a little giddy, almost, before the game,'' coach Muffet McGraw said. ''Everybody had a little bit of emotion. But we didn't have the same type of focus that we normally do.''
Skylar Diggins scored 12 points for Notre Dame (24-5, 13-2 Big East), which jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first 2 1/2 minutes, pushed it to 15-6 with 8:24 remaining in the first half and then started the second half with a 21-0 run that put the game away.
''I thought everybody got a lot more aggressive to start the second half,'' said McGraw, whose team has won 11 straight, the only loss against No. 1 UConn.
Bruszewski has already passed the 1000 point mark for her career.
''Today was great,'' a teary-eyed Bruszewski said. ''I was really taking it all in.''
McGraw called her the ''most amazing competitor, I think, I've ever coached.''
''I think her contribution over four years has been outstanding,'' McGraw said. ''But the contribution that she's made this year from a leadership perspective has way surpassed everyone's expectations.''
Kayla Cook had 18 points for Bearcats (8-19, 1-14). Shareese Ulis added 14 points.
Devereaux Peters also had 12 points and Natalie Novosel finished 11 for Notre Dame on Senior Day at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish wrap up the regular-season Monday at No. 7 DePaul.
''They were a little bit smaller group, so I always try to take advantage of that,'' Peters said. ''I really tried to make it a point to get inside.''
Cincinnati trailed only 28-20 at halftime before the Irish went on their big run. The Bearcats' bench was hit with a technical foul with 17:19 remaining, and Kaila Turner hit back-to-back 3-pointers that made it 61-30 with about 9 minutes left as the rout was on.
''For us to go into halftime down eight, I don't know if I would have envisioned that,'' Cincinnati coach Jamelle Elliot said. ''I was hoping that would come out and just kind of build off that, but that just wasn't the case.''
An injury-riddled roster limited Cincinnati to just seven dressed players, making it an uphill battle against a team that has never lost to the Bearcats in seven previous matchups.
Cincinnati has lost 13 straight games and wraps up its regular season against No. 24 Marquette on Monday night. The Bearcats' last win was against South Florida, 57-56 on Jan. 5.
''You never have a break,'' Elliot said. ''Every night you're playing against a team that's athletic, that's quick, that's deep.''
Elliot knows that her team is at a disadvantage every time it steps out onto the floor, but she was proud of the way the Bearcats performed.
''We play extremely hard,'' Elliot said. ''We compete, we fight, we're scrappy.''
