SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame got off to a fast start. Brittany Mallory made sure the third-ranked Fighting Irish didn't let up.

The Irish (9-0) were ahead 13-2 when Mallory came off the bench five minutes into the game. The junior guard made her first five baskets, scoring 13 points in just over four minutes to help the Irish extend the lead to 31-10 with a 3-pointer midway through the first half. She finished with a career-high 22 points in 20 minutes of play to lead the Irish to an 88-47 win over Valparaiso yesterday afternoon.

"Brittany's been playing her role extremely well," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "She's playing great basketball. She has such great poise when she's on the floor. She's working hard defensively. She's doing a lot of little things. I'm really pleased with the way she's playing."

Mallory, whose previous career high was 19 points against Georgia Southern last season, said she focuses on making sure there is no letdown when she enters the game.

"I've just got to come in and do what I can," she said. "It's just a matter of keeping the intensity that my team's already started."

The Crusaders (3-5), who lost their fifth straight, went on a 10-2 run to close to 33-20 on a three-point play by Raegan Moore with 6:12 left before intermission. But Valparaiso missed its last nine shots of the half and trailed 45-22 at halftime.

The Irish pulled away throughout the second half. Valparaiso coach Keith Freeman was disappointed in his team's passive play. Betsy Adams, Valparaiso's leading scorer at 17.1 points a game, was held scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting.

"I think it just points to the fact that they're bigger, stronger, faster," Freeman said. "They overpowered her. They overpowered us in pretty much every position. How many times did we get knocked to the floor and how many times did they get knocked to the floor? That's the difference in the game."

TCU 56, NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 54

Helena Sverrisdottir drilled a 3-pointer to tie it at 54-all with 1:29 to play, and K LaFleur made two free throws with 38 seconds left as the host Horned Frogs (7-3) upset the Aggies (7-1).

Maryann Baker gave the Aggies a 45-31 lead with a 3-pointer at the 11:50 mark. But the Horned Frogs, behind Sverrisdottir, who scored 18 of her 20 points after intermission, outscored the Aggies 23-9 over the next 10 minutes.

PENN STATE 77, NO. 15 PITTSBURGH 73

Tyra Grant had 27 points and Meredith Monroe added 14 points and 13 rebounds, helping the host Nittany Lions (7-3) upset the Panthers (8-1) for their first win over a ranked foe since beating No. 11 Duke two years ago.

NO. 20 DAYTON 84, MIAMI (OHIO) 75

Kendel Ross scored 29 points, Kari Daugherty added 19 and visiting Flyers (9-2) were never threatened in beating the RedHawks (1-8).

DIVISION II

BYU-HAWAI'I 61, ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 48

Mahina Gago scored 14 points, Lindsey Sundin had 11, and the visiting Seasiders (4-3) raced to a 32-21 halftime lead in beating the Nanooks (1-8) at Anchorage, Alaska. Lakeshia Levi scored 16 points to lead Alaska-Fairbanks.