Freshmen guard Sydney Sevrain did not let a few missed shots wane her confidence throughout the rest of the game.

Sevrain drilled two straight 3-pointers, after missing her first seven shots from the field, to bring Northwestern's deficit to two.Then, Abigail Chisdak tied the game with 12 seconds left.Notre Dame's Cailee Murphy, however, was fouled on the ensuing possession, and hit 1-of-2 from the line to give the Crusaders a 45-44 Colonial League victory Tuesday night.The Tigers (7-4 overall, 4-4 CL) were down by as many as nine in the fourth quarter, and eight midway through the final frame, but battled all the way back. An offensive rebound from Murphy led to the foul and ensuing free-throw with just two seconds remaining."We waited until the very end to have urgency," said assistant coach Craig Mogel, who was coaching for a sick Chris Deutsch. "We preach all the time that you need to be ready from the beginning and play like you really want to win."In the last two minutes of the game, we decided to play our basketball, and we made a great run at the end. But when you have to make runs at the end of the game and come from behind, it gets tough because you waste so much energy getting there."In a game that featured five ties and 12 lead changes, the teams traded baskets for most of the first half.The Crusaders (8-2, 5-1) led by two after the first and second quarters, but did not have an answer for Leighanna Lister. The junior forward tallied 17 points, 14 rebounds, and nine blocks - one block shy of a triple-double. She had 13 of her 17 points in the first half, and kept Northwestern within a basket at halftime, trailing 25-23."Leighanna had a heck of a game," Mogel said. "She was getting a lot of physical pressure on her, but she battled. She did everything for us down there. It was one of the best individual performances I've seen in a long time. She gave it all she had."Jessica Williamson sunk a free-throw to put the Tigers ahead 26-25 early in the third, but that was the last time they would be in front. Notre Dame finished the quarter on a 12-4 run to take a 37-30 advantage after three.Tori Esposito's jumper gave the Crusaders their biggest lead of the game at nine just a few seconds into the fourth quarter, but Northwestern wouldn't go away.They turned up the pressure on the defensive end, and forced some turnovers that helped cut into the deficit.Down 40-32, Lister grabbed an offensive board and followed up with a layup. Then after a missed shot by the Crusaders, Sevrain connected from long range. With a 44-39 score, Sevrain drained her second 3-pointer with 1:05 to go."It was big for her to come in and hit those threes," said Mogel. "We set both of those plays up for her in the corner, and she hit some big shots for us. For a freshman to step up like that, that was big for her confidence."After the Tigers forced a turnover, Chisdak tied the game on a jumper.Notre Dame head coach Josh Kopp called timeout. As his team pushed the ball the length of the court, Murphy missed inside the paint, but got her own rebound and was fouled on the put-back. She made the first, and then missed the second."It's always hard coming into this gym and getting a win," Kopp said. "Both teams gave it their all tonight."COACHING ON THE FLY ... Mogel found out just four hours before the game that he would be coaching. Deutsch fell ill with the flu during the day. "I heard at about 2:30 [p.m.] and I was already here and not even dressed for the part. I had to wear sweatpants because of my knee brace."THIEVERY ON THE COURT ... Northwestern came away with 13 steals, with five players having at least two.NOTRE DAMEGorman 3-1-3-8, Galle 1-2-2-5, Maslonka 2-0-0-5, Carlin 0-0-0-0, Small 0-0-0-0, Kelly 1-4-5-6, Brandt 2-1-2-5, Cai. Murphy 1-4-5-6, Esposito 1-0-0-2, Cas. Murphy 4-0-0-8. TOTALS: 15-12-17-45.NORTHWESTERNStitzel 1-0-0-2, Lister 7-3-3-17, Chisdak 2-0-0-4, G. Sevrain 0-0-0-0, S. Sevrain 2-0-0-6, Williamson 1-7-10-9, Christopher 3-0-2-6. TOTALS: 16-10-15-44.Notre Dame 12 13 12 8 - 45Northwestern 10 13 7 14 - 44Three-pointers: ND - Gorman 1, Galle 1, Maslonka 1; NW - S. Sevrain 2.