#11/12 Irish Play Host To #16/17 Georgetown Tuesday Night

Jan. 17, 2011

Full Notes Package in PDF Format

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2010-11 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 20

#11/12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (15-4 / 4-1 BIG EAST) vs. #16/17 Georgetown Hoyas (14-4 / 2-2 BIG EAST)

DATE: January 18, 2011
TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. – Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
SERIES: ND leads 23-3
1ST MTG: ND 78-68 (1/6/83)
LAST MTG: GU 76-66 (2/20/10)
TV: CBS College Sports (live) (Dave Ryan, p-b-p / Debbie Antonelli, color)
RADIO: Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) (live) (Bob Nagle, p-b-p)
LIVE STATS: UND.com
TWITTER: @ndwbbsid/@UND_com

Storylines

• Notre Dame will be playing its fifth ranked opponent of the season, with the first four games decided by an average of 5.5 ppg.
• The Fighting Irish have 23 series wins over Georgetown, third-most in school history behind Marquette (30) and Valparaiso (24).

No. 11/12 Fighting Irish Play Host To No. 16/17 Georgetown Tuesday
After a brief road trip last weekend, No. 11/12 Notre Dame faces a challenging week ahead with a pair of ranked teams on the docket, beginning at 7 p.m. (ET) Tuesday when it plays host to No. 16/17 Georgetown at Purcell Pavilion in a game that will be televised live to a national cable audience by CBS College Sports.

The Fighting Irish (15-4, 4-1 BIG EAST) jumped out to a big halftime lead and never looked back in their 82-50 win at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Notre Dame shot nearly 58 percent from the field in the first half on the way to a 50-19 lead at the break and rolled to its first win over the Panthers in the Steel City in 2005.

Sophomore guard Skylar Diggins led three Fighting Irish players in double figures with a game-high 20 points, while senior forward Devereaux Peters chalked up her fourth double-double in seven games with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Rankings

• Notre Dame is No. 11 in the latest Associated Press poll and was No. 12 in last week’s ESPN/USA Today poll.
• Georgetown is No. 16 in the latest Associated Press poll and was No. 17 in last week’s ESPN/USA Today poll.

Quick Hitters

• With its season-high No. 11 ranking in the Jan. 17 Associated Press poll, Notre Dame now has appeared in the AP poll for a school-record 69 consecutive weeks, extending the program standard that began with the 2007-08 preseason poll.
• The Fighting Irish have posted a school-record eight wins this season by at least 35 points, topping the old program standard of four 35-point victories set in 2008-09.
• Notre Dame has scored at least 90 points in eight games this season, surpassing the school record of seven set in three separate seasons (1996-97, 1998-99 and 2007-08).
• Notre Dame has won 10 games by 30 points or more, tying the school record of 10 30-point victories first established in 2000-01.
• The Fighting Irish rank among the top 10 in the country in eight statistical categories, according to the Jan. 17 NCAA statistics report. Notre Dame is third in the nation in field goal percentage (.492), fourth in steals (147 spg.) and assists (19.6 apg.), fifth in scoring margin (+29.3 ppg.), sixth in scoring offense (83.7 ppg.) and three-point defense (.237), ninth in turnover margin (+7.42) and 10th in rebounding margin (+10.5 rpg.). These rankings are ironic for a Fighting Irish team that has no player ranking higher than 70th in any individual category.
• Notre Dame became the 32nd NCAA Division I program to record 700 wins, earning the landmark victory (91-47) against Loyola Marymount on Dec. 30 at the State Farm Holiday Hoops Classic in Seattle. The Fighting Irish are 704-306 (.697) in 34 seasons of varsity competition.
• Notre Dame celebrated another program milestone on Dec. 5 with its 1,000th all-time game (a 72-51 win over Purdue at Purcell Pavilion).
• Part of Notre Dame’s success thus far can be traced to the improvement in two of its veterans, both of whom have exceeded her scoring output from last season by at least 50 percent. Junior guard Natalie Novosel (5.0 to 14.9) and senior forward Devereaux Peters (6.7 to 11.1) also are currently logging career-high scoring averages this year.
• The Fighting Irish freshman class also has made significant contributions early on this season, led by guard Kayla McBride and forward Natalie Achonwa. McBride (who started four games around Thanksgiving when senior guard Brittany Mallory was slowed with an ankle injury) is averaging 8.7 points per game and is ninth in the BIG EAST with a .557 field goal percentage. Meanwhile, Achonwa is averaging 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST with a .568 field goal percentage. Between them, they have scored in double figures 14 times this season — McBride tossed in a career-best 20 points vs. Loyola Marymount on Dec. 30, while Achonwa had a career-high 14 points against Creighton on Dec. 11.

Other Notre Dame Notables

• Notre Dame is among the nation’s winningest programs during the past 15 seasons (1996-97 to present), ranking sixth with 358 victories.
• Notre Dame has ranked among the top 20 in the nation in attendance each of the past 10 seasons. This year, the program is fourth in the NCAA attendance rankings with 8,498 fans per game, currently topping last year’s single-season school attendance record of 8,377. The Fighting Irish also have drawn 5,000-or-more fans to 152 of their last 154 home games, logging 14 Purcell Pavilion sellouts (most recently on Jan. 8 vs. Connecticut).
• The Fighting Irish have become a regular fixture in the WNBA Draft in recent years, as seven Notre Dame players have been selected in the past decade. Charel Allen was the most recent Fighting Irish player to be chosen, going to the Sacramento Monarchs in the third round (43rd overall pick) of the 2008 WNBA Draft. Ruth Riley (San Antonio) was active in the league during the ’10 season, helping the Silver Stars return to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. Three of Notre Dame’s eight WNBA alums have won a total of four league championships — Riley won a pair of crowns with the Detroit Shock (2003 Finals MVP, 2006), Coquese Washington toiled for the 2000 Houston Comets, while Jacqueline Batteast was Riley’s teammate on the ’06 title-winning squad in Detroit.
• For the fifth year in a row, the Fighting Irish posted a perfect 100-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), according to figures released by the NCAA in October. What’s more, since Muffet McGraw became head coach in 1987, every Notre Dame women’s basketball player who has completed her athletic and academic eligibility at the University has earned her bachelor’s degree (a 62-for-62 success rate), with all four members of this year’s senior class on target to earn their diplomas.

A Quick Look At Georgetown
Georgetown saw its program reach new heights last year, as the Hoyas collected a school-record 26 wins, moved as high as No. 11 in the Associated Press poll and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the second time in school history (first since 1992-93), where they moved into the second round before being eliminated by eventual Final Four participant Baylor.

With 11 letterwinners back from that club, Georgetown (14-4, 2-2 BIG EAST) has been ranked all season long, currently checking at No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 17 in last week’s ESPN/USA Today survey after posting a 49-45 win at Providence last Saturday behind a double-double from senior guard Monica McNutt (17 points, 11 rebounds).

Sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers is second in the BIG EAST in scoring (18.2 ppg.) and also is among the league leaders in three-pointers per game (4th, 2.3), free throw percentage (6th, .785) and steals (8th, 2.3). McNutt is 28th in the league in scoring (11.4 ppg.), while junior guard Rubylee Wright is averaging 8.2 points and 5.5 assists per game, the latter ranking second in the BIG EAST.

Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is in her seventh season at Georgetown with a 110-88 (.556) record, including a 1-5 mark against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Georgetown Series
Although Notre Dame and Georgetown first met since the 1982-83 season, their series didn’t pick up steam until the Fighting Irish joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96. All told, Notre Dame holds a 23-3 lead in the series with the Hoyas (12-0 at Purcell Pavilion), including a 19-2 mark as members of the BIG EAST (17-2 regular season, 2-0 postseason).

The Last Time Notre Dame And Georgetown Met
It was been a season of firsts for the Georgetown Hoyas. A record 16-game winning streak, and at No. 14, their highest ranking ever. Now, there’s a new superlative: Biggest win in school history.

On Feb. 20, 2010, the Hoyas knocked off No. 4 Notre Dame 76-66 before a record crowd of 2,417 at McDonough Arena. The win might have been a stunner nationally, but there was no enormous celebration. No rushing the court, no players jumping up and down.

Sugar Rodgers had 24 points, while Adria Crawford added 18 points and Latia Magee had 17 for the Hoyas.

Georgetown took a 45-42 lead with 14:51 remaining on a 3-pointer by Rodgers and built a 58-47 lead with 8:17 remaining. They withstood a late rally by the Fighting Irish, who closed to 62-60 on Natalie Novosel’s two free throws with 5:21 to play. Georgetown scored the game’s last seven points to secure the win.

Ashley Barlow led Notre Dame with 21 points. Leading scorer Skylar Diggins was held to nine.

Rodgers didn’t start for the first time because it was senior day, and GU head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy started seldom-used senior captain Kenya Kirkland instead. By the time Rodgers reported in, Notre Dame was leading 9-2, and then she got to work, quickly scoring 13 points and giving the Hoyas a 22-17 lead with 9:54 to play in the half.

Georgetown surrendered the lead late in the half, but Magee’s layup with 1:26 to go in the half gave them a 31-30 lead, and they were ahead 33-30 at the break.

The Fighting Irish were playing their second straight game without Lindsay Schrader, the team’s third leading scorer and leading rebounder, who was out because of a sprained left ankle. Without Schrader, they lost 76-71 at No. 25 St. John’s four days earlier.

The Last Time Notre Dame And Georgetown Met At Purcell Pavilion
Erica Williamson scored a career-high 21 points and No. 12/4 Notre Dame held Georgetown to 32 percent shooting to beat the Hoyas, 84-63 on Jan. 10, 2009, at Purcell Pavilion.

Notre Dame led by double digits for much of the first half. The Hoyas used a 15-9 run to close to 32-25 at halftime and cut the lead to 32-27 when Adria Crawford made a pair of free throws a minute into the second period.

Moments later, though, the Fighting Irish went on a 10-0 run to take a 48-31 lead, and the Hoyas never got closer than 12 again.

Williamson, who also had a season-high 10 rebounds, finished with a career high for points for the second consecutive game. She had 20 at DePaul five days earlier.

Monica McNutt scored 16 and Morgan Williams added 14 for the Hoyas.

Other Notre Dame-Georgetown Series Tidbits

• Notre Dame’s 23 series wins over Georgetown are tied for the third-most against one opponent in school history; the Fighting Irish have 30 victories over Marquette, 24 wins against Valparaiso and 23 against Syracuse. Notre Dame also has at least 20 series wins over Dayton (22), Detroit (22), Loyola-Chicago (21) and Xavier (20).
• Notre Dame has held Georgetown to fewer than 70 points in 18 of its 21 BIG EAST Conference meetings, going 18-0 in such games. The lone exceptions at came at McDonough Arena in Washington — Jan. 7, 2004 (76-73 GU), Jan. 19, 2008 (104-86 ND) and Feb. 20, 2010 (76-66 GU).
• For the second consecutive time, both teams will come into their matchup ranked in the Associated Press poll after that feat had not been occurred in the first 25 games of the series (which dates back to January 1983).
• Besides Georgetown and West Virginia, Providence is the other BIG EAST school against whom the Fighting Irish have scored at least 100 points in a single game.
• Notre Dame sophomore guard Skylar Diggins and Georgetown sophomore guard Sugar Rodgers both were 2009 McDonald’s High School All-Americans and teammates on the East squad that dropped a narrow 69-68 decision to the West in Coral Gables, Fla. Diggins scored a game-high 18 points, while Rodgers joined her in double figures with 10 points.
• Diggins and Rodgers also met in the finals of the Girls’ 3-Point Shootout at the Powerade Jam Fest (held in conjunction with the McDonald’s game); Diggins wound up edging Rodgers, 14-12, to win the title.
• Before matriculating to college, Notre Dame senior guard Brittany Mallory and Georgetown junior forward Adria Crawford were AAU teammates with the Fairfax (Va.) Stars. GU assistant coach Keith Brown also worked in the Stars program from 2006-07, piloting its U15 and U16 squads, while Mallory’s father, Bob, also spent time as an assistant coach in the Stars program.

The Five-Finger Discount
Notre Dame comes into Tuesday’s game ranked fourth in the nation in steals with 14.7 thefts per game. The Fighting Irish also have recorded double-digit steals in 14 of 19 games this season, including four contests with 20-plus steals.

Highlighting this year’s takeaway brigade for Notre Dame was a school-record 36-steal performance in the season-opening victory against New Hampshire on Nov. 12 at Purcell Pavilion. The Fighting Irish followed that up three days later with 26 thefts in a win over Morehead State, and also logged 24 steals at Valparaiso (Dec. 2) and 23 steals against IUPUI (Nov. 26).

Prior to this season, Notre Dame had posted 23 steals in a game just seven times in the first 33 years of the Fighting Irish women’s basketball program (and only three games with 25-plus steals in that time, none since a then-record tying 29 steals at Saint Louis on Jan. 31, 1991).

Individually, Notre Dame has 10 different players with double-digit steals this season (four with at least 30 thefts), led by senior guard Brittany Mallory, who has collected a team-high 2.4 steals per game (seventh in the BIG EAST).

Helping Hands
Notre Dame also enters the weekend ranked fourth in the country in assists (19.6 apg.), having dished out at least 20 assists in 11 games this season.

Further illustrating the Fighting Irish giving spirit, Notre Dame has assisted on 62.3 percent of its baskets this season, with 372 assists on 597 field goals.

At the head of the Fighting Irish assist company is sophomore Skylar Diggins, who has adapted well to her role as Notre Dame’s primary point guard, ranking sixth in the BIG EAST Conference at 4.6 assists per game (while flirting with the top 15 in the league with a 1.32 assist/turnover ratio). She also has handed out at least five assists in 12 games this season, after tallying seven five-assist games during her entire freshman campaign.

Sharp Shooters
Notre Dame also ranks third in the nation with a .492 field goal percentage, shooting 50 percent or better from the floor in 11 games this season, and at least 45 percent in 16 outings.

Notre Dame also has seen a recent rise in its three-point shooting numbers. During the past 10 games, the Fighting Irish are connecting at a 38.8 percent clip (38-of-98) from beyond the arc. Compare that with the first nine contests of the season, when Notre Dame had a .269 (29-of-108) three-point percentage.

National Leaders
Notre Dame ranks among the top 10 in the nation in eight categories according to Monday’s NCAA statistics report — third in field goal percentage (.492), fourth in assists (19.6 apg.) and steals (14.7 spg.), fifth in scoring margin (+29.3 ppg.), sixth in scoring offense (83.7 ppg.) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.237), ninth in turnover margin (+7.42) and 10th in rebounding margin (+10.5 rpg.).

In addition, Notre Dame ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA in 11 of a possible 17 categories (not counting won-loss percentage), adding in assist/turnover ratio (12th, 1.13), field goal percentage defense (16th, .342) and scoring defense (24th, 54.5 ppg.).

Yet for all of these high statistical marks, no Fighting Irish player ranks higher than No. 70 in any single category — sophomore guard Skylar Diggins is exactly 70th in the nation in assists (4.6 apg.).

High Octane Offense
Behind one of the nation’s top 10 scoring offenses (83.7 ppg., sixth as of Monday), Notre Dame is moving into uncharted territory in the school’s record books.

The Fighting Irish have scored 90 points in a game in eight contests this season, setting a new school record for 90-point games in a season (the previous mark was seven, set on three occasions – 1996-97, 1998-99 and 2007-08).

Notre Dame also has set a new school record with eight wins by at least 35 points, doubling the previous program standard of four 35-point victories set in 2008-09.

What’s more, the Fighting Irish have won 10 games by at least 30 points, tying the school record of 10 30-point victories, which was set during the program’s 2000-01 national championship season.

Last year, Notre Dame averaged 77.2 points per game, the fifth-highest single-season scoring average in school history, and best since the Fighting Irish logged a school-record 81.0 ppg. mark in 1998-99.

Glass Houses
One of Notre Dame’s greatest areas of improvement this season has been in the rebounding column, where the Fighting Irish are averaging 43.1 caroms per game, up nearly two rebounds from last year’s total at this time (41.3 rpg.) and good enough for fourth in the BIG EAST.

Notre Dame also is giving up just 32.6 rebounds per game, nearly three better than last year at this time (35.2 rpg.) and also fourth in the conference.

With a +10.5 rpg. margin this season, the Fighting Irish rank third in the BIG EAST and 10th in the country as of Monday.

What’s more, Notre Dame has outrebounded its opponent by double digit in nine games this season, including seven games in which the Fighting Irish posted rebound margins of +15 or better, topped by a season-high +42 mark (66-24) on Jan. 2 against Southeast Missouri State at Purcell Pavilion.

Everyone Gets Into The Act
The Fighting Irish have spread the wealth so far this season, with five different players leading the team in scoring in at least one game thus far, with four different 20-point scorers along the way. That includes freshman guard Kayla McBride, who came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points in the Dec. 30 win over Loyola Marymount, the highest point total by a Fighting Irish reserve since Dec. 12, 2009, when current senior guard/co-captain Brittany Mallory dropped in a career-high 22 points in a win over Valparaiso at Purcell Pavilion.

Notre Dame also has seen no fewer than seven different players claim team-high rebounding and assist honors this season.

Missed It By That Much
Notre Dame may hold a 15-4 record coming into Tuesday’s game, but the Fighting Irish are oh-so-close to owning a much better mark, with all four losses coming to top-15 opponents by an average margin of just 5.5 points per game (three by single digits and the fourth by 11 points).

What’s more, Notre Dame led inside the final 30 seconds of regulation in two of those losses (#15 UCLA, also at the end of the first overtime; #2 Connecticut), and the Fighting Irish also had a possession to tie the game in the final 30 seconds at #9/10 Kentucky.

The fourth loss (at #2/3 Baylor) saw Notre Dame battle to within six points (65-59) with five minutes remaining and have a look at a three-pointer to halve the margin further on their next possession, but the shot rattled out and the Lady Bears managed to put the game away with nine free throws (despite making only one field goal during the final 8:23).

Three In A Row For Peters On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
For the third week in a row, senior forward Devereaux Peters has been named to the BIG EAST Conference Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll, the league office announced Monday. Peters was one of five players chosen for this week’s honor (also the second of her career), which recognizes outstanding weekly achievements by conference players who are not chosen as the BIG EAST Player of the Week.

In two games last week, Peters averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game with a .722 field goal percentage (13-of-18) and a double-double as Notre Dame posted resounding BIG EAST wins over Louisville (80-60) and at Pittsburgh (82-50).

Against Louisville, Peters dropped in a game-high 14 points (on 7-of-9 shooting), including eight in a game-changing 27-4 Fighting Irish run that crossed over halftime and blew the game open. Three days later at Pittsburgh, she collected her fourth double-double of the season (all in the past seven games) with 15 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) and a game-high 10 rebounds, to go along with four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Peters currently ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game, while leading the squad in rebounding (6.5 rpg.), blocked shots (1.5 bpg.) and field goal percentage (.570), and ranking second in free throw percentage (.861) and steals (2.0 spg.). She also ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in field goal percentage (fourth), blocked shots (eighth), steals (14th), rebounding (19th) and scoring (29th).

The first multiple BIG EAST weekly honoree for Notre Dame this season, Peters is part of a group of four Fighting Irish players that feature at least one conference weekly award recipient from all four classes. Junior guard Natalie Novosel (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic) and sophomore guard Skylar Diggins (South Bend, Ind./Washington) join Peters as Notre Dame players who have been selected for the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this season — Novosel was chosen on Nov. 29 and Diggins was cited a week later on Dec. 6. In addition, freshman forward Natalie Achonwa (Guelph, Ontario/St. Mary’s Catholic) was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Dec. 13.

Diggins Makes Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 Candidate List
Sophomore guard Skylar Diggins is among a group of 20 women’s basketball players who have been chosen as midseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, it was announced Jan. 11 by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Wooden Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top player, compiled its midseason candidates based upon individual performance and team results, with the current list of student-athletes comprising the frontrunners for this year’s award.

A consensus preseason All-America selection and candidate for every major national player of the year award, Diggins is one of three BIG EAST players on the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 List, joined by Connecticut’s Maya Moore and Georgetown’s Sugar Rodgers. Diggins also is one of just three sophomores on the Wooden Award candidate rundown, along with Rodgers and Baylor’s Brittney Griner.

Novosel Is Just Plain Nasty
Nicknamed “Nasty” for her playmaking abilities, junior guard Natalie Novosel is rapidly making a strong case as one of the most improved players in the BIG EAST Conference, if not the entire country.

The Lexington, Ky., native currently leads the Fighting Irish (and ranks ninth in the league) in scoring at 14.9 points per game, nearly tripling her offensive output from a season ago. She also has scored at least 20 points in a game four times this year (after coming into the campaign with a career single-game high of 19 points) and has scored in double figures 16 times after doing so a combined total of 14 times in her first two seasons at Notre Dame.

In addition, Novosel added some hardware to her personal trophy case as well, taking home Most Valuable Player honors at the WBCA Classic, and earning a spot on the State Farm Holiday Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team.

Thus, it’s no surprise that ESPN.com’s Graham Hays tweeted the following comment after Novosel’s career-high 27 points (8-11 FG, 2-2 3FG, 9-9 FT) vs. Gonzaga in a 70-61 Fighting Irish win on Dec. 29 in Seattle:

“Is Natalie Novosel the most improved player in the nation? Gotta be on the short list.”

Peters Showing Her Own Dev-elopment
If Novosel is among the nation’s most improved players, senior forward Devereaux Peters can’t be far behind. The veteran frontliner is playing some of the best basketball of her career this season, putting a pair of knee injuries and three surgeries well in the rearview mirror.

A three-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection, Peters currently is averaging career highs of 11.1 points per game (29th in the BIG EAST) and 6.5 rebounds per game (19th), along with a .570 field goal percentage (fourth), 1.5 blocks per game (eighth), 1.9 steals per game (tied-14th) and a career-high .861 field goal percentage.

Like Novosel, Peters regularly has been pulling in accolades this season, earning a spot on the WBCA Classic All-Tournament Team and garnering MVP honors at the State Farm Holiday Hoops Classic in Seattle. During the Dec. 29-30 tournament, she averaged 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game with a .684 field goal percentage (13-of-19) in wins over Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount.

That tournament effort has been the cornerstone of Peters’ recent post-Christmas surge. In the past seven games, the Chicago native is averaging 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds with four double-doubles with a .608 field goal percentage (45-of-74).

Game #19 Recap: Pittsburgh
Skylar Diggins scored 20 points and No. 12 Notre Dame used an early 14-2 run to build a substantial lead en route to an 82-50 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday at the Petersen Events Center.

Devereaux Peters added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Natalie Novosel scored 15 for the Fighting Irish (15-4, 4-1 BIG EAST), who beat Pittsburgh (9-8, 1-3) for the 20th time in 23 games.

The first-half run, ended by fast-break baskets by Diggins, allowed Notre Dame to break out of a 6-all tie and take a 20-8 lead. The Fighting Irish led 50-19 at halftime.

Notre Dame, which had lost its last two at Pittsburgh, shot 46 percent (30 of 64) to the Panthers’ 32.7 percent (16 of 49) and led 46-28 in rebounding.

Taneisha Harrison scored 10 for Pittsburgh.

Noting The Pittsburgh Game

• Notre Dame tied a school record with its 10th win by 30-or-more points this season, a mark that first was set by the Fighting Irish in 2000-01.
• Notre Dame has won its last four road games, with three of those victories coming by at least 30 points.
• The Fighting Irish scored 50 points in the first half, their sixth 50-point half of the season (first since a 51-point second half vs. Southeast Missouri State on Jan. 2), and second in the opening 20 minutes (53 vs. New Hampshire in the season opener on Nov. 12 at Purcell Pavilion).
• The 31-point halftime margin is the fourth-largest this season for the Fighting Irish.
• Notre Dame improves to 20-3 all-time against Pittsburgh, including a 9-2 record on the road.
• The Fighting Irish broke a two-game losing streak to Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center, defeating the Panthers in the Steel City for the first time since Feb. 5, 2005 (75-47, also the last time Notre Dame gave up fewer points to Pittsburgh than it did on Saturday).
• The 32-point margin of victory is the third-largest for the Fighting Irish in their 23-game series against the Panthers, and largest since Feb. 17, 1996 (an 89-51 win at Pittsburgh’s previous home, Fitzgerald Field House).
• Notre Dame recorded a double-digit steal total for the 14th time this season.
• The Fighting Irish shot better than 45 percent from the field for the 16th time this year.
• Notre Dame shot 57.6 percent (19-of-33) from the field in the first half, its best shooting half since Jan. 2, when the Fighting Irish shot 67.7 percent (21-of-31) from the field in the second half against Southeast Missouri State.
• Notre Dame held Pittsburgh to eight offensive rebounds, one shy of the Fighting Irish opponent season-low (set by Morehead State on Nov. 15 and matched by IUPUI on Nov. 26, both at Purcell Pavilion).
• The Fighting Irish posted a +18 rebound margin (46-28), tying their fourth-best mark of the season — Notre Dame has had a double-digit rebound advantage in nine games this season, including seven games where the Fighting Irish had a rebound edge of 15 boards or more.
• During Pittsburgh’s 11-3 game-ending run against the Notre Dame reserves in the final three minutes, the Fighting Irish were whistled for only their second shot clock violation of the entire season (conversely, Notre Dame has forced 25 shot clock infractions).
• Diggins chalked up her third 20-point game of the season and 10th of her young career.
• Diggins also dished out at least five assists for the 12th time this season and sixth time in the past eight games.
• Peters collected her fourth double-double of the season, all in the past seven games, and the fifth double-double of her career.

A Defensive Effort Like No Other
Defense has been a major focal point for Notre Dame this season, but in their 97-21 win over Southeast Missouri State on Jan. 2 at Purcell Pavilion, the Fighting Irish took that emphasis to record-setting levels:

• Notre Dame set six school records in the victory — fewest points allowed in a game (21), fewest points allowed in a half (6 – first half), lowest opponent field goal percentage (.125), largest rebound margin (+42, 66-24), most consecutive points scored at any time (36) and most consecutive points scored at the start of the game (36).
• Notre Dame also posted the second-largest margin of victory in school history (76 points), topped only by a 78-point margin in a 113-35 win over Liberty on Nov. 24, 1989, at the UCF Rotary Classic in Orlando.
• The Fighting Irish pulled down 66 rebounds, the fifth-highest total in school history and most since Nov. 21, 1998, when they had 67 boards against Duke in an 84-57 home win.

Tournament Tested
Notre Dame has felt right at home in tournament situations during the past 15 years. Starting with the 1996-97 season, the Fighting Irish have won 26 of their last 29 regular-season tournament games (multi-game events only), including three-game runs to the title at last year’s Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and this year’s WBCA Classic at Purcell Pavilion, as well as a two-game sweep at this year’s State Farm Holiday Hoops Classic in Seattle (which did not officially crown a champion because of its pre-determined matchups).

The only Notre Dame losses during this current stretch were a pair of defeats to third-ranked teams in the Preseason WNIT semifinals (72-59 vs. Tennessee at Ruston, La., in 1996; 75-59 at Maryland in 2007) and a 67-63 overtime setback at No. 20 Colorado on Nov. 15, 2003 in the finals of the WBCA Classic — a game that saw the Buffaloes sink a desperation 30-footer at the end of regulation to force the extra session.

Notre Dame played two regular-season tournaments this year, the first time the Fighting Irish have competed in multiple tourneys in the same season since 1996-97 (third place at Preseason WNIT; champion of Georgia Tech Comfort Inn Downtown Classic).

Only twice in school history has Notre Dame won two regular-season tournament titles in the same year, and both occurred during the program’s Division III era. In 1978-79, the Fighting Irish won the Huntington (Ind.) University Tournament and the Northern Illinois Huskie Invitational. The following season, Notre Dame claimed top honors at the Taylor (Ind.) University Invitational and repeated as the champion of the Northern Illinois Huskie Invitational.

Polling Station
Notre Dame is ranked a season-high 11th in the Jan. 17 Associated Press poll. That marked the 69th consecutive AP poll appearance for the Fighting Irish, extending the program record that started with the AP preseason poll in 2007-08 (the old record was 59 consecutive weeks from 1998-2001).

This year’s No. 12 preseason ranking also represented the 11th time in the past 12 years (starting with the 1999-2000 campaign) that Notre Dame has appeared in the preseason AP poll, something only eight schools in the nation have done — Connecticut, Duke and Tennessee have shown up in all 12 during that span, while Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Stanford join the Irish with 11 preseason AP poll berths.

Notre Dame has been ranked in the AP poll for 208 weeks during the program’s 34-year history, with every one of those appearances coming in the Muffet McGraw era (since 1987-88). McGraw ranks 13th among all active NCAA Division I head coaches for weeks in the AP poll, and also is 22nd all-time in that category.

In addition, the Fighting Irish held steady at No. 12 in the Jan. 11 ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches’ poll, maintaining their season-high ranking in that survey (also achieved during the first two weeks of the season). Notre Dame now has been ranked in the coaches’ poll for 68 of the past 69 weeks, falling just outside the Top 25 in the final poll of the 2008-09 season. Nevertheless, the Fighting Irish have appeared in the coaches’ poll for a total of 199 weeks during their history (all coming during McGraw’s tenure).

More Polling Data
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw is one of 30 people in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history who have both played for and coached a team that has appeared in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Besides her 208 AP poll appearances while coaching at Notre Dame, McGraw was the starting point guard at Saint Joseph’s (Pa.) as a senior in 1977, helping the Hawks rise to No. 3 in the nation.

Of the 30 people on this list, 16 currently are NCAA Division I head coaches (see accompanying chart), including former Fighting Irish point guard and assistant coach Coquese Washington (’92), who helped Notre Dame to its first-ever AP poll ranking in 1990-91, and is in her fourth season as head coach at Penn State, guiding the Lady Lions into the AP poll at No. 23 on Jan. 25, 2010.

Six of the 16 active coaches in this group — including McGraw — led their teams to this year’s NCAA Championship, while McGraw and Baylor’s Kim Mulkey are the only active skippers to play for and coach a team in the AP poll, and also coach that team to a national title (McGraw in 2001, Mulkey in 2005).

The 700 Club
With a 91-47 win over Loyola Marymount on Dec. 30 at the State Farm Holiday Hoops Classic in Seattle, Notre Dame became the 32nd NCAA Division I program to record 700 victories — the Fighting Irish now own an all-time record of 704-306 (.697).

Ironically, Saint Joseph’s (Pa.) — the alma mater of Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw — earned its 700th win one day before Notre Dame, edging out the Fighting Irish as the first Catholic Division I program to hit the mark.

A Grand Occasion
The Dec. 5 game against Purdue marked a significant milestone in Notre Dame women’s basketball history, as the Fighting Irish played their 1,000th all-time game, defeating the Boilermakers, 72-51. Notre Dame has an all-time record of 704-306 (.697) in 34 seasons of varsity competition, including a 348-88 (.798) record at Purcell Pavilion.

The Fighting Irish played their first game on Dec. 3, 1977, defeating Valparaiso, 48-41 at Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame would play its first three seasons as a Division III program in the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) before moving up to the Division I level in 1980-81. The following season, the Fighting Irish would begin competing under the NCAA banner.

Peters Adds Griner To SWAT Team
Senior forward Devereaux Peters has made a living as a shot blocking presence in the paint for Notre Dame throughout her career, with her 6-foot-2 frame and 77-inch wingspan. However, on Dec. 1 at No. 2/3 Baylor, she added another notch to her belt in historic fashion.

At the 10:22 mark of the second half, the Lady Bears threw an entry pass in to their 6-foot-8 sophomore All-America center Brittney Griner, but as she turned to shoot, Peters rotated perfectly from the weak side and rejected Griner’s shot out of bounds. It was one of the highlights in a 17-2 Fighting Irish run that pulled Notre Dame within six points of Baylor with five minutes left.

It’s believed to be the first time in Griner’s two-year college career that she has had a shot blocked. A video clip of Peters’ block has been posted on the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball YouTube channel (search for “notredameirishhoops” or click the link through the sidebar on the women’s basketball page at www.UND.com).

Half And Half
During the past decade, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Fighting Irish are 202-17 (.922) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead, including wins in 130 of their last 141 such contests, and 39 in a row since a 58-47 loss to Villanova on March 8, 2009, in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals at Hartford’s XL Center (Notre Dame led 25-21 at intermission).

The Fighting Irish have been up at the break in 14 games this year, including their Jan. 15 win at Pittsburgh when they led 50-19 through the first 20 minutes.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense…
During the past 16 seasons, Notre Dame has discovered that a solid defensive effort can almost certainly guarantee a victory. In fact, since the beginning of the 1995-96 season (Notre Dame’s first in the BIG EAST Conference), the Fighting Irish have an amazing 220-15 (.936) record when they hold their opponents below 60 points in a game, including victories in 12 contests this season (New Hampshire, Morehead State, IUPUI, Butler, Purdue, Providence, Creighton, Valparaiso, Loyola Marymount, SE Missouri State, Marquette, Pittsburgh).

…But Sometimes You Have To Score If You Want To Win
Not resting solely on its defensive laurels, Notre Dame also seemingly has found the magic mark when it comes to outscoring its opponents. During the past 16 seasons (since 1995-96), the Fighting Irish are 151-5 (.968) when they score at least 80 points in a game. The only blemishes on that record are three overtime losses to Texas A&M (88-84) and Michigan State (87-83) in 1995 and UCLA (86-83 in double OT) in 2010, as well as a 106-81 loss to Connecticut in 1998, and an 81-80 loss to DePaul in 2008.

Notre Dame has topped the 80-point mark in 12 games this year (11-1 record) after going 17-0 last season when it scored at least 80 points.

Now That’s A Home Court Advantage
One of the hallmarks of Notre Dame’s success has been its stellar play at home. In fact, the Fighting Irish have been virtually untouchable at home in recent years, winning 198 of their last 225 games (.880) at the 9,149-seat Purcell Pavilion, including winning streaks of 51 and 25 games in that span. Notre Dame also has a 107-19 (.849) record in BIG EAST Conference play at the former Joyce Center, sporting a 31-game league winning streak at home before it ended with a 48-45 loss to Villanova in the ’02 home finale.

The Fighting Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 93 of their last 101 non-BIG EAST contests (.921) at Purcell Pavilion, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Five of the eight losses in that span came at the hands of Big Ten Conference opponents (four by 12 points or less) — Wisconsin in 1996 (81-69), Purdue in 2003 (71-54), Michigan State in 2004 (82-73 OT), Indiana in 2006 (54-51) and Minnesota in 2009 (79-71) — with the other defeats coming to Tennessee in 2005 (62-51) and 2008 (87-63), and to UCLA in 2010 (86-83 in 2OT). The Purdue loss also snapped a 33-game non-conference home winning streak which began after the UW setback.

Since its inaugural season in 1977-78, Notre Dame has played all of its games at the former Joyce Center, posting a 348-88 (.798) record at the venerable facility. Three times (1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2003-04), the Fighting Irish went a perfect 15-0 at home, which was the school record for home victories in a season prior to last year, when Notre Dame went 16-1, capped by an 84-66 triumph over Vermont on March 23, 2010, in the second round of the NCAA Championship.

Irish Are The Hottest Ticket In Town
The 2009-10 season saw an unprecedented surge in fan support for Notre Dame women’s basketball, as the Fighting Irish set new program records for the highest year-end NCAA attendance ranking (fourth), highest average attendance (8,377 fans per game) and most sellouts (six) in a single season. And, as the old saying goes — “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

For the second consecutive preseason, Notre Dame fans have all but exhausted the program’s season ticket packages (close to 7,500) and are snapping up single-game ducats at a rate that will have the Fighting Irish challenging their freshly-minted single-season average attendance record in 2010-11.

Notre Dame has wasted little time in getting started with that challenge, averaging 8,498 fans for its 11 home games this season (fourth in the country according to last week’s NCAA attendance report), including sellout crowds of 9,149 for its games against nationally-televised games against Purdue (Dec. 5) and Connecticut (Jan. 8).

Part of the appeal of Notre Dame women’s basketball can be traced to the renovated Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, which has yet another new feature this season with the addition of a four-sided LED video scoreboard high above center court, as well as LED auxiliary scoreboards above all four court-level entrance ramps and at the scorer’s table.

McGraw Is Simply Legendary
The announcement on July 10, 2010, may have made it official, but it really only confirmed what Notre Dame fans have known for a very long time — head coach Muffet McGraw is a Hall of Famer.

McGraw, the 2001 consensus national coach of the year and winner of more than 600 games in her illustrious career, was one of six people — and the lone coach — named to the 2011 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Class, as announced in Uncasville, Conn., during the “WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun Game” that was televised live nationally on ESPN from Mohegan Sun Arena.

The others in McGraw’s Hall of Fame class include former Olympic gold medalists Ruthie Bolton (Auburn) and Vicky Bullett (Maryland), as well as Val Ackerman, the first WNBA president (1996-2005) and first female president of USA Basketball (2005-08), and a pair of three-time All-America players from the pre-NCAA era, Pearl Moore (Frances Marion) and Lometa Odom (Wayland Baptist).

The ’11 class offically was introduced at the 2010 State Farm Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 16 at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn., before the Connecticut-Baylor game. The group will be enshrined June 10-12, 2011, during the 13th annual Induction Weekend at the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

McGraw becomes the first Notre Dame selection for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. The Fighting Irish skipper also is the third BIG EAST Conference coach chosen for the honor, joining Rutgers’ C. Vivian Stringer (2001) and Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma (2006) in that elite company. First-year Seton Hall head coach Anne Donovan also was a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inaugural class in 1999, going in primarily for her accomplishments as a player at Old Dominion.

McGraw also will be the ninth active college head coach to enter the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on the basis of her success on the sidelines. Besides Stringer and Auriemma, the others on this prestigious list are: Pat Summitt (1999 – Tennessee), Van Chancellor (2001 – LSU), Tara VanDerveer (2002 – Stanford), Sylvia Hatchell (2004 – North Carolina), Andy Landers (2007 – Georgia) and Debbie Ryan (2008 – Virginia).

Irish On Your Radio Dial
Beginning with the 2008-09 athletics year, the Notre Dame athletics department announced it had partnered with the LeSEA Broadcasting Network, making Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) the new radio home of Notre Dame women’s basketball in the South Bend market.

LeSEA originates all Notre Dame women’s basketball games, with those events carried on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1), marking a return to the FM side of the dial for the first time since the 1998-99 season. Combined, these two stations blanket the nation’s No. 91 media market (South Bend-Elkhart), covering a 21-county area in northern Indiana and southwest Michigan that contains more than 1.35 million listeners (better than 800,000 in the greater South Bend area alone). All told, Notre Dame’s women’s basketball network stretches from Kalamazoo, Mich., to the north, North Judson, Ind., to the west, Macy, Ind., (home of former Irish All-America center Ruth Riley) to the south, and LaGrange, Ind., to the east.

Women’s basketball game broadcasts also continue to be streamed live and free of charge on Notre Dame’s official athletics web site (www.UND.com) through the Fighting Irish All-Access multimedia package.

Bob Nagle, the voice of Notre Dame women’s basketball from 1996-97 through 1998-99 (including the program’s first NCAA Final Four berth in 1997), returns for his third season in his second stint as the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame On The Small Screen
Notre Dame will have at least 26 regular season games televised during the 2010-11 season. Highlighting this year’s broadcast schedule are seven nationally- or regionally-televised Fighting Irish women’s basketball contests, including the program’s fourth-ever appearance on network television (Jan. 8 vs. Connecticut on CBS), two showings on the ESPN family of networks, and three others on CBS College Sports.

In addition, Notre Dame continues to expand its broadcast reach globally on the Internet. All Fighting Irish regular-season home games not selected for commercial TV coverage will be webcast live on the official Notre Dame athletics web site, www.UND.com, via the site’s free multimedia package, Fighting Irish All-Access.

This year’s TV slate continues a trend that has seen the Fighting Irish become a regular fixture on television. Beginning with the NCAA championship season of 2000-01 and continuing through the Jan. 12 Louisville contest (webcast live on UND.com), Notre Dame has played in 182 televised games, including 128 that were broadcast nationally.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Senior forward Becca Bruszewski and senior guard Brittany Mallory are serving as Notre Dame’s team captains for the 2010-11 season. Both players received the captain’s honor for the first time in their respective careers following a preseason vote by their teammates.

Notre Dame Pink Zone Efforts Underway
Following last year’s wildly-successful fundraising efforts for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Pink Zone breast cancer initiative, Notre Dame is aiming even higher this season, as it draws closer to the Feb. 12 Pink Zone game vs. Rutgers. For that game, the Fighting Irish will wear unique white and pink uniforms, with Notre Dame also holding special events during the game in honor and memory of those touched by breast cancer.

In 2009-10, the Fighting Irish collected more than $103,000 for the global unified effort by the WBCA’s membership to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond.

Notre Dame’s local Pink Zone drive is led by primary sponsor Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, with donations divided between the Foundation for Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center’s Women’s Task Force and the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

This year, Notre Dame is bringing back some of its more popular fundraising activities, including the Fighting Irish Three-Point Pledge (fans donate a certain amount for every three-pointer made by Notre Dame this season) and the Notre Dame Pink Zone Store (sales of various Pink Zone items, including t-shirts, buttons, tote bags, etc., in the Joyce Center’s Heritage Hall at all Fighting Irish home games). The Notre Dame Gameday Silent Auction also returns in 2010-11, with bids being taken in the Monogram Room at the Joyce Center on Feb. 12 from 12:30 p.m. (ET) to 30 minutes following the Pink Zone game against Rutgers.

Some new events added for this year include the Pink Zone Treadmill Campaign (walk on a treadmill during the Jan. 23, Feb. 1, 8 and 12 games) and the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball SPIN-A-THON (a 24-hour event to ride stationary bikes at South Bend’s Knollwood Country Club, to be held Jan. 22-23 — Fighting Irish players and staff will participate from 9:30-10:30 a.m. ET Jan. 22).

In addition, NBC correspondent Anne Thompson (a Notre Dame alumna and breast cancer survivor) will be the keynote speaker at the “Docs in Pink” luncheon at 11 a.m. (ET) on Feb. 12 at Purcell Pavilion.

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit the Notre Dame Pink Zone web page at www.UND.com/pinkzone.

Irish Fans Crave Another Big Mac Attack
It’s year four of Notre Dame’s wildly-successful “Big Mac” promotion, offering fans a coupon for a free Big Mac from South Bend-area McDonald’s restaurants if the Fighting Irish score at least 88 points in a home game.

In the four-year history of the promotion (and counting exhibition games), Notre Dame has hit the 88-point mark 25 times, including wins this year over Michigan Tech (exhibition), New Hampshire, Morehead State, IUPUI, Wake Forest, Creighton and Southeast Missouri State.

It should come as no surprise that in the short history of the promotion, the Notre Dame player with the most “Big Mac” baskets shares the same initials with the tasty burger — senior guard Brittany Mallory, who sent the crowd home happy (and presumably with full bellies) four times during the promotion’s inaugural run in 2007-08.

And for those tracking such things (or perhaps falling under the heading of “media relations director has too much time on his hands”), 15 different players have converted the “burger ball”, including eight current members of the Fighting Irish roster.

What’s more, of the 25 Big Mac games to date, 13 have been reached on two-point baskets, eight on free throws, and four on three-pointers.

Next Game: St. John’s
The Fighting Irish will play their lone game in an 11-day span on Sunday when they entertain No. rv/22 St. John’s in a 2 p.m. (ET) BIG EAST Conference matinee at Purcell Pavilion. ESPNU will televise the game live to a national cable audience.

The Red Storm (13-5, 2-3 BIG EAST), who have risen as high as 14th in the Associated Press poll this season, are coming off a 58-48 win at Seton Hall last Saturday. St. John’s plays host to Cincinnati Tuesday afternoon before turning its focus to Notre Dame.

Sunday’s game also will mark the return of former Fighting Irish All-America point guard Megan Duffy, who is now in her second season as an assistant coach at St. John’s.

— ND —