#16/17 Irish 'Think Pink' For Sunday Matinee Against #15 Pittsburgh

Feb. 8, 2008

Game Notes Package in PDF Format

2007-08 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 23
#16/17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-5 / 5-3 BIG EAST) vs. #15/15 Pittsburgh Panthers (18-4 / 8-1 BIG EAST)

DATE: February 10, 2008
TIME: 2:20 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. – Joyce Center (11,418)
SERIES: ND leads 16-1
1ST MTG: 2/7/96 (ND 90-51)
LAST MTG: 1/31/07 (PITT 71-62)
RADIO: ESPN Radio 1490 AM (Sean Stires, p-b-p)
TV: ESPN2 (live) (Bob Picozzi, p-b-p / Fran Fraschilla, color)
LIVE STATS: UND.com
TICKETS: (574) 631-7356

Storylines

• Notre Dame faces its sixth Top 25 opponent of the season, with three more to come in the next four games.
• The Irish are taking part in the first-ever “Think Pink” initiative, sponsored by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

No. 16/17 Irish “Think Pink” For Sunday Matinee Against #15 Pittsburgh
Following an eight-day layoff, No. 16/17 Notre Dame opens one of its toughest stretches of the season, with four of its next five games against Top 25 opponents. That run begins Sunday afternoon when the Irish play host to No. 15 Pittsburgh in a nationally-televised matchup at the Joyce Center.

Notre Dame (17-5, 5-3 BIG EAST) reached the midpoint of the BIG EAST schedule, and picked up its second consecutive victory in the process, winning 73-41 at Cincinnati on Feb. 2. The Irish scored 21 unanswered points during a stretch of more than 12 minutes crossing over halftime and were never seriously threatened in the second half.

Senior guard Charel Allen stuffed the stat sheet with game highs of 16 points, five assists and four steals, along with six rebounds. Freshman forward Devereaux Peters added muscle off the bench with 12 points for her third consecutive double-figuring scoring game.

Rankings

• Notre Dame is ranked 16th in this week’s Associated Press poll and 17th in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll.
• Pittsburgh is ranked 15th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this week.

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Behind a high-octane offense and an aggressive defense, Notre Dame has been a fixture in the national polls this season. The Irish have been ranked every week (except for the preseason ESPN/USA Today poll) and have appeared in the top 20 for the past 10 weeks, peaking at 14th just before the start of BIG EAST Conference play.

Notre Dame also ranks among the top 20 in six NCAA statistical categories, including scoring offense (7th, 78.7 ppg.), scoring margin (9th, +18.5 ppg) and assist/turnover ratio (12th, 1.13), with more than half of its wins by 30 points or more. The Irish also lead the BIG EAST and rank 14th nationally in steals (12.27 spg) and have forced at least 20 turnovers on 15 occasions.

Senior guard Charel Allen, a first-team all-BIG EAST and honorable mention All-America pick last year, is setting the pace for a balanced Notre Dame attack, averaging a team-high 14.2 points per game (15th in BIG EAST) and sharing the team lead with 45 steals (tied-8th in BIG EAST). She also has scored in double figures 19 times in 22 games, including a current string of 10 in a row.

Sophomore guard Ashley Barlow has built upon last year’s BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selection, ranking second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg.) and tying Allen for the steals lead. She also boasts a team-high .353 three-point percentage and is 15th in the country with an .878 free throw percentage.

Junior guard Lindsay Schrader continues to work her way back to peak form after missing last year with a torn ACL in her right knee. Schrader is third on the squad in scoring (10.3 ppg.) and tops in rebounding (5.7 rpg.) as one of the cornerstones of Notre Dame’s unique Princeton-based four-guard lineup.

Freshman forward Devereaux Peters has provided a strong spark off the bench, averaging 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and a BIG EAST-best 2.0 blocks per game (44th in the nation). She also has scored in double figures 13 times this year, including a season-high 15 points vs. Villanova and her first career double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) against top-ranked Connecticut.

Potent Notables About The Irish

• Notre Dame is among the nation’s winningest programs during the past 12 seasons (1996-97 to present), ranking seventh with 284 victories in that span.
• Notre Dame’s incoming class of 2008 (next year’s freshmen) has an average ranking of 15th (peaking at No. 8 by Dan Olsen Collegiate Girls Basketball Report), marking the 12th consecutive season that the Irish attracted a Top 25 recruiting class. Notre Dame is one of only three schools (along with Connecticut and Tennessee) to have an active streak of that length.
• Notre Dame ranked ninth in the Feb. 4 unofficial national attendance rankings (compiled by the Wisconsin Sports Information Office), averaging 7,084 fans to its 12 home games this season (including three of the top six crowds in school history). The Irish also have attracted 5,000-or-more fans to 106 of their last 108 home games, including five Joyce Center sellouts of 11,418 (most recently on Jan. 27, 2008 vs. Connecticut). Last season, Notre Dame ranked 10th nationally in attendance (6,364 fans per game), marking the seventh consecutive year the Irish were among the national top 20 in attendance.
• The Irish have become a regular fixture in the WNBA Draft in recent years, as six Notre Dame players have been selected in the past seven seasons. Megan Duffy was the most recent Irish player to be chosen, going to the Minnesota Lynx in the third round (31st overall pick) of the 2006 WNBA Draft. Duffy and Ruth Riley (San Antonio) both were active in the league during the 2007 season, with Riley making her sixth playoff appearance (on her third different team) in a solid seven-year pro career. All told, seven Notre Dame alums have competed in WNBA regular-season play, with three of them combining to win 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.
• Notre Dame has been an elite program in the classroom as well. For the second year in a row, the Irish posted a perfect 100-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), according to figures released by the NCAA in October 2007. Notre Dame was one of 23 Division I-A programs to achieve this distinction, and one of only two BIG EAST schools (Syracuse was the other). Furthermore, since Muffet McGraw became the Irish head coach in 1987, every Notre Dame women’s basketball player that has completed her athletic and academic eligibility at the University has graduated (a perfect 53-for-53 success rate).

A Quick Look At Pittsburgh
After reaching the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, Pittsburgh has moved to even greater heights this season, rising as high as 14th in the Associated Press poll (currently 15th) and staying firmly in contention near the top of the BIG EAST Conference standings.

Pitt (18-4, 8-1) rebounded from its first league loss on Wednesday with a 64-44 home victory over Seton Hall. Freshman forward Chelsea Cole, starting in place of injured all-BIG EAST senior center Marcedes Walker, tossed in a game-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and the Panthers held SHU to just 16 second-half points to lock up the win.

Junior guard Shavonte Zellous has continued the personal offensive surge that began last year, ranking second in the BIG EAST in scoring (20.1 ppg), and tops during conference play (22.7 ppg). Walker is averaging a double-double with 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, the latter ranking second in the BIG EAST.

Head coach Agnus Berenato is in her fifth season at Pittsburgh with an 83-59 (.585) record at the school. During her 24-year career, she has amassed a 366-323 (.531) record, with a 1-9 mark all-time against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Series
Notre Dame and Pittsburgh will be meeting for the 18th time on Sunday, with the Irish leading the series, 16-1, including a 7-0 record at home. However, the Panthers got their first win in the series last year, downing Notre Dame, 71-62 in Pittsburgh. It’s the latest close game in a series that has seen five of the past six matchups decided by single digits.

The Last Time Notre Dame And Pittsburgh Met
Charel Allen scored a game-high 17 points, including a three-pointer with 51 seconds left that pulled Notre Dame within three, but the Irish couldn’t complete a late-game comeback, falling at Pittsburgh, 71-62 in BIG EAST Conference action on Jan. 31, 2007. Notre Dame had trailed by 10 points with less than four minutes to play and battled back to make it a one-possession game twice in the final minute before seeing two potential game-tying three-point attempts go off the mark.

Allen finished with seven rebounds, a career-high six assists and three steals, while Erica Williamson chipped in with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds off the bench for the Irish.

Shavonte Zellous led three Pittsburgh players in double figures with 17 points, while Marcedes Walker added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Danielle Taylor collected 16 points in a reserve role.

The first half was played virtually even, with Notre Dame using a 10-3 run to go in front, but Pitt answered with a 9-0 spree of its own. Two late buckets by Williamson helping the Irish to a 28-26 halftime lead.

The first nine minutes of the second half were nightmarish for Notre Dame, as the Irish connected on only two field goals and saw the Panthers go on a 15-5 run. Notre Dame trimmed the margin to five points on three occasions, but Pitt then scored six of the next seven points and had a 10-point lead heading into the final media timeout (3:40).

At that point, Notre Dame began chipping away, eventually shrinking the margin to 63-60 on Allen’s trey with under a minute to play. Taylor then beat the Irish press for a lay-up, but Lechlitner came back with her own lay-up off an Allen steal with 29.9 seconds left to keep the margin at three points.

Pitt had trouble with the ensuing inbounds under its basket and was whistled for a five-second violation. With a chance to tie, Lechlitner misfired on a 22-footer from the right wing, but Allen corralled the long offensive rebound. However, her heavily contested three-point try also was off-line and the ball went out of bounds back to Pitt, which salted the win away with two free throws and Taylor’s midcourt shot as time expired.

The Last Time Notre Dame And Pittsburgh Met At The Joyce Center
Lindsay Schrader scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Charel Allen chipped in with 16 points, as Notre Dame rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit to knock off Pittsburgh, 72-65 on Feb. 28, 2006, at the Joyce Center. It tied the second-largest comeback win in Notre Dame history, topped only by a 16-point rally to defeat Connecticut on March 30, 2001 at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in St. Louis.

Maddy Brown came off the bench to lead Pittsburgh in scoring with 13 points, knocking down 4-of-7 three-pointers in the contest. Danielle Taylor collected 10 points, while center Marcedes Walker tallied a double-double with 12 points and 18 rebounds, despite shooting 2-of-12 from the floor.

Notre Dame held the lead for the first six minutes before Pittsburgh came alive, taking its largest lead of the night at 38-23 on Brown’s third three-pointer of the period with 2:26 to go. The Irish trimmed the margin with some late buckets, but still found themselves on the short end of a 41-31 score at the intermission.

Cheron Taylor’s layup and Brown’s free throw, offsetting a jumper by Schrader, boosted Pitt’s lead to 44-33 a minute into the second half. From there, Notre Dame put together a 13-1 run covering the next six minutes, taking their first lead since the opening minutes on Courtney LaVere’s putback with 13:49 to go. Conversely, the Panthers went without a basket for 7:28 before Stewart tied the game at 48-all with 11:57 left.

The lead changed hands seven times during the ensuing three-plus minutes before Schrader put her team in front to stay on an old-fashioned three-point play at the 8:47 mark. The Notre Dame defense then rose up, holding the Panthers to one field goal down the stretch and canning 7-of-10 free throws to preserve the victory.

Other Notre Dame-Pittsburgh Series Tidbits

• Ten of the first 11 series games were decided by double digits. However, five of the past six games in the series have been single-digit victory margins for Notre Dame, with an average spread of 7.2 ppg. in those contests.
• Notre Dame has scored 65 or more points in all but one of its 17 meetings with Pitt (last year’s 71-62 loss), while the Panthers have reached that standard seven times against the Irish, including five of the past six games.
• Both teams have important players returning after missing last year with knee injuries. Notre Dame junior guard Lindsay Schrader tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee during practice on Oct. 15, 2006, while Pittsburgh redshirt senior guard Mallorie Winn tore the same ligament in the same knee at a Nov. 2, 2006 practice.
• The two head coaches in Sunday’s game have faced one another on the sidelines 10 times during the past quarter century. Irish head coach Muffet McGraw is 9-1 in these contests with Pitt skipper Agnus Berenato, with the first five games coming when McGraw was at Lehigh and Berenato at Rider in the early 1980s.
• Notre Dame senior guard Charel Allen is a native of Monessen, Pa., located approximately 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, and graduated from Monessen High School in 2004. Allen remains one of leading scorers in Pennsylvania high school history, having piled up 3,110 points during her storied prep career. Allen also is averaging 16.3 points and 5.0 rebounds in three career games against her hometown school.
• Notre Dame freshman guard Brittany Mallory and Pittsburgh freshman guard Taneisha Harrison were teammates on the Fairfax (Va.) Stars AAU 16-and-under squad in 2006. Mallory’s father, Bob, was an assistant coach on that team.
• Third-year Notre Dame coordinator of basketball operations Stephanie Menio graduated from Pittsburgh in 2004 with a degree in business administration. Menio spent two years as a marketing assistant with the Panthers women’s basketball program, and in conjunction with the debut of the Petersen Events Center, she aided in the program’s 114-percent increase in attendance from 2002-04 and the first sellout in program history (12,632 vs. Connecticut on Jan. 25, 2003).
• Notre Dame associate director of strength & conditioning Tony Rolinski is a Pittsburgh native, earned his master’s degree in exercise physiology from Pitt in 1996, and served as an intern on the Panther football program staff during his graduate studies.

Irish Thinking Pink This Weekend
Notre Dame is one of more than 900 schools that will be participating in the first-ever “Think Pink” initiative during Sunday’s game vs. Pittsburgh. The movement, organized by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and backed by ESPN2 as part its “February Frenzy” coverage on Sunday, encourages participating schools to sport the color pink to help raise breast cancer awareness nationwide.

As part of this initiative, Notre Dame players will wear special pink t-shirts during warmups and pink shoelaces during the game. In addition, the Joyce Center scorer’s table crew will wear pink polo shirts, while the first 750 fans in attendance will receive “Think Pink” t-shirts, and numerous cancer survivors from around Michiana will join the Notre Dame players and coaches on the floor during starting lineups.

What’s more, Irish head coach Muffet McGraw has pledged $10 for every rebound her team grabs in Sunday’s game. The money collected will be split evenly between the WBCA/Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Susan G. Komen For The Cure foundation.

Peaking When It Counts
When the regular season enters its stretch run in the month of February, Notre Dame historically seems to raise its level of play. Since joining the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96, the Irish are 72-19 (.791) in February games, including a 41-4 (.911) mark at home.

In the 21-year Muffet McGraw era (1987-present), the Irish are 120-34 (.779) in the month of February, including a 63-10 (.863) home record. In that time, Notre Dame has not had a losing February, and only once did the Irish end the month at .500 (4-4 in 1988-89, McGraw’s second season in South Bend).

Last year, Notre Dame went 6-2 in February, winning its first six before ending with losses to No. 21/22 Rutgers (76-60 at home) and DePaul (87-73 on the road).

Chart Toppers
Notre Dame is peppered throughout the latest NCAA statistical rankings (as of Friday). The Irish among the top 20 in the nation in six categories, led by a No. 7 rankings for scoring offense (78.7) and and No. 9 ranking for scoring margin (+18.5). Notre Dame also is 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.13), 14th in steals (12.3), 16th in fewest turnovers (14.2), and 17th in field goal percentage (.461).

A full recap of Notre Dame’s positions on the NCAA statistics charts (and its relation to the national leaders) can be found on page 11 of this notes package.

Thirty Deeds
More than half (9) of Notre Dame’s 17 wins this season have come by at least 30 points, while the Irish have held 30-point leads late in the second half against Western Kentucky and Richmond. This marks the first time in school history that Notre Dame has fashioned nine 30-point wins in its first 22 games.

It’s also the first time since the 2000-01 national championship season that the Irish have logged at least nine 30-point wins in a single season. That year, Notre Dame collected a school-record 10 30-point victories, but only six of those came in the first 22 games.

What’s more, the Irish had a streak of four consecutive 30-point wins from Nov. 20-Dec. 2. The last time Notre Dame did that was Jan. 20-30, 1999, when the Irish had four straight 30-point victories, all during BIG EAST Conference play — at Seton Hall (87-47), home vs. St. John’s (99-60), at Syracuse (94-61) and at Providence (97-59).

Put A Tiger In Your Tank
Less than two seasons after posting the program’s lowest scoring output (64.5 ppg) since 1980-81 (its first as a Division I program), Notre Dame has reversed that trend in a big way.

The Irish currently rank third in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring (and seventh in the nation) at 78.7 points per game, having tallied at least 80 points 12 times this season. What’s more, Notre Dame also has the fourth-highest scoring average through 22 games in program history, and highest since the 1998-99 squad averaged 83.8 points at this juncture on the way to the single-season school scoring record (81.0).

What’s more, Notre Dame has scored at least 90 points five times this season. That’s the most 90-point games for the Irish in one year since 1998-99, when they tied the school record with seven 90-point games. In fact, during the six seasons prior to the current one (2001-02 through 2006-07), Notre Dame had a combined total of four 90-point games.

Notre Dame also ranks third in the conference (and ninth in the nation) in scoring margin at +18.5 points per game.

McGraw’s Shock Troops
During his coaching tenure with the Notre Dame football team in the 1920s, Knute Rockne was at the forefront of the two-platoon system, using his “shock troops” — a full team of second stringers — at the start of most games.

While Irish women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw may not quite be following Rockne’s philosophy to the letter, she could easily rotate in much of her second unit and not see much decline in productivity. In fact, Notre Dame’s bench is averaging 30.5 points per game (compared to 48.2 ppg. by the starters) and has outscored all 22 opponent benches this season by an average of +15.9 points per night.

Leading the way for this year’s Irish “shock troops” is freshman forward Devereaux Peters, who is averaging 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game (tied for BIG EAST Conference lead and 44th in the nation) with a .523 field goal percentage (ninth in the conference). Peters has come off the bench in 20 of 22 games this year, piling up a season-high 15 points and seven steals vs. Villanova before collecting her first career double-double (10 points, season-high 12 rebounds) on Jan. 27 against top-ranked Connecticut.

Youth Movement
Last year’s Irish rookie class (aka the “BMW” trio of guards Ashley Barlow and Melissa Lechlitner and center Erica Williamson) became the first threesome from one school ever to be named to the BIG EAST Conference All-Freshman Team in the same season. Following on the heels of that success, Notre Dame has a new freshman trio that is aiming to make an early splash at the college level — the “BBD” lineup of guard Brittany Mallory and forwards Becca Bruszewski and Devereaux Peters.

All three Irish rookies have done their part to help Notre Dame to its 17-5 record, with each one averaging at least 11 minutes and having scored in double figures at least three times. Peters is fourth on the team in scoring (8.9 ppg.) and has scored in double digits 13 times, while also sharing the BIG EAST Conference lead and ranking 44th in the nation in blocked shots (2.0 bpg.). Mallory is averaging 6.7 points per game, is second on the team with 21 three-pointers and chalked up a season-high 15 points on Jan. 19 at Georgetown. Bruszewski is logging 4.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, carding her third double-digit scoring game of the year with 10 points at Georgetown.

Double Trouble
Notre Dame’s balance this season can best be seen in its point distribution. No fewer than 10 of the 11 Irish players on this year’s roster have scored in double figures at least once this season, with only senior guard Amanda Tsipis yet to crack the 10-point mark.

Notre Dame also has had at least three double-figure scorers in all but three games (Purdue, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 16 West Virginia) this year, with a season-high seven in double digits at Georgetown (the most in one game for the Irish since Feb. 6, 1997 vs. Syracuse).

What’s more, the Irish fielded five double-figure scorers in three consecutive games from Nov. 20-27. It’s believed to be the first time in school history (and certainly the first time in the Muffet McGraw era) the Irish have pulled off that feat of three straight games with five double-digit scorers, although records are incomplete prior to the 1983-84 season.

Protecting The Pill
Notre Dame has been sharp at the offensive end this season, thanks in large part to its ability to take care of the basketball. The Irish rank 16th in the nation with just 14.2 turnovers per game and have been charged with 20 or more turnovers just once in the past 38 games (20 at Louisville on Jan. 8).

The Irish took ball protection to a new level in their loss at No. 3 Maryland on Nov. 16. Notre Dame set a school record with only three turnovers against the Terrapins, with two of those giveaways coming on offensive fouls. The previous school record for fewest turnovers was six, set on Feb. 12, 2006 at DePaul.

With only three turnovers, it probably comes as no surprise that Maryland did not register a steal against Notre Dame. However, what is surprising is that it was the first time in the 31-year history of the Irish program that an opponent did not record a steal against Notre Dame. Several opponents had only one steal vs. the Irish, with the most recent being Boston College on March 19, 2006 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (played at West Lafayette, Ind.).

Piping Hot Turnovers
Notre Dame is forcing 22.7 turnovers per night and currently leads the BIG EAST with a +8.45 turnover margin, more than four takeaways better than second-place Connecticut. The Irish have caused at least 20 turnovers in 15 games this season, including a season-high 33 takeaways against Boston College on Nov. 24.

Notre Dame has made even the strongest ball-handling teams struggle this season. In fact, Villanova came into its Jan. 16 game at the Joyce Center leading the nation with only 11.2 turnovers per game. However, the Wildcats left town with 24 turnovers, their highest single-game giveaway mark in more than six years (Dec. 1, 2001 at Temple).

The Five-Finger Discount
Notre Dame leads the BIG EAST Conference and ranks 14th nationally in steals, averaging 12.27 thefts per game (11.5 in conference play), including eight games this season where the Irish had at least 15 steals. What’s more, Notre Dame’s season-high 23 steals vs. Providence on Jan. 30 were the most for the Irish in a single game since Jan. 28, 1995 (23 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee at the Joyce Center), and only one off the BIG EAST record.

Individually, the Irish have five players with at least 30 steals this season (and another with 28). Senior guard Charel Allen and sophomore guard Ashley Barlow lead the way with 45 steals apiece, tying for eighth in the BIG EAST in that category (2.05 spg). Allen has been especially potent of late with 10 steals in the past two games, including a career-high six in the win over Providence.

Notre Dame also tied Connecticut for the BIG EAST title in steals last season (9.69 spg. in league play; 10.47 overall), the first time the Irish won a conference steals crown since 1989-90, when they led the Horizon League with 10.93 steals per game.

Keeping It On The Plus Side
Notre Dame has registered a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in 13 games this season and ranks fourth in the BIG EAST (12th nationally) with a 1.13 assist-to-turnover ratio. Notre Dame also has assisted on 54.4 percent of its field goals this year (354 assists on 651 baskets), ranking fifth in the conference and 26th in the country with 16.09 assists per game.

Off And Running
Notre Dame has wasted little time in jumping ahead of its opponents this season. In half (8) of their 16 wins, the Irish have opened up a double-digit lead less than 12 minutes into the game, while other first-half runs against Central Michigan (20-0), Bowling Green (18-3), Villanova (16-6) and Georgetown (15-3) aided those wins.

Even in its defeat at third-ranked Maryland on Nov. 16, Notre Dame made a statement early with a 10-0 run in the first five minutes of action and led by as many as five points in the first half before the Terrapins rallied back for the win.

Allen Climbing Irish Points Ladder
Senior guard Charel Allen continues to make her way up Notre Dame’s all-time scoring list, currently standing 12th with 1,366 points. Next up for Allen is Shari Matvey, who is in 11th place with 1,373 points from 1979-83.

What’s more, Allen is just 64 points away from moving into the top 10 on the Irish career scoring charts. The person currently holding down that 10th position? First-year assistant coach Niele Ivey, who had 1,430 points from 1996-2001.

Polling Station
Notre Dame is ranked 16th in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, rising four spots from last week’s survey. The season-high No. 14 rankings on Dec. 31-Jan. 7 were the highest for the Irish in the media poll since the week of Jan. 2, 2006, when they were ranked 12th prior to losses at St. John’s (66-63) and home vs. Seton Hall (74-61).

Notre Dame now has been ranked in the AP poll for 153 weeks during the program’s history, with every one of those appearances coming in the Muffet McGraw era. McGraw currently ranks 14th among all active NCAA Division I head coaches for weeks in the AP poll, and also stands 25th all-time in that category.

The Irish also are in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll for the 13th consecutive week, moving up four places to 16th in this week’s balloting. Notre Dame’s No. 14 rankings on Jan. 2-8 were the highest poll position for Notre Dame in two years, when the Irish were tabbed 12th by the coaches prior to the aforementioned losses to St. John’s and Seton Hall.

More Polling Data
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw is one of 23 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 153 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 23 people on this elite list, 12 are currently NCAA Division I head coaches.

Clutch When It Counts
Notre Dame is 54-of-68 (.794) from the free throw line in the final two minutes (plus overtime) this season. Leading the way is sophomore guard Ashley Barlow, who is 8-of-8 this year and 18-of-20 (.900) in her career when toeing the line down the stretch.

Crowded House
The Jan. 27 game vs. Connecticut was the fifth women’s basketball sellout (11,418) in school history and second this season (also Jan. 5 vs. Tennessee). It also is the second time in school history Notre Dame has posted multiple sellouts in one season, having also done so in 2000-01 (Connecticut and Georgetown).

In addition, the Jan. 27 audience marked the first time the Irish have attracted three crowds of 10,000 fans in the same season, as 10,825 fans took in the Dec. 2 win over Michigan.

Start Me Up
Notre Dame’s 13-2 start matched the second-best 15-game mark in the program’s 31-year history. In 2000-01, the Irish opened with 23 consecutive victories, en route to their first-ever No. 1 ranking and eventually, the program’s first national championship.

The last time Notre Dame got off to a 13-2 start was the 2004-05 season, when the Irish won their first seven games (including the Preseason WNIT title) before a Dec. 2 overtime loss to 15th-ranked Michigan State. Notre Dame (which rose as high as third in the national polls that season) then reeled off six more wins before suffering consecutive loss at Villanova (59-54) and home vs. No. 16 Connecticut (67-50). However, the Irish rebounded with a 10-game win streak, finishing the year at 27-6 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame posted a 13-2 record on three other occasions, also doing so in 1999-2000 (27-5, NCAA Sweet 16), 1998-99 (26-5, NCAA second round) and 1977-78 (13-4, program’s first varsity season when playing at AIAW Division III level).

We’re Going Streaking!
Notre Dame’s 10-game win streak from Nov. 20-Jan. 2 was its longest since a similar 10-game run from Jan. 16-Feb. 15, 2005. The Irish now have amassed 10 double-digit win streaks in program history (eight in the Muffet McGraw era), led by the school-record 23-game success string to open the 2000-01 national championship season.

Notre Dame also won six consecutive road games earlier this season (Nov. 20-Jan. 2). That was the longest run for the Irish away from the Joyce Center since a 10-game run from Nov. 17, 2000 to Feb. 14, 2001, a streak that ended with a 54-53 loss at No. 11/14 Rutgers (one of only two defeats for the Irish on their run to the NCAA title).

No Easy Road
Notre Dame has always played a difficult schedule, using it as a means of preparation for future tests in both the BIG EAST Conference and the postseason. However, this year’s slate could be one of the more rugged ones in recent memory.

With the addition of Maryland to the docket in the Preseason WNIT semifinals (75-59 loss on Nov. 16), the Irish now will face four of the top seven teams in the latest Associated Press poll. Besides the Terrapins (currently No. 4), Notre Dame also has or will play No. 1 Connecticut (lost 81-64 on Jan. 27 at the Joyce Center), No. 2 Tennessee (lost 87-63 on Jan. 5 at the Joyce Center) and No. 7 Rutgers (Feb. 19 in Piscataway, N.J.). Four of the top five teams in the poll have combined to win the past six national championships, with Tennessee currently holding the hardware after defeating Rutgers in last year’s title game.

Game #22 Recap: Cincinnati
Senior guard Charel Allen scored 16 points and led a pivotal run that swept No. 20 Notre Dame to 73-41 victory over host Cincinnati on Feb. 2 at Fifth Third Arena.

Freshman forward Devereaux Peters scored 12 points as a reserve, and senior guard Tulyah Gaines and sophomore guard Ashley Barlow each added 11 to help Notre Dame (17-5, 5-3 BIG EAST) get back-to-back wins after consecutive losses.

Jill Stephens scored 14 points, and Kahla Roudebush had 11 for Cincinnati (10-11, 1-8).

Allen scored on a pull-up jumper, then stole the ball and fed Gaines for a layup to spark a 21-0 run that started late in the first half and continued after halftime, stretching a total of 12 minutes and 17 seconds. The run put Notre Dame in control at 38-26.

Roudebush scored four points on a pair of pull-up jumpers during a 9-0 UC run that gave the Bearcats their biggest lead, 26-17. Gaines scored four points in a 9-0 Notre Dame spurt that closed the half and tied it at 26.

Cincinnati missed its first five shots of the second half and committed eight turnovers while Notre Dame completed its decisive run.

Noting The Cincinnati Game

• UC’s 41 points were the fewest allowed by Notre Dame in BIG EAST play since March 1, 2005, when the Irish took a 41-35 win at Seton Hall.
• The 32-point winning margin is the largest for Notre Dame over a BIG EAST opponent since Feb. 25, 2004, when the Irish downed #21/19 Miami (Fla.), 93-58 at the Joyce Center; it’s also the largest winning margin for Notre Dame in a BIG EAST road game since Jan. 9, 2001, when the Irish took an 84-49 victory at St. John’s.
• The 21-0 run by the Irish was their longest stretch of unanswered points since Dec. 13, 2003, when they opened the game on a 26-0 run vs. Dayton en route to a 78-41 win at the Joyce Center.
• Notre Dame’s nine-point rally was it largest of the season, topping three eight-point comebacks (twice at Bowling Green and once at Purdue).
• Notre Dame’s bench has outscored all 22 opponents’ reserve units this season; in fact, the Irish bench actually outscored the entire Cincinnati team in the second half, 16-15.
• Notre Dame moves to 4-0 all-time against Cincinnati and posts the largest winning margin in the series.
• The Irish improve to 15-2 all-time in the city of Cincinnati, and haven’t lost in the Queen City since March 28, 1997, when #10/11 Tennessee defeated #15/14 Notre Dame, 80-66 in the NCAA Women’s Final Four at Riverfront Coliseum.
• Notre Dame has shot 70 percent or better from the free throw line in all eight BIG EAST games this season, including five games at 75 percent or better from the charity stripe.
• Allen posted her 71st career double-figure scoring game, breaking a tie for ninth place in school history with Shari Matvey (1979-83) and Sheila McMillen (1995-99).
• Gaines continued her career-long habit of bedeviling Cincinnati; in three career outings, she is averaging 17.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists with a .556 field goal percentage (15-of-27) and .880 free throw percentage (22-of-25) against the Bearcats.
• Muffet McGraw coached her 650th game at Notre Dame, moving to 466-184 (.717) in 21 seasons under the Golden Dome.

Irish Picked Fifth In BIG EAST Poll
Notre Dame was projected to finish fifth in the BIG EAST Conference this season, according to a preseason vote of the league’s 16 head coaches that was announced Oct. 25 during BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Media Day at the ESPNZone in New York City. The Irish collected 165 points, with Connecticut (15 first-place votes, 225 points), Rutgers (one first-place vote, 211 points), West Virginia (186 points) and Pittsburgh (169 points) joining Notre Dame in the top five.

Senior guard Charel Allen was one of 11 players selected to this year’s Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Allen averaged a team-high 17.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season and ranked second in the BIG EAST with 19.3 points per game in league play. She went on to earn first-team all-BIG EAST and honorable mention All-America laurels. while helping the Irish go 20-12 and reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Half And Half
During the past eight seasons, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Irish are 138-12 (.920) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead, including wins in 66 of their last 72 such contests. Notre Dame has earned 14 victories in as many games after taking the lead to the locker room.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense…
During the past 13 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 Irish have a 182-11 (.943) record when they hold their opponents to less than 60 points in a game.

Notre Dame is 14-1 this year when holding opponents below 60 points, with No. 16 West Virginia the lone exception (56-50 on Jan. 13).

…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 13 seasons (1995-96 to present), the Irish are 111-4 (.965) when they score at least 80 points in a game. The only blemishes on that record are a pair of overtime losses to Texas A&M (88-84) and Michigan State (87-83) in 1995, a 106-81 loss to Connecticut in 1998, and a 81-80 loss to DePaul earlier this season (Jan. 22).

Notre Dame has won 11 of 12 games this season when it reaches the 80-point mark.

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 Irish have been virtually untouchable at home in recent years, winning 158 of their last 179 games (.883) at the 11,418-seat Joyce Center, including winning streaks of 51 and 25 games in that span. Notre Dame also has an 89-15 (.856) record in BIG EAST Conference play at the 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 Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 71 of their last 77 non-BIG EAST contests (.922) at the Joyce Center, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Four of the losses in that span came at the hands of Big Ten Conference opponents — Wisconsin in 1996 (81-69), Purdue in 2003 (71-54), Michigan State in 2004 (82-73, ot) and Indiana in 2006 (54-51) — with the other two defeats coming to Tennessee (62-51 in 2005; 87-63 in 2008). 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 Joyce Center, posting a 308-82 (.790) record at the venerable facility. Three times (1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2003-04), the Irish went a perfect 15-0 at home, setting a school record for home wins in a season. For the third time in four years, and the second consecutive season, Notre Dame will equal the most regular-season home games (16) in school history. However, in 2004-05, the Irish played host to all four rounds of the Preseason WNIT before its regular 12-game home slate began. Notre Dame also played two Preseason WNIT games at home this year, in addition to its previously-scheduled 14-game Joyce Center docket.

Notre Dame On The Small Screen
Notre Dame will have a school-record 22 regular-season games televised during the upcoming 2007-08 season. Highlighting this year’s television schedule are nine nationally-televised Irish women’s basketball contests, including one appearance on CBS (Jan. 5 vs. Tennessee), four games on the ESPN family of networks, and another four contests on CSTV.

In addition, Notre Dame has expanded its broadcast reach globally on the Internet. All Irish home games (11 regular-season, two exhibition) that have not been selected for commercial TV coverage will air live on the Notre Dame athletics web site, UND.com.

This year’s TV slate continues a recent trend that has seen the Irish become a regular fixture on television. Since the start of its 2000-01 NCAA championship season (and including this year’s broadcasts to date), Notre Dame now has played in 107 televised games, including 58 that were broadcast nationally.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Senior guards Charel Allen, Tulyah Gaines and Amanda Tsipis are team captains for the 2007-08 season. Gaines is in her second year as a captain for the Irish, while Allen and Tsipis are first-time captains. All three players received the captain’s honor through a vote of their teammates prior to the season.

Joyce Center Arena Renovation On Tap
On Oct. 3, 2007, Notre Dame announced that construction on the Joyce Center arena addition and renovation will begin in September 2008. The University has selected the architects for the project, and they currently are in the process of completing final design plans.

The first phase of the project, to begin in September, involves construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena. That structure will include a new two-story lobby, the Notre Dame ticket operations (approximately 4,500 square feet) and a varsity shop to sell apparel and souvenirs (approximately 3,000 square feet), in addition to a new club seating and hospitality area.

Replacement of the Joyce Center arena seating, including installation of chair-back seating throughout the arena, is expected to take place after the University’s Commencement Exercises in May 2009. The project is scheduled for completion in January 2010. The arena is expected to re-open by mid-October 2009, in time for the start of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons and the end of the women’s volleyball season.

The University announced last October that this $26.3 million project had received a $12.5 million leadership gift from Notre Dame alumnus and Trustee Philip J. Purcell III. A month later, another major gift of $5 million from Notre Dame graduate Vincent J. Naimoli was announced.

The arena will be named Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center — and the new club/hospitality area and two outdoor patios will be named for the Naimoli family.

Irish Fans Crave A Big Mac Attack
Notre Dame has introduced a new promotion this season, offering fans a coupon for a free Big Mac from South Bend-area McDonald’s restaurants if the Irish score at least 88 points in a game. The coupons are issued at the Joyce Center gates as fans leave the arena following the game.

This season’s burger watch is at six, as the Irish have hit the 88-point mark in both exhibition wins, as well as regular-season victories over Miami (Ohio), Boston College, Canisius and Valparaiso.

It’s probably also not a surprise that the Notre Dame player with the most “Big Mac baskets” this season has the same initials as that of the tasty burger — freshman guard Brittany Mallory, who has sent the crowd home happy (and presumably with full bellies) four times, including each of the past three games that the Irish have scored 88 points at home.

Friends In Need
Longtime Irish women’s basketball fan and Notre Dame Office of Information Technologies employee Patricia McAdams remains in critical but stable condition at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne after a Jan. 13 auto accident. While returning from Notre Dame’s game at West Virginia earlier in the day, Patricia was severely injured when she stopped on a highway outside Fort Wayne to help a fellow motorist and was then struck by a car.

A loyal supporter of the Irish for many years, Patricia has assisted Notre Dame’s coordinator of basketball operations Stephanie Menio with numerous marketing and promotional activities, and also coordinated regular bus trips for fans to see the Irish on the road.

Patricia’s OIT colleagues have created a web page to update supporters on her progress: http://oit.nd.edu/patricia.

Notre Dame also lost a treasured friend on Jan. 22, when longtime Joyce Center clock operator Mark Tulchinsky passed away. Mark was a dedicated educator in the South Bend Community School Corporation, most recently serving as principal at Tarkington Traditional School. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mark, his wife, Nan (the official scorer for Notre Dame basketball), and the Tulchinsky family.

Promotional Corner
Here’s a rundown of some upcoming promotions and giveaways at future Notre Dame women’s basketball games this season. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Irish athletics ticket office (second floor of the Joyce Center through Gate 1; 574-631-7356), on game day at the Gate 10 ticket windows of the Joyce Center, or via the Internet on the tickets page of Notre Dame’s official athletics web site (UND.com). Please note — additional promotions and giveaways may be added at a later date, so consult the Notre Dame promotions web site for the latest information:

• Feb. 10 vs. Pittsburgh — Girls’ Day Out (pregame hair/nail session courtesy of Vogue Beauty College) … Girl Scout Day …WBCA “Think Pink” Day … “Think Pink” t-shirts to the first 750 fans … post-game autograph session courtside with selected Notre Dame players.

Next Game: Marquette
Notre Dame wraps up its two-game homestand Wednesday with a 7 p.m. (ET) matchup against Marquette at the Joyce Center. The game will be broadcast live to a national cable audience on CSTV, marking the third of four appearances for the Irish on that network this season.

Despite losing four key starters off last year’s NCAA second-round squad, Marquette (13-9, 5-4) has battled its way up the BIG EAST standings, and currently is among a logjam of five teams separated by a game and a half in the middle of the league table. The Golden Eagles will visit No. 23/24 Syracuse Sunday afternoon before heading to South Bend next week.

— ND —