Feb. 19, 2014
2013-14 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 26
#2/2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (25-0 / 12-0 ACC) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-11 / 5-7 ACC)
DATE: Feb. 20, 2014
TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET
AT: Winston-Salem, N.C. – Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (14,665)
SERIES: ND leads 1-0
LAST MTG: ND 92-69 (11/27/10)
TV: wakeforestsports.com ($) (live)
RADIO: Pulse FM (96.9/92.1)/WatchND (live) (Bob Nagle, p-b-p)
LIVE STATS:
TWITTER: @ndwbbsid
TICKETS: (888) 758-3322
Storylines
- Notre Dame is making the second of four trips to the state of North Carolina in a five-week span.
- The Fighting Irish will play their last four games of the regular season against North Carolina schools, having compiled a 16-2 (.889) record all-time against teams from the Old North State.
No. 2 Fighting Irish Head To Wake Forest For ACC Matchup Thursday
As teams make the turn for home in the 2013-14 Atlantic Coast Conference race, the challenges heat up for No. 2 Notre Dame, which begins its conference stretch drive at 7 p.m. (ET) Thursday with a first-ever trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., and a meeting with Wake Forest at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The game will be streamed live on a subscription basis through the Wake Forest athletics web site (wakeforestsports.com), while the Notre Dame Radio Network broadcast can be heard free of charge through the official Fighting Irish athletics multimedia platform, WatchND.
Notre Dame (25-0, 12-0) rebounded from a sluggish start against Georgia Tech on Monday, shooting nearly 60 percent over the final 30-plus minutes for an 87-72 win at Purcell Pavilion.
Sophomore guard Jewell Loyd led four Fighting Irish players in double figures with 27 points, while senior forward/tri-captain Natalie Achonwa added 21 points and 10 rebounds for her team-high sixth double-double of the year.
Rankings
- Notre Dame is No. 2 in this week’s Associated Press poll and is No. 2 in this week’s WBCA/USA Today poll.
- Wake Forest is not ranked.
Quick Hitters
- At 25-0, Notre Dame is off to the best start to a season in program history, surpassing the 23-0 debut by the 2000-01 club.
- The current Fighting Irish 25-game winning streak is the second-longest in program history beyond only last year’s 30-game run.
- Notre Dame has won a school-record 48 consecutive regular season games and 24 consecutive home games, dating back to Dec. 5, 2012 (a 73-61 loss to No. 3 Baylor). The 24-game home winning streak is third-longest in school history and tied for the third-longest active run in NCAA Division I.
- The Fighting Irish have won a school-record 33 consecutive regular season road games (40 of their last 45, as well as 24 in a row overall, the fifth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history) since a 94-81 loss at top-ranked Baylor on Nov. 20, 2011, in the Preseason WNIT championship game.
- Now in its inaugural season in the ACC, Notre Dame has won 32 consecutive conference games, as well as 22 consecutive league road games. The Fighting Irish last lost a regular season conference game on Feb. 12, 2012 (65-63 at home vs. West Virginia), and dropped a regular season league contest on the road on Feb. 28, 2011 (70-69 at No. 12/11 DePaul), both in BIG EAST play.
- Since the start of the 2011-12 season, Notre Dame is 33-5 (.868) against ranked opponents (13-2 on the road).
- Notre Dame stands at No. 2 in the AP and WBCA/USA Today polls, the third consecutive season that the Fighting Irish have earned the second position in both surveys.
- Notre Dame leads the nation in field goal percentage (.519) and three-point percentage (.425), among seven NCAA statistical categories that the Fighting Irish rank in the top 10 (not including won-loss percentage, for which they are one of two remaining teams in the nation without a loss).
- Notre Dame has appeared in the AP poll for 132 consecutive weeks (including the past 62 weeks in the AP Top 10), extending a program record that dates back to the 2007-08 preseason poll, and ranking sixth in the nation among active AP poll appearances. What’s more, every current Fighting Irish player has competed for a ranked Notre Dame squad during her career, with the vast majority of that time (82 of 93 weeks) spent in the AP Top 10.
- Senior forwards Natalie Achonwa and Ariel Braker, and senior guard Kayla McBride have helped Notre Dame to a 126-14 (.900) record in their careers, putting them on pace to challenge last year’s senior class of Skylar Diggins and Kaila Turner, who helped Notre Dame to 130 wins in their careers.
- Of the 14 losses suffered by the current Fighting Irish senior class, eight were decided by single digits (and three others by 10-13 points).
- Notre Dame aims to continue its remarkable success at Purcell Pavilion, with the Fighting Irish owning a 397-90 (.815) all-time record in 37 seasons at the facility, including a 74-5 (.937) record since the arena was renovated prior to the 2009-10 season.
- Notre Dame ranks fourth in this week’s NCAA attendance rankings (8,612 fans per game), and is the only school in the country to fill its arena to better than 90 percent capacity, something the Fighting Irish have done each season since 2009-10.
- With a 106-72 victory over Central Michigan on Dec. 22, the Fighting Irish became the 27th NCAA Division I women’s basketball program to record 800 all-time wins.
- With 651 victories in her 27 seasons at Notre Dame, head coach Muffet McGraw ranks second on the Fighting Irish athletics all-time coaching wins list (across all sports), trailing only men’s/women’s fencing coach Michael DeCicco (774-80 from 1962-95).
- With 739 career wins, McGraw has moved into the top 10 on the NCAA Division I career list. She currently is tied for 10th with former Virginia coach Debbie Ryan (739).
- McGraw will reach a remarkable career milestone on Feb. 27, when she is slated to coach her 1,000th game as Notre Dame plays host to North Carolina in its regular season home finale at Purcell Pavilion.
The Notre Dame-Wake Forest Series
Notre Dame and Wake Forest will be meeting for just the second time in series history, and first since the teams’ inaugural clash in the 2010 WBCA Classic at Purcell Pavilion (won by the Fighting Irish, 92-69).
The Last Time Notre Dame And Wake Forest Met
Natalie Novosel scored a (then) career-high 23 points and No. 18/16 Notre Dame handed Wake Forest its first loss of the 2010-11 season, 92-69 on Nov. 27, 2010, in the WBCA Classic at Purcell Pavilion.
Novosel scored 15 of her points in the first half, when she was 8 for 8 from the free-throw line. Four other players scored in double figures for the Fighting Irish, including Erica Solomon with 14 points, Devereaux Peters with 12, and Natalie Achonwa and Skylar Diggins with 11 each.
Lindsy Wright led Wake Forest with 14 points while Secily Ray added 13.
After breaking out to a 45-28 halftime edge, the Fighting Irish quickly established a 26-point lead in the second half and coasted from there. Their largest lead was 77-45 midway through the half.
Other Notre Dame-Wake Forest Series Tidbits
- In its 2010 game against Wake Forest, Notre Dame set school and arena records (the latter still standing, the former now second all-time) for free throws made, going 37-of-43 from the stripe. The 43 attempts also rank among the top five in school and arena history, with the only higher mark in the past 13 seasons coming on Dec. 30, 2011, when the Fighting Irish went 43-of-52 from the gift line in a 128-42 win at Mercer.
- Notre Dame’s three senior tri-captains — forwards Natalie Achonwa and Ariel Braker, and guard Kayla McBride — all played against Wake Forest in 2010. McBride started and had six points, while Achonwa (11 points/five rebounds) and Braker (two points/three rebounds) came off the bench.
- Wake Forest’s Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum is the third of four ACC arenas Notre Dame will visit for the first time during its inaugural season in the conference. The Fighting Irish made their first trip to Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena on Jan. 12, as well as Florida State’s Tucker Center on Feb. 6, and will play at N.C. State’s historic Reynolds Coliseum in their regular season finale on March 2.
- Notre Dame closes out the regular season with four consecutive games against teams from the state of North Carolina. The Fighting Irish are 16-2 (.889) all-time against North Carolina schools (including an active six-game winning streak), with a 5-1 record in true road games.
- Thursday is the second of Notre Dame’s four trips to North Carolina within a five-week span. The Fighting Irish visited Duke on Feb. 2 and return to the Old North State on March 2 for the regular season finale at North Carolina State before heading to Greensboro the following week for the ACC Championship.
- The Fighting Irish will be playing in the state of North Carolina for the ninth time in school history (7-1 record, including wins over St. Bonaventure and Maryland in the 2012 NCAA Raleigh Regional).
- In its 37-year history, Notre Dame has had just two North Carolina natives on its all-time roster — Raleigh product Mary Joan Forbes (1980-81) and Charlotte resident Erica Williamson (2006-10).
- Prior to his current appointment, Wake Forest president Dr. Nathan O. Hatch spent 30 years (1975-2005) in various roles at Notre Dame, including time on the faculty in the University’s history department (1975-89), and later serving in administrative capacities as associate dean and acting dean of the College of Arts and Letters (1983-89), vice president for graduate studies and research (1989-96), and University provost (1996-2005).
- Wake Forest director of men’s basketball operations Jeff Nix spent five years (1987-92) as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Notre Dame, working on the staffs of both Digger Phelps (1987-91) and John MacLeod (1991-92).
- Wake Forest director of track & field/cross country John Millar spent 19 seasons on Joe Piane’s staff at Notre Dame from 1990-91 through 2009-10, helping the Fighting Irish track & cross country programs to a combined 22 BIG EAST Conference titles during his tenure.
- Before coming to Notre Dame in 2006, Fighting Irish director of football media relations Michael Bertsch spent three years (2003-06) on the media relations staff at Wake Forest, working closely with the Demon Deacons’ men’s soccer and baseball programs, while also serving as secondary media contact for football and men’s basketball and chief editor of both the football game program and men’s basketball yearbook.
One Tough Stretch
Notre Dame is in the midst of one of the most challenging schedule stretches in the program’s 37-year history, playing eight of its final 13 games against teams that are ranked or receiving votes, all during the closing six weeks of the regular season (five of those eight coming on the road).
With its 88-67 win at third-ranked Duke on Feb. 2, Notre Dame earned its third road win over a top-10 opponent this season, something the Fighting Irish had never done in a single regular season campaign during the program’s 37-year history (Notre Dame has numerous postseason road wins over top-10 foes).
What made the Duke win even more remarkable is that it was the third consecutive road game against a top-10 opponent for the Fighting Irish, following ESPN2 Big Monday visits to No. 11/10 Tennessee (86-70 win) and No. 8/6 Maryland (87-83 win) on Jan. 20 and 27, respectively.
Before its recent run, Notre Dame had never even played top-10 teams in three consecutive road games during the same regular season, let alone defeated all three and done so in such a short period of time (13 days).
In fact, prior to last year, the Fighting Irish had not defeated two top-10 teams on the road in the same regular season before they earned victories at No. 1 Connecticut (73-72) and No. 9 Tennessee (77-67) — and those wins came more than three weeks apart.
Getting The Jump
At 25-0, Notre Dame is off to the best start in the program’s 37-year history. This year’s start surpasses the debut of the 2000-01 Fighting Irish squad, which reeled off a (then) school-record 23 consecutive wins en route to a 34-2 final record and the program’s first national championship.
Streak Stats
Notre Dame’s current 25-game winning streak is the second-longest success string in program history, and it’s the second consecutive season the Fighting Irish have posted a winning streak of 25 games or longer, following last year’s school-record 30-game run.
Notre Dame also has strung together 14 double-digit winning streaks in the program’s 37-year history, with 12 of those coming during the tenure of Hall of Fame head coach Muffet McGraw (1987-88 to present).
Dating back to the start of last season, the Fighting Irish are 60-2 (.968) and have won 48 consecutive regular season games. In that span, their lone losses have come against a pair of third-ranked teams — Baylor (73-61 on Dec. 5, 2012, at Purcell Pavilion) and Connecticut (83-65 on April 7, 2013, in the NCAA Women’s Final Four national semifinals at New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, La.).
In addition, Notre Dame currently owns the nation’s longest winning streak against unranked opponents (in the Associated Press poll), having earned 47 consecutive victories since a last-second 65-63 home loss to West Virginia on Feb. 12, 2012 (research for this note provided by STATS via the AP).
Road Warriors
Notre Dame has won a school-record 33 consecutive regular season road games (and 40 of its last 45, and 24 in a row overall), including the Feb. 13 victory at Boston College. The Fighting Irish last tasted defeat on the road in the regular season on Nov. 20, 2011, a 94-81 setback at No. 1 Baylor in the Preseason WNIT championship game.
Notre Dame’s current 24-game road winning streak also is the longest active run in the nation, more than doubling the next-closest pursuer (11 by Chattanooga, as of Tuesday), as well as the fifth-longest in NCAA Division I history.
The highlight of this current run came on Jan. 5, 2013, when Notre Dame edged No. 1 Connecticut, 73-72, in Storrs, Conn., earning its fourth all-time win over a top-ranked opponent and first-ever victory on the road.
The Fighting Irish also have won a school-record 22 consecutive conference road games, with their last loss coming as part of the BIG EAST Conference on Feb. 28, 2011 (a last-second 70-69 loss at No. 12/11 DePaul).
The Comforts Of Home
Notre Dame has won 24 consecutive home games since a 73-61 loss to third-ranked Baylor on Dec. 5, 2012, at Purcell Pavilion. As of Tuesday, the Fighting Irish are tied with Dayton for the nation’s third-longest active home winning streak, with this run also the third-longest in school history (longest since a 25-game stretch from Feb. 1, 2003-Nov. 22, 2004).
What’s more, Notre Dame has won its last 16 conference home games since a 65-63 loss to West Virginia on Feb. 12, 2012, when both the Fighting Irish and Mountaineers were members of the BIG EAST Conference.
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 1995-96, the Fighting Irish are 111-28 (.799) in February games (including an active 16-game winning streak), as well as a 61-6 (.910) mark at home.
In the 27-year Muffet McGraw era (1987-88 to present), the Fighting Irish are 159-43 (.787) in the month of February, including an 83-12 (.874) home record. In that time, Notre Dame has never posted a losing record in February, and only once did the Fighting Irish end the month at .500 (4-4 in 1988-89, McGraw’s second year in South Bend).
That’s Some Sharp Shooting
Notre Dame currently is setting the pace nationally with a .519 field goal percentage, highlighted by 17 games this season in which the Fighting Irish have shot better than 50 percent, including six games where they topped 60 percent from the field.
In addition, Notre Dame had a remarkable three-game stretch from Dec. 7-22 when it connected at better than a 55-percent clip in each contest. It was the first time the Fighting Irish had three consecutive 55-percent outings since Nov. 20-29, 1997, when they did so in victories over North Carolina State (.565), Bowling Green (.558) and Ohio University (.567).
Notre Dame’s sharpshooting brigade has been led by senior forward/tri-captain Natalie Achonwa, who is second in the ACC (fourth in the nation) with a .600 field goal percentage, along with a .624 mark in conference play (also second in the ACC).
Achonwa has been very efficient from the field in her last seven games, connecting at a .678 clip (40-of-59), including a 10-of-12 effort on Feb. 6 at Florida State, en route to a game-high 24 points.
Sophomore guard Jewell Loyd (.538) has moved into 10th in the ACC in field goal percentage (third in conference play at .570), thanks in part to her own recent hot streak that has seen Loyd shoot .610 (75-of-123) during her last nine outings, notably going 9-of-11 for a game-high 23 points in the Feb. 9 win over Syracuse.
Seven other Notre Dame players are shooting better than 50 percent from the field this season, led by freshman forward Kristina Nelson (.568), junior forward Markisha Wright (.563) and freshman guard Lindsay Allen (.541), but none has made the minimum number of shots (three per game) to qualify for ACC ranking.
Life In The 60s
Not only has Notre Dame shot better than 60 percent from the field in six games this season, but the Fighting Irish have put up similar sizzling shooting numbers in single halves this year.
In fact, Notre Dame has posted a field goal percentage of .600 or better in 16 of its 50 halves, equating to a 60-percent performance approximately one out of every three periods of basketball it plays, with the distribution almost even (seven times in the first half, nine times in the second half).
The Fighting Irish also have shot better than 60 percent in both halves of a game twice this season (UNC Wilmington and Pittsburgh), along with a season-high single-half percentage of .710 in the second period against Central Michigan, a rate just missed the top 10 on the school’s all-time chart.
A pair of marks that did make it into one of the program’s top 10 lists were Notre Dame’s first-half shooting percentages at Michigan (.688) and Maryland (.667), which now rank as the sixth- and eighth-best figures during the opening 20 minutes in school history.
Dialing Long Distance
Although not usually a primary part of the Notre Dame arsenal, the Fighting Irish have found the three-point shot much to their liking this season. Notre Dame leads the nation with a .425 three-point percentage, with five different players connecting at 40 percent or better from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Michaela Mabrey leads the way for the Fighting Irish with a .423 three-point percentage that ranks fourth in the ACC, while senior guard Kayla McBride also stands among the top five in the conference, ranking fifth at a .410 three-point rate.
Sophomore guard Jewell Loyd (.412) would rank between Mabrey and McBride on the ACC overall chart, but she is three made three-pointers short of meeting the minimum qualification standard (1.0 3FG/game).
During ACC play, Loyd (.519) is second in the conference, while Mabrey is right behind her in the third position (.475).
In addition, Mabrey is eighth in the ACC with 2.1 three-pointers per game, a mark she bolstered on Feb. 9 against Syracuse with a career-high (and Purcell Pavilion record-tying) six triples. It was one of seven times this season Mabrey has canned at least three treys in a game, and the third time this year a Notre Dame player has made five three-pointers in a contest (Mabrey went 5-for-6 against Boston College on Jan. 9, while junior guard Madison Cable posted a 5-for-6 effort against UCLA on Dec. 7).
In fact, Cable (.439) and freshman guard Lindsay Allen (.481) would rank among the top five in the ACC as well, but like Loyd, they don’t meet the minimum standard for the overall ACC rankings despite their efficiency from distance.
As a team, the Fighting Irish have connected on 10 three-pointers in a game three times this season (UCLA, Tennessee and Syracuse), their highest production outside the arc in nearly four years, dating back to a similar 10-triple performance on Jan. 30, 2010, at Syracuse.
What’s more, Notre Dame’s .750 three-point mark (9-of-12) on Jan. 16 at Pittsburgh was its best performance from long range (with a minimum of five attempts) in more than five years, stretching back to Nov. 23, 2008, against Boston College at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., when the Fighting Irish made 7-of-8 three-pointers (.875) in a 102-54 win.
A Helping Hand
As of Monday, the Fighting Irish rank second in assists at 21.6 per game (Connecticut is first at 22.3).
Notre Dame also has dished out at least 20 helpers in 16 games thus far, plus 19 assists in four other outings (along with a season-high 31 dimes against UCLA on Dec. 7), with the Fighting Irish piling up assists on 64.7 percent of their made field goals this year (519 of 802).
Notre Dame also ranks sixth in the nation (and tops in the ACC) in assist/turnover ratio (1.43), led by two players who rank among the top 10 in the ACC in that category — freshman guard Lindsay Allen (3rd – 2.02) and senior guard/tri-captain Kayla McBride (tied-7th – 1.81).
What’s more, McBride (98 assists) and Allen (97) are on the verge of becoming the fourth set of Notre Dame teammates in the past decade to register 100 assists in the same season, and the first since 2010-11, when Skylar Diggins (186) and Brittany Mallory (101) pulled off the feat.
Visiting Century City
Notre Dame has scored at least 100 points in a school-record four games this season (with three other games of 95-99 points), topping last year’s mark of three triple-digit outings.
The Fighting Irish have piled up nine 100-point games in the past three seasons (and eight other games of 95-99 points), a remarkable offensive explosion considering Notre Dame had 13 triple-digit games in the first 34 years of the program’s existence (and just four in the 12 seasons prior to its current run).
Spreading The Wealth
Notre Dame has had at least four players score in double figures in 19 games this year, going 19-0 in those contests. Since the start of the 2009-10 season, the Fighting Irish are 94-5 (.949) when they have four or more players reach double digits in the scoring column, including wins in 64 of their last 65 such outings (the lone loss coming in last year’s NCAA Women’s Final Four national semifinal against Connecticut).
Nearly In A Class By Themselves
For the third consecutive season, a Notre Dame senior class is threatening to re-set the bar in terms of career wins by one group. The current class of tri-captains Natalie Achonwa, Ariel Braker and Kayla McBride is second all-time with 126 wins (126-14, .900), behind only the seniors from 2012-13.
Last year, led by its two-player senior class of Skylar Diggins and Kaila Turner, Notre Dame posted the best four-year record (130-20, .867) in school history, topping the win total (117) compiled by the previous year’s seniors (Brittany Mallory, Fraderica Miller, Natalie Novosel and Devereaux Peters).
Prior to the 2011-12 season, the highest four-year win total by a senior class was 109, set by the Class of 2001 that included (among others) consensus national player of the year and 13-year WNBA veteran Ruth Riley and current Fighting Irish assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Niele Ivey.
Notre Dame’s 1,000-Point Scorers
Senior tri-captains Kayla McBride and Natalie Achonwa will spend their final season at Notre Dame steadily climbing the program’s all-time scoring list, after both entered the Fighting Irish 1,000-Point Club last year.
McBride currently is seventh in program history with 1,629 career points, passing both Trena Keys (1,589 from 1982-86) and Karen Robinson (1,590 from 1987-91) with her 18 points against Syracuse on Feb. 9. McBride also is one of just seven players ever to score 1,600 points under the Golden Dome.
Meanwhile, Achonwa stands 18th in Notre Dame history with 1,372 points and on the brink of moving up another step up the ladder past Shari Matvey (1,373 from 1979-83).
Coming Up Aces
Senior forward/tri-captain Natalie Achonwa (nicknamed “Ace”) also is making her way up Notre Dame’s career charts in both rebounds and double-doubles. She currently ranks sixth on the rebounding list (885) and is tied for sixth on the double-doubles chart (26), moving up one spot on the latter rundown with her 21 points and 10 boards against Georgia Tech on Feb. 17.
Achonwa continues to remain among the top 10 in school history with a .554 career field goal percentage (sixth in program annals) and 134 games played (fifth all-time at Notre Dame; tied for third among active NCAA players).
Crown Jewell
Sophomore guard Jewell Loyd has continued her development as one of the top young talents in the country this season, building on last year’s selection as the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) National Freshman of the Year.
The Lincolnwood, Ill., product currently ranks 10th in the ACC in scoring (18.1 ppg.) and field goal percentage (.538) and 11th in steals (1.8 spg.) and free throw percentage (.789), while sporting career-high marks in scoring, rebounding (6.1 rpg.), assists (2.6 apg.), steals and field goal percentage. She also has eight 20-point games thus far (including a career-high 31 points at No. 8/6 Maryland on Jan. 27) after scoring 20 points twice during her rookie campaign.
What’s more, Loyd has two 30-point games to her credit this season, having also dropped in an even 30 against Central Michigan on Dec. 22 at Purcell Pavilion. Loyd is the first Fighting Irish player to have two 30-point games in the same season since 1999-2000, when Ruth Riley did so against Liberty (32) and Miami (36).
Perhaps giving a preview of things to come, Loyd stormed out of the gates this season, piling up 63 points in Notre Dame’s first three games, wins over UNC Wilmington (19 points), No. 19/18 Michigan State (22 points) and Valparaiso (22 points).
Loyd’s opening-week point production was the highest for a Fighting Irish player in the first three contests of a season since 1998-99, when Danielle Green had 66 combined points in wins against No. 6 UCLA at home (23 points), at Butler (23) and No. 6/4 Duke at home (20).
The Model Of Consistency
Sophomore guard Jewell Loyd has scored in double figures in 30 consecutive games, dating back to March 11, 2013, when she had eight points in Notre Dame’s 83-59 BIG EAST Championship semifinal win over No. 16/15 Louisville at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.
Loyd’s 30-game double-digit scoring streak is the second-longest in school history, surpassing Natalie Novosel’s 27-game run from March 8, 2011-Jan. 21, 2012. In fact, Loyd has scored in double figures in 48 of her 60 career games (and 10 of those 12 single-digit games saw her within one basket of double figures).
Katryna Gaither has staked an ironclad claim to the school record with a remarkable 76-game double-figure scoring streak from 1994-97.
Youthful Leader
Freshman Lindsay Allen got the call from head coach Muffet McGraw to start at point guard in Notre Dame’s season opener against UNC Wilmington on Nov. 9 at Purcell Pavilion. Allen finished with 11 points in her debut game, including the team’s first five points of the season.
It was the first time a Fighting Irish rookie point guard started the season opener since Nov. 26, 1994, when Mollie Peirick cracked the lineup and played 38 minutes (two points, five rebounds, three assists) in a 65-60 overtime loss at No. 25 Seton Hall.
Allen has not disappointed in her debut campaign, averaging 7.0 points and 3.9 assists per game (the latter ranking 10th in the ACC). She also is third in the ACC with a team-best 2.02 assist/turnover ratio, and is second on the team with 1.24 steals per game.
At her current pace, Allen (97 assists) is in position to become only the fifth Notre Dame freshman to dish out 100 assists in her rookie season, and just the second in the past 20 years (Skylar Diggins had 112 assists in 2009-10). Mary Gavin holds the Fighting Irish freshman assist record with 116 in 1984-85.
What’s more, Allen’s 3.9 apg. average is the best for a Notre Dame freshman since 1994-95 (Peirick – 3.9 apg.) and makes Allen a candidate to be just the second Notre Dame freshman ever to average 4.0 apg. as a rookie (Gavin logged 4.5 apg. in that 1984-85 season).
Leading a winning lineup is not an unfamiliar feeling for Allen, who is a combined 52-1 in her last 53 games as a starting point guard. Last year as a senior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., she guided her squad to a 27-1 record and the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) title — the highest level of play in the District of Columbia, which does not have a state tournament.
The Second Platoon
Another reason for Notre Dame’s success this season has been the performance of its reserves, who are averaging nearly 28 points per game and have outscored the opponent’s bench by close to a 2-to-1 margin (27.6 ppg. to 16.0 ppg.).
The Fighting Irish second unit has outscored its opposite number in 18 games this season, including a season-high 55 points on Jan. 9 against Boston College, outscoring the entire BC roster by two points (not to mention the Notre Dame starters by 15).
Sophomore guard Michaela Mabrey (9.6 ppg.), freshman forward Taya Reimer (8.4 ppg.) and junior guard Madison Cable (5.6 ppg.) head up the strong Fighting Irish bench contingent, which has seen at least one reserve score in double figures in 19 games this season (total of 21 double-figure outings).
Call Her Mabrey
Certainly a leading candidate as one of the nation’s most improved players would have to be Notre Dame sophomore guard Michaela Mabrey. The Belmar, N.J., resident has emerged as a key reserve for the Fighting Irish, averaging 9.6 points and 2.5 assists per game along with a very solid 1.75 assist/turnover ratio, after logging 3.0 ppg. and 1.3 apg. with a 1.06 A/TO mark last year.
Mabrey also has proven to be a dynamic three-point threat for Notre Dame, ranking fourth in the ACC with a .423 three-point percentage (third in the league with a .475 mark in ACC play) and placing eighth in the conference with 2.1 three-pointers made per game (thanks in part to making at least three triples in seven games this year, including a career-high 6-of-14 vs. Syracuse on Feb. 9).
What’s more, Mabrey already has scored in double figures 13 times this year (including a career-high 19 points in the season opener against UNC Wilmington) after doing so three times in 30 games last season.
Next Game: Duke
Notre Dame begins the final week of the ACC regular season at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday when it plays host to No. 7 Duke at Purcell Pavilion in a game that will be televised live on ESPN (and streamed on ESPN3 and WatchESPN) as part of that network’s new Sunday afternoon women’s basketball package.
This will be the second meeting of the season between the Fighting Irish and Blue Devils, after Notre Dame claimed the first matchup, 88-67 on Feb. 2 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director