#3 Irish Head To Syracuse For Saturday Matinee

Jan. 29, 2010

Full Notes Package in PDF Format

2009-10 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 20

#3/3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-1 / 5-1 BIG EAST) vs. Syracuse Orange (16-4 / 3-4 BIG EAST)

DATE: January 30, 2010
TIME: 1:00 p.m. ET
AT: Syracuse, N.Y. – Carrier Dome (33,633)
SERIES: ND leads 22-2
1ST MTG: ND 81-64 (1/16/88)
LAST MTG: ND 90-79 (2/24/09)
RADIO: Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) / UND.com (Bob Nagle, p-b-p)
LIVE STATS: suathletics.com
TEXT ALERT: UND.com
TWITTER: @ndwbbsid
TICKETS: (888) 366-3849

Storylines

• Four of the past five series games with Syracuse have been decided by 13 points or fewer, with three of those coming at SU.
• The Irish are 46-4 (.920) all-time against New York schools, including a 17-3 (.850) record on the road.

No. 3 Irish Head To Syracuse For Saturday Matinee
For the third time in less than a week, No. 3 Notre Dame will face one of the BIG EAST’s rising standout clubs, as the Irish head to central New York Saturday for a 1 p.m. (ET) matinee against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. It’s also the front end of a weekend road doubleheader for Notre Dame, the fourth time this season it will play twice in a 48-hour span.

The Irish (18-1, 5-1) come into Saturday’s game following a near wire-to-wire 84-59 win over Providence on Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame used a 13-2 run midway through the first half to build a double-digit lead and the Friars never got closer than 12 points after halftime.

Five Irish players scored in double figures in the victory, led by fifth-year senior guard Lindsay Schrader, who nearly posted her third consecutive double-double with team highs of 14 points and nine rebounds.

Rankings

• Notre Dame is No. 3 in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.
• Syracuse is receiving votes in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

Quick Hitters

• The Irish have appeared in the top five of the AP poll all 12 weeks this season (through Monday), marking the second-longest string of consecutive AP Top 5 rankings in program history behind only the final 17 weeks in 2000-01.
• Notre Dame’s 15-game winning streak earlier this season tied for the third-longest in school history, and longest since a school-record 23-game run from Nov. 17, 2000-Feb. 14, 2001.
• At 15-0, the Irish posted the second-best start in program history, topped only by a 23-0 debut in 2000-01 (the season in which Notre Dame won its first NCAA title).
• Notre Dame has defeated five ranked opponents (Michigan State, San Diego State, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, West Virginia) in six tries this season, including three wins away from home.
• The Irish won the 2009 Paradise Jam Island Division title (their first regular-season tourney crown since the 2005 Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas), with freshman guard Skylar Diggins capturing MVP honors and senior guard/tri-captain Melissa Lechlitner making the all-tournament team.
• Seven different players have led the Irish in scoring, rebounding and assists this season. In addition, 11 of the 13 players on the Notre Dame roster have scored in double figures at least once this year.
• In Friday’s NCAA statistical rankings, Notre Dame appears among the top 30 in nine categories, including top-six rankings in six areas — steals (3rd at 13.8 spg.), turnover margin (3rd at +7.73), won-loss percentage (3rd at .944), assists (4th at 18.5 apg.), scoring offense (6th at 79.9 ppg.) and scoring margin (6th at +20.3 ppg.).
• Conversely, Notre Dame has only one player ranking among the top 100 in any NCAA statistical category — senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow ranks 87th in the land in steals (2.4 per game).
• Notre Dame is forcing 25.1 turnovers per game this season, including 27.6 at home. The Irish also have caused at least 20 takeaways in 16 of 19 games to date, with no fewer than 25 opponent turnovers in seven of 11 home games this year.
• Notre Dame is averaging 8,505 fans per game this year, unofficially ranking fifth in the nation and showing a 18.7-percent increase from last year (7,168). The Irish also are the only school from the top 25 of the final 2008-09 NCAA attendance rankings to see an increase in attendance this year.

Other Notre Dame Notables

• Notre Dame is among the nation’s winningest programs during the past 14 seasons (1996-97 to present), ranking seventh with 332 victories.
• Notre Dame has ranked among the top 20 in the nation in attendance each of the past nine seasons. Last year, the program finished ninth in the country for the second year in a row with an average of 7,168 fans for its 13 home games (the second-highest single-season attendance average in school history). The Irish also have drawn 5,000-or-more fans to 135 of their last 137 home games, including eight Purcell Pavilion sellouts (most recently on Jan. 24, 2010 vs. West Virginia).
• The Irish have become a regular fixture in the WNBA Draft in recent years, as seven Notre Dame players have been selected in the past nine seasons. Charel Allen was the most recent 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 ’09 season, helping the Silver Stars return to the playoffs for the third 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 fourth year in a row, the Irish posted a perfect 100-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), according to figures released by the NCAA in October 2009. What’s more, 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 58-for-58 success rate), with all five members of this year’s senior class on target to graduate by May 2010 (Erica Williamson earned her undergraduate degree one semester early in January 2010).

A Quick Look At Syracuse
Syracuse (16-4, 3-4 BIG EAST) has followed a path seldom seen in the history of its program, with the Orange getting off to a 13-0 start and rising into both major national polls. They also aren’t far away from being undefeated, with their four losses all by single digits (three by one possession).

SU last played on Wednesday night, dropping a 68-65 last-minute decision to St. John’s at the Carrier Dome. Senior forward Nicole Michael did all she could to aid the Orange cause with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.

Michael leads Syracuse in scoring (14.5 ppg.) and rebounding (7.6 rpg.), while freshman center Kayla Alexander is second in scoring (12.6 ppg.) and field goal percentage (.574), and third in rebounding (5.7 rpg.) despite not starting once this year. Junior guard Erica Morrow also owns a double-figure scoring average (11.0 ppg.), while leading the team in steals (1.95 spg.) and ranking second in assists (3.4 apg.).

Head coach Quentin Hillsman is in his fourth season at Syracuse with a 64-48 (.571) record at the school, including an 0-3 mark against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Syracuse Series
Saturday will mark the silver anniversary matchup in Notre Dame’s series against Syracuse, with the Irish holding a 22-2 edge all-time against the Orange, including a 10-1 mark in central New York. Notre Dame also has won all 18 BIG EAST regular-season series contests, and nine in a row overall since Syracuse defeated the Irish, 84-79, on March 3, 2002, in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals in Piscataway, N.J.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Syracuse Met
Lindsay Schrader had 23 points and eight rebounds, Becca Bruszewski added 20 points and No. 23/22 Notre Dame raced out to a 17-point lead in the first half on the way to beating Syracuse 90-79 on Feb. 24, 2009, at Purcell Pavilion.

Erica Williamson added 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots for the Irish (19-7, 8-6 BIG EAST). Ashley Barlow had 13 and fellow guard Melissa Lechlitner 12.

Nicole Michael led the Orange (15-12, 4-10) with 17 points and Chandrea Jones had 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Irish looked like they were going to win in a blowout, opening a 24-7 lead early. But a 13-0 run by the Orange late in the half, highlighted by a four-point play by Tasha Harris, tied the score at 36.

Notre Dame led 38-36 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 5-0 spurt. The Irish took control with a 12-4 run, opening a 57-45 lead when they made four free throws as Juanita Ward was called for a foul and a technical.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Syracuse Met At The Carrier Dome
When Chandrea Jones made her only basket of the game and finished a three-point play, Syracuse was tied with Notre Dame with just over three minutes left and magic was in the Carrier Dome air again. But Melissa Lechlitner had other ideas.

After Erica Morrow had led a 10-2 run by the No. 21/23 Orange to put them in front 61-60 with 5:13 left, Lechlitner hit a baseline jumper to break a 64-all tie and followed with a runner in the lane, her only baskets of the game, as the 16th-ranked Irish scored 10 straight points and beat No. 21/23 Syracuse, 79-67, on Feb. 16, 2008, at the Carrier Dome.

Charel Allen had 22 points and a season-high 12 rebounds and Erica Williamson had 14 points and a season-best 11 rebounds to pace Notre Dame. In the decisive final minutes, Morrow missed a baseline jumper, Jones and Vaida Sipaviciute were called for fouls, and Jones committed a turnover to halt the Orange attack.

Morrow led the Orange with 19 points, Nicole Michael had 14 points and six rebounds, and Sipaviciute had 12 points. Jones, the team’s leading scorer at 16 points, finished with just four on 1-for-12 shooting for the Orange, who lost for only the second time in 12 home games all season.

Notre Dame outrebounded Syracuse 45-31, including a 20-14 margin on the offensive glass.

Other Notre Dame-Syracuse Series Tidbits

• After dropping their first-ever game at Syracuse, the Irish have won their last 10 series games in central New York, including their two prior visits to the Carrier Dome (both by 12 points in 2006 and 2008).
• Notre Dame has scored at least 70 points in 19 of the 24 series games with Syracuse, while the Orange have topped that mark three times in the series (most recently in last year’s 90-79 Irish victory in South Bend).
• With the exception of last year’s outing, the Irish defense has played a key role during its current nine-game series winning streak. Notre Dame has limited Syracuse to 55.2 points per game in that stretch, including two games of 35 points or fewer.
• Syracuse is one of eight programs against whom Notre Dame has at least 20 series wins; the others are Marquette (28), Georgetown/Valparaiso (23), Dayton/Detroit (22), Loyola-Chicago (21) and Xavier (20).
• In five of the past six games vs. Syracuse, Notre Dame has had at least one player set (at the time) a new career scoring high — Breona Gray (17 on Jan. 5, 2005), Charel Allen (17 on Jan. 19, 2005), Lindsay Schrader (24 on Jan. 31, 2006), Melissa Lechlitner (18 on Jan. 20, 2007) and Becca Bruszewski (20 on Feb. 24, 2009). All but Bruszewski eclipsed those point totals later in their careers.
• Notre Dame junior forward Devereaux Peters and Syracuse junior guard Erica Morrow both played in the 2007 McDonald’s High School All-America Game in Louisville. Peters had one point, five rebounds and two blocks as a reserve for the West squad, while Morrow came off the bench to tally four points, three rebounds and three steals for the East team in a 105-76 victory.
• While Irish senior center Erica Williamson now calls Charlotte, N.C., home, she spent many of her formative years in Rochester, N.Y., and attended Honeoye Falls-Lima High School for her first three prep seasons (helping the school win a state title in 2005) before her family moved to Charlotte that summer. Williamson (who has registered two of her four career double-doubles in the past two seasons vs. Syracuse) has expressed an interest in returning to the area, as the aspiring broadcaster intends to apply to graduate school at SU’s renowned S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Empire (State) Records
Notre Dame is 46-4 (.920) all-time against New York-based teams, including a 17-3 (.850) record when playing on the road. The Irish are facing their second of three New York schools this season, having defeated Iona, 80-45 back on Nov. 22 at Purcell Pavilion.

Following the Syracuse game, Notre Dame will visit St. John’s on Feb. 16. Coincidentally, those two squads also account for all four New York wins over Notre Dame (two for each school – three road, one neutral site).

Schrader Added To State Farm Wade Trophy Watch List
fifth-year senior guard/tri-captain Lindsay Schrader was one of seven players added to the 2009-10 State Farm Wade Trophy Watch List, it was announced Thursday by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). Schrader and her fellow mid-season additions earned their spots on this year’s Wade Watch List by virtue of their on-court performances to date during the `09-10 campaign, and they expand the player pool for this season’s national player-of-the-year award to 32, as selected by the State Farm Wade Trophy Committee.

Schrader, a preseason all-BIG EAST Conference selection and three-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll choice this year, becomes the fifth Notre Dame player named to the Wade Watch List in the past seven seasons, and the first since Charel Allen in 2007-08.

In addition, Schrader is the third Notre Dame player this season to earn a place on a national player-of-the-year award watch list. Senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow was both a preseason Naismith Trophy candidate and a midseason John R. Wooden Award Top 20 choice, while freshman guard Skylar Diggins joined Barlow on this year’s preseason Naismith Trophy candidate slate.

Schrader currently ranks second on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg.) and is tops in rebounding (career-high 7.9 rpg./seventh in the BIG EAST), while also owning a career-best .557 field goal percentage (good for sixth in the league) and five double-doubles (also sixth in the BIG EAST), three coming in wins against ranked opponents.

For her career, Schrader ranks 16th all-time at Notre Dame with 1,278 points, eighth in rebounds (751) and games started (110), and first for double-doubles by a guard (16), while she maintains an active streak of 68 consecutive starts that is only six away from moving her into the top five at Notre Dame in that category.

A two-time all-BIG EAST selection, including a first-team honoree in 2008-09, Schrader is in her second season as a team captain for the Fighting Irish. She is finishing up work on her bachelor’s degree in management-consulting from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, having twice earned recognition on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team for her success in the classroom.

Diggins, Schrader Honored By BIG EAST
For the third time this season and the second time in three weeks, freshman guard Skylar Diggins has been selected as the BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week, it was announced Monday by the conference office. Diggins becomes just the fourth Fighting Irish rookie ever to earn three BIG EAST Freshman of the Week citations in a single season, joining Ruth Riley (three in 1997-98), Alicia Ratay (six in 1999-2000) and fellow Washington High School alum Jacqueline Batteast (six in 2001-02).

In addition, fifth-year senior guard/tri-captain Lindsay Schrader notched her own triple on Monday, making her third appearance on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this season after both she and Diggins helped the No. 3/5 Fighting Irish to a pair of comeback victories in BIG EAST play last week, including their fifth win over a ranked opponent this year.

Diggins also earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors back on Nov. 23 and Jan. 11, and was chosen for a place on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Nov. 30. Meanwhile, Schrader nabs the sixth BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll citation of her career, the most by any Notre Dame player since the Honor Roll was created in 2005-06. Schrader is one of four different Fighting Irish players to make the conference’s Weekly Honor Roll this season, joining Diggins, and senior guards/tri-captains Ashley Barlow — a two-time honoree on Nov. 23 and Dec 21 — and Melissa Lechlitner, who was tapped for a place on the Jan. 11 Honor Roll.

Last week, Diggins averaged 17.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game with a .538 field goal percentage (14-of-26) and a .500 three-point percentage (3-of-6), as Notre Dame erased a 12-point first-half deficit to win at Louisville, 78-60, before wiping out a 13-point second-half deficit for a 74-66 home win over No. 16/11 West Virginia. Diggins scored 15 of her team-high 20 points at Louisville in the second half, making 8-of-13 shots in the win. On Sunday against WVU, Diggins got the Fighting Irish going with eight quick points in the first half, then converted seven crucial points in a 2:06 span late in the second half, finishing with 15 points (6-13 FG) and a team-high four steals.

Schrader played an equally pivotal role in Notre Dame’s success last week, averaging a double-double with 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, as well as a .786 field goal percentage (11-of-14). She opened with 12 points (5-6 FG) and a game-high 10 rebounds at Louisville, before dropping in 13 of her team-high 16 points against West Virginia in the second half, and adding a game-high 12 rebounds. Schrader now has logged double-doubles in three of her last four games, giving her five on the season and 16 in her career.

48 Hours
Since the start of last season, Notre Dame has played eight times when it has had a short one-day break (or less) between games, including three games in three days over this year’s Thanksgiving weekend at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, when faced with such a tight turnaround, the Irish have risen to the occasion, going 7-1 (.875) on the back half of these two-game (or more) blitzes, with the only loss coming in last year’s BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals (58-47 vs. Villanova in Hartford, Conn.).

This season, Notre Dame is 3-0 in these 48-hour challenges, winning twice at the Paradise Jam (South Carolina and No. 20/17 Oklahoma), and then at home on New Year’s Eve vs. No. 18/16 Vanderbilt (returning from a road trip to Central Florida less than two days earlier).

The Irish will have at least three more tight turnarounds this season, beginning this weekend with their Syracuse/Rutgers road swing, before home/away splits with DePaul (Feb. 14) and at St. John’s (Feb. 16), and at Seton Hall (Feb. 27) and vs. Connecticut (March 1).

Tough Enough
Notre Dame already has faced a rigorous schedule through the first two months of the 2009-10 season, taking on six ranked opponents in its first 19 games. The Irish also have risen to that challenge quite well, winning five of those six contests (Michigan State, San Diego State, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and West Virginia), including three victories away from home (MSU, SDSU and OU).

Four of Notre Dame’s five wins over ranked opponents came during the non-conference portion of the schedule, marking the second consecutive year in which the Irish defeated four Top 25 non-conference foes.

Making The Right Adjustments
While Notre Dame’s tradition of success with the halftime lead is well-documented (see related note later in this package), the Irish also have shown a propensity for being able to bounce back with strong second-half showings.

In the past five games, Notre Dame has outscored its opponents by an average of nearly 12 points per game (including 16.3 ppg. in the past three outings), shooting .478 from the floor, averaging just 6.2 turnovers and owning a +4.6 rebound margin in the final 20 minutes.

The Irish have won the second half by double digits in four of those five games and played top-ranked Connecticut nearly even in the second half (28-27 UConn), going up primarily against the Huskies’ starting five until the closing moments.

Comeback Kids
Notre Dame has rallied from a double-digit deficit to win three times this month. The Irish erased a 10-point first-half margin at Purdue on Jan. 4, followed by a 12-point first-half spread at Louisville on Jan. 19, and most recently, they wiped out a 13-point second-half gap at home against West Virginia on Jan. 24.

The three double-digit comeback victories are the most for Notre Dame in a single season since 2002-03, when it came back to win at West Virginia (trailed by 14), at Providence (trailed by 10) and at home vs. Seton Hall (trailed twice by 12).

Spread The Wealth
Notre Dame has seen seven different players led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists this season.

In addition, 11 of the 13 players on the Irish roster have scored in double figures at least once this season, including sophomore guard Fraderica Miller, and freshman guards Skylar Diggins and Kaila Turner, who each topped the 10-point mark for the first time in their careers.

Stat Sheet Stuffers
Another sign of Notre Dame’s versatility is seen in the number of “5-5-5” games (5 or more in points, rebounds, assists, blocks and/or steals) posted by its players this year.

Junior guard Brittany Mallory (Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt) has a team-high three 5-5-5 games, while senior guard Ashley Barlow (Iona and South Florida) and freshman guard Skylar Diggins (UAPB and Charlotte) have two 5-5-5 outings apiece, and junior forward Becca Bruszewski (Louisville) and sophomore guard Natalie Novosel (Eastern Michigan) each have one.

Taking What We Can Get
Fueled by a renewed attention to defense this offseason, Notre Dame has been in the taking mood this year, forcing its opponents into at least 20 turnovers in 16 of 19 games thus far, with Irish foes averaging 25.1 giveaways per game.

In a two-game stretch bookending the Christmas holiday, Notre Dame harassed its opponents into a combined 79 turnovers (43 by Charlotte on Dec. 20 and 36 at UCF on Dec. 29).

Charlotte’s 43 turnovers tied for the second-most opponent giveaways in a game in school history and the most since Dec. 8, 1981, when the Irish forced sister school Saint Mary’s (Ind.) into 43 turnovers during the program’s second season at the Division I level. The Notre Dame record for opponent turnovers in a game is 48 by Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Jan. 11, 1980, at DeKalb, Ill.

The Irish also are making even the most disciplined teams fall victim to their aggressive defensive style. Villanova came into its Jan. 9 game with Notre Dame ranked second in the nation with just 12.6 turnovers per game, but the Irish dogged the Wildcats into 34 turnovers (17 in each half).

Notre Dame has been especially hard on opponents in 11 home games this season, forcing 27.6 turnovers per game (at least 25 in seven Purcell Pavilion contests) while holding visitors to 54.8 points a night.

The Five-Finger Discount
According to Friday’s NCAA statistical report, Notre Dame ranks third in the nation in steals (13.8 spg.). The Irish have posted double-digit steal totals in 13 of their 19 games this season, including five 20-steal efforts.

Glass Houses
Notre Dame, Connecticut and Providence are the only three BIG EAST teams with at least two current players having 500+ career rebounds. Irish fifth-year senior guard/tri-captain Lindsay Schrader is tied for ninth all-time at Notre Dame with 730 boards, while senior guard tri-captain Ashley Barlow has 572 caroms.

The Irish will soon join UConn and have a third player in this group, as senior center Erica Williamson has 490 career rebounds.

Getting The Jump
At 15-0, Notre Dame got off to the second-best start in the program’s 33-year history. The only time the Irish opened with a better record that this season was in 2000-01, when they reeled off a 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 season-opening 15-game winning streak tied for the third-longest success string in program history (at any time), and it was the longest since the school-record 23-game run to begin the 2000-01 season.

Road Warriors
Notre Dame is 24-10 (.706) in true road games since the start of the 2007-08 season, including a 4-1 record this year.

In addition, seven of the past eight road losses for the Irish have been decided by an average of 8.4 points per game (all by 12 points or fewer), including all five road setbacks last season (average margin of 8.6 ppg.).

Notre Dame posted 10 wins on the road in each of the past two years, marking just the second time in school history the Irish have logged double-digit win totals away from home in consecutive seasons (11 wins in 1989-90; 10 wins in 1990-91).

Polling Station
Notre Dame is ranked third in the latest Associated Press poll, appearing in the top five for the 12th consecutive week — it’s the second-longest run in the AP Top 5 in program history, and the longest for the Irish since the 2000-01 season, when Notre Dame was a top-five fixture for the final 17 weeks.

In addition to their current poll appearance run of 50 consecutive weeks (the second-longest in school history behind a 56-week stretch from 1998-2002), the Irish have spent a total of six weeks this year at a season-high No. 3 ranking. That is Notre Dame’s highest poll position since the week of Nov. 29, 2004, when the Irish also were ranked third.

What’s more, Notre Dame’s No. 4 preseason ranking on Oct. 30 was its the highest ever, topping its No. 6 debut in the 2000-01 poll.

With their current poll position, the Irish now have appeared in the top 10 of the AP poll during 10 of the past 14 seasons (1996-97 through 2009-10).

Notre Dame has been ranked in the AP poll for 190 weeks during the program’s 33-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 Irish are checking in at No. 3 in the current ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches’ poll. After a one-week dip to fifth, Notre Dame is back up to a season-high third for the fifth time in six weeks in the ESPN/USA Today poll, the highest Notre Dame has been ranked in the coaches’ survey since the 2004-05 season, when the Irish were third for two separate weeks (Nov. 30 and Jan. 5) during the year. It also was the first time they were in the top three in consecutive weeks since the final 14 weeks of the 2000-01 season (capped by a No. 1 ranking in the final poll after winning the national championship).

This marks the second consecutive season Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA poll, as well as eight of the past 12 campaigns (1998-99 to present).

Notre Dame was ranked in the coaches’ survey for 38 consecutive weeks before falling just outside the Top 25 in the final poll of last season. With their No. 3 ranking this week, the Irish have appeared in the coaches’ poll for 182 weeks during their history (all coming during McGraw’s tenure).

More Polling Data
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw is one of 27 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 190 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 27 people on this list, 15 currently are NCAA Division I head coaches (see accompanying chart), including former 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 third season as head coach at Penn State, guiding the Lady Lions into this week’s AP poll at No. 23.

Game #19 Recap: Providence
Although No. 3 Notre Dame didn’t solve its problem of starting slow, it looked a lot better in the first half against Providence than in its past three games.

The Fighting Irish (18-1, 5-1 BIG EAST), who had fallen behind by double digits in their previous three games, trailed for just 13 seconds after Providence scored the first basket and broke the game open with a 13-2 run midway through the first half en route to an 84-59 victory Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion.

“I thought we were a little sloppy. I didn’t think we had quite the intensity maybe that we needed to start the game,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “But overall, offensively, I thought we did some good things.”

Lindsay Schrader scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, Natalie Novosel had 12 and Becca Bruszewski, Skylar Diggins and Ashley Barlow had 10 points each.

“I don’t know what’s the deal,” Schrader said. “Our team doesn’t really kick it into second gear until the second half, that’s me included. I don’t know.”

Notre Dame’s backups outscored Providence’s 31-13.

“We’re wearing people down in the second half because of the depth we have,” McGraw said.

Providence coach Phil Seymore said the Irish are a joy to watch, except for when on the opposing bench.

“They do a wonderful job of passing. They all have a lot of intangibles individually with that team. They’re very skilled, shoot the ball really well. I think that’s what makes them a very good basketball team,” he said. “It’s not like they have enormous height or anything like that. They really are one unit. They really play together.”

The Irish had 23 assists on 32 baskets while the Friars had nine assists on 22 baskets with 26 turnovers.

When Providence (12-8, 3-4) tied the game at 12 on a basket inside by Trinity Hull, Novosel answered with a three-pointer to spark a 13-2 run by the Irish. The Irish led 35-22 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 5-0 burst to take an 18-point lead.

“They did a lot of different things to disrupt the way we play,” Seymore said. “They threw a lot of different things at us that threw our rhythm off. We never had a chance to settle in.”

Chelsea Marandola, Providence’s leading scorer at 18.3 points a game, was held to three shots and two points in the first half. She scored five of her 18 points during a 7-0 run by the Friars that cut the lead to 50-38.

“They did a real good job of getting out on her,” Seymore said. “They were forcing her to put the ball on the floor and make plays.”

Emily Cournoyer added 12 points for Providence and Mi-Khida Hankins had 10. The Friars, who had been leading the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage in league games at 37.1 percent, were 0-for-9 in the first half and 3-for-16 for the game.

Noting The Providence Game

• Notre Dame improves to 18-0 all-time against Providence, including a 9-0 record against the Friars at Purcell Pavilion; PC and Cincinnati (5-0) are the two BIG EAST Conference programs the Fighting Irish have not lost to (minimum of five games played).
• Notre Dame has scored at least 80 points in 10 of the 18 series games with Providence, while holding the Friars to 60 points or fewer for the 12th time in the past 15 series games (after PC topped the 70-point mark in its first three matchups with the Fighting Irish in 1996 and 1997).
• Notre Dame has won 15 of the 18 series games with Providence by double figures, including eight of nine in South Bend.
• The Fighting Irish fielded at least five double-figure scorers for the third time this season, and first since Dec. 8 vs. IPFW.
• Notre Dame forced at least 20 opponent turnovers for the 15th time in 18 games this season (eighth 25-takeaway night), while logging double-digit steals for the 13th time this year.
• Sophomore guard Natalie Novosel tied her season high with 12 points, matching her output against Valparaiso (Dec. 12) and South Florida (Jan. 12).
• Fifth-year senior guard/tri-captain Lindsay Schrader took over sole possession of eighth place on Notre Dame’s career rebounding list with 751 boards, passing Shari Matvey (742 from 1979-83).
• Schrader also narrowly missed becoming the first Fighting Irish player in six years to record three consecutive double-doubles, a feat last pulled off by Jacqueline Batteast in the 2004 NCAA Championship (vs. Missouri State, Middle Tennessee and Penn State).
• Senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow notched her 71st career double-digit scoring game, moving all alone into 10th place on the Fighting Irish all-time list (Matvey and Sheila McMillen [1995-99] each had 70 double-figure scoring nights).
• Senior guard/tri-captain Melissa Lechlitner posted her 22nd career five-assist game (fifth this year) and jumped into ninth place on the Notre Dame career assist chart with 336 helpers, one more than former teammate Tulyah Gaines had from 2004-08.
• Senior center Erica Williamson played a season-high 18 minutes and turned in her best offensive output since a 10-point game vs. Charlotte on Dec. 20.

McGraw Earns 600th Career Win
Irish head coach Muffet McGraw reached her second important career milestone of the season on Jan. 19, as she became the 19th Division I coach to record 600 career wins when the Irish posted a 78-60 victory at Louisville.

McGraw earned the milestone win in her 839th career game (she now has a 28-year mark of 602-239, .716), tying her with former Saint Peter’s coach Mike Granelli as the 10th-fastest to the 600-win plateau in Division I history.

In honor of the historic 600th victory, Notre Dame fans at Purcell Pavilion held up signs with the number “600” on them when McGraw and her staff took the floor prior to the Jan. 24 win over No. 16/11 West Virginia. The visibly-moved Irish coach later called the scene “one of the top five moments” of her Notre Dame career.

McGraw Joins Elite Notre Dame Club
With a 84-79 win over No. 23/24 San Diego State on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26) at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Irish head coach Muffet McGraw reached a personal milestone, becoming the fourth coach in school history (in any sport) to register 500 victories while coaching under the Golden Dome. McGraw now has a record of 514-198 (.722) in 23 seasons at Notre Dame (1987-88 to present) and a 602-239 (.715) record in 28 seasons overall — including a five-year stint at Lehigh from 1982-87.

Fencing’s Michael DeCicco (680-45 from 1962-86) and Yves Auriol (525-33 from 1986-2002), and baseball’s Jake Kline (558-449-5 from 1934-75) are the only other members of the “Fighting Irish Five Hundred Club,” with one able to connect 75 years of Notre Dame athletics history and success via just four degrees of separation (Kline to DeCicco to Auriol to McGraw).

McGraw reached two other mileposts on Dec. 2 vs. Eastern Michigan, as she coached her 700th game at Notre Dame, as well as her 300th at Purcell Pavilion.

As it turned out, that EMU game also saw the school honor McGraw with an on-court post-game celebration for her 500th win, capped by a visit from her 19-year-old son, Murphy, who secretly drove four hours from his college campus at Indiana University in Bloomington to surprise his mother with a bouquet of flowers and the game ball from her milestone win.

Keeping It Close To Home
Although Notre Dame has traditionally had a national reputation in recruiting circles, in recent seasons, the Irish have found their strongest talent comes from right in their own backyard. In fact, of the 13 players on this year’s Notre Dame roster, four are from Indiana, while five others are from states that border Indiana (including sophomore forward Erica Solomon, who lived in Oak Park, Mich., and graduated from Detroit Country Day School in 2008 before her family moved back to her birthplace of Charleston, W.Va., this past summer).

What’s more, of the five current Notre Dame starters, four are from the state of Indiana — senior guard Ashley Barlow (Indianapolis), junior forward Becca Bruszewski (Valparaiso) and the all-South Bend backcourt of senior guard Melissa Lechlitner and freshman guard Skylar Diggins — while the fifth starter (fifth-year senior guard Lindsay Schrader) is from Bartlett, Ill., located right outside Chicago.

As if that weren’t enough, the quartet of Barlow, Lechlitner, Bruszewski and Schrader have been mainstays in the Irish lineup for the past two seasons and have a combined total of 292 career starts between them.

Schrader reached a personal milestone on Dec. 12 against Valparaiso, becoming the 12th player in school history with 100 starting assignments in her career. Schrader now stands eighth in school history with 110 career starts, including a current streak of 68 in a row (putting her six away from moving into the Notre Dame top five in that category).

Experience Matters
For the first time in Notre Dame women’s basketball history, four players have hit the 100 games played mark in the same season. Senior guards/tri-captains Ashley Barlow, Melissa Lechlitner and Lindsay Schrader, along with senior center Erica Williamson, all reached the century mark during the Thanksgiving weekend at the Paradise Jam (Lechlitner and Williamson on Nov. 26 vs. San Diego State, Barlow and Schrader on Nov. 27 vs. South Carolina).

Current Irish assistant coach Niele Ivey holds the school record with 132 games played from 1996-2001, while the current Irish senior quartet is closing in on 10th place (127) in that category (Lechlitner at 115, the other three at 114).

Upwardly Mobile
Two of Notre Dame’s senior guards and tri-captains — Ashley Barlow and Lindsay Schrader — are already members of the program’s 1,000-Point Club, and will spend this season trying to work their way up the Irish all-time scoring ladder.

Barlow currently ranks 13th in school history with 1,328 career points, while Schrader is 16th with 1,278 points. They could be joined by their fellow senior guard and tri-captain, Melissa Lechlitner, who has 864 points to date.

Only one other time in program history has Notre Dame fielded three 1,000-point scorers on its roster at the same time — and it literally happened for less than one game. Ruth Riley, Niele Ivey and Kelley Siemon all reached the millennium mark and played on the 2000-01 Irish national championship squad, with Siemon reaching the milestone after scoring 10 points in her final collegiate contest — Notre Dame’s 68-66 title-game victory over Purdue in St. Louis.

Tournament Tested
Notre Dame has felt right at home in tournament situations during the past 14 years. Starting with the 1996-97 season, the Irish have won 21 of their last 24 regular-season tournament games (multi-game events only), most recently capping a three-game run to the 2009 Paradise Jam Island Division championship over the Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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.

High Value Freshman
Freshman guard Skylar Diggins was named the most valuable player in the Island Division of the 2009 Paradise Jam after averaging 16.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game with a .538 field goal percentage (21-of-39) and a .545 three-point ratio (6-of-11) at the tournament.

Diggins, who also earned a spot on the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll for her efforts, was the first Notre Dame rookie in a decade to collect all-tournament team honors in a regular-season event. Alicia Ratay was the last to do so, garnering a place on the 1999 Wachovia Women’s Basketball Invitational all-tournament team after helping Notre Dame to wins over No. 9/12 North Carolina (99-86) and Liberty (85-68) in Richmond, Va.

Pomp And Circumstance
On Jan. 3, senior center Erica Williamson received her bachelor’s degree in film, television & theater from Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters. Williamson, who also serves as the president of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), graduated a full semester early and has begun graduate studies this spring.

With Williamson collecting her diploma, all 58 Notre Dame women’s basketball student-athletes who have completed their athletic and academic eligibility under head coach Muffet McGraw (1987-present) have earned their degrees.

Eight Is Enough (For Now)
Notre Dame had a school-record eight players score in double figures in its 102-57 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 15 at Purcell Pavilion. That eclipsed the old standard of seven double-digit scorers that was first set on Feb. 6, 1997 vs. Syracuse (90-73 win at the Joyce Center) and matched on Jan. 19, 2008, in a 104-86 win at Georgetown.

Century City
With its 102-57 season-opening win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 15 at Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame topped the 100-point mark for the 13th time in school history, and the third time in less than two years (104-86 at Georgetown on Jan. 19, 2008; 102-54 at Boston College on Nov. 23, 2008).

Notre Dame also hit the century mark at home for the first time since Nov. 26, 2002, when the Irish toppled Cleveland State, 107-65 in the 2002-03 season opener.

First Impressions
Freshman guard Skylar Diggins had 14 points in the Nov. 15 season opener vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the fifth-most by an Irish rookie in her debut game during the 23-year Muffet McGraw era (1987-88 to present), and the most since Courtney LaVere began her career with 18 points in a 2002 win over Cleveland State.

Dishing Thirty-One Flavors
Notre Dame’s 31 assists against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 15 were the most for the Irish in a single game since Nov. 20, 2000, when they also recorded 31 assists in a 95-65 win over Arizona at the Joyce Center.

Leading the way for Notre Dame on that night was current Irish assistant coach Niele Ivey, who had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists.

Half And Half
During the past decade, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Irish are 178-17 (.913) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead, including wins in 106 of their last 117 such contests.

Notre Dame has led at the break in 15 games this season and has gone on to earn victories each time.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense…
During the past 15 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 an amazing 204-14 (.936) record when they hold their opponents below 60 points in a game.

Notre Dame has added nine more wins to the ledger this season with victories over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Iona, South Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Valparaiso, Charlotte, UCF, Villanova and Providence.

…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 15 seasons (since 1995-96), the Irish are 134-4 (.971) 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 an 81-80 loss to DePaul in 2008.

Notre Dame already has added 11 more wins to this ongoing record with its conquests of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Iona, No. 23/24 San Diego State, No. 20/17 Oklahoma, IPFW, Valparaiso, Charlotte, Villanova, South Florida and Providence.

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 184 of their last 208 games (.885) at the 9,149-seat Purcell Pavilion, including winning streaks of 51 and 25 games in that span. Notre Dame also has a 103-17 (.858) 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 Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 83 of their last 90 non-BIG EAST contests (.922) at Purcell Pavilion, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Five of the seven 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 two defeats coming to Tennessee in 2005 (62-51) and 2008 (87-63). 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 334-85 (.797) 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.

It’s Fan-Demonium At Notre Dame
If the preseason was any indication, Notre Dame women’s basketball is easily the hottest ticket in South Bend. For the first time in school history, all Irish women’s basketball season ticket packages (close to 7,500) have been sold, including more than 1,000 packages to first-time season ticket purchasers when they went on sale Aug. 14. Furthermore, fans were waiting in line at the Purcell Pavilion ticket office as early as 4:30 that morning, more than four hours before the ticket windows opened. Those early birds were rewarded with a visit from Irish head coach Muffet McGraw, who delivered coffee and bagels, courtesy of McGraw and athletics director Jack Swarbrick.

While it’s likely that some tickets will be made available for individual games during the weeks and days prior to the contests, there’s a very real possibility that Notre Dame could approach a sell out for every one of its regular-season home games at the newly-refurbished 9,149-seat Purcell Pavilion. In fact, the crowd of 9,080 for the Nov. 15 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff was the largest season-opening audience in program history, more than 1,100 higher than the old mark set in 2001-02 (7,960 vs. Valparaiso).

Through 11 home games this season, Notre Dame is averaging 8,505 fans per game, putting the Irish nearly 700 fans ahead of their school-record attendance average of 7,825 fans per game, also set in 2001-02.

Notre Dame has posted eight sellouts in program history, the most recent coming on Jan. 24, when the Irish drew 9,149 fans to Purcell Pavilion for their win over No. 16/11 West Virginia — it was the second women’s basketball sellout since the renovated arena opened this fall (the other capacity crowd coming on New Year’s Eve for a win over No. 18/16 Vanderbilt).

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. 89 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 second season in his second stint as the radio play-by-play broadcaster for the Irish.

Notre Dame On The Small Screen
Notre Dame will have at least 18 games televised during the 2009-10 season. Highlighting this year’s broadcast schedule are 11 nationally-televised Irish women’s basketball contests, including at least six games on the ESPN family of networks and four others on CBS College Sports (check schedule on page 1 of these notes for exact broadcast coverage).

In addition, Notre Dame continues to expand its broadcast reach globally on the Internet. All Irish regular-season home games not selected for commercial TV coverage (with the exception of the Nov. 15 game vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff) 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. And, the Thanksgiving weekend Paradise Jam was webcast in its entirety through Fox College Sports Broadband on a pay-per-view basis.

This year’s TV slate continues a recent trend that has seen the Irish become a regular fixture on television. Beginning with the NCAA championship season of 2000-01 and continuing through this year, Notre Dame has played in 156 televised games, including 103 that were broadcast nationally.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Fifth-year senior guard Lindsay Schrader and senior guards Ashley Barlow and Melissa Lechlitner all return for their second year as team captains for the 2009-10 season. All three players received the captain’s honor following a vote of their teammates prior to the season.

This marks the first time in program history that the same players are serving as captains in consecutive seasons.

Irish Sign Three For 2010-11 Season
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw announced Nov. 13 that three of the country’s top high school student-athletes have chosen to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Fighting Irish, each signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2010.

Natalie Achonwa (last name pronounced uh-CHAWN-wuh), a 6-3 forward from Guelph, Ontario (St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School/National Elite Development Academy), Ariel Braker, a 6-1 forward from Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. (Grosse Pointe North High School) and Kayla McBride, a 5-11 guard from Erie, Pa. (Villa Maria Academy) all made their official commitments to the Fighting Irish during the early signing period, which ended Nov. 18.

All three student-athletes are rated among the top 50 players in the country by various national recruiting services. As a group, this trio is ranked as the No. 10 recruiting class in the country by All-Star Girls Report (and a consensus top-16 class by other recruiting services), giving Notre Dame a Top 25 recruiting class for the 14th consecutive year, a streak only two other schools in the country (Connecticut and Tennessee) can match. It’s also the third consecutive top-10 recruiting class for the Fighting Irish.

“I’m very excited about the class that we’re signing this year,” McGraw said. “I think we really addressed our needs, with three very good players coming in. They’re going to change the way we do some things at both ends of the floor next year. We’re going to be able to be more aggressive on defense because we’re adding athleticism, length and speed, and on offense, we’ll look at ways that we can take advantage of the size that we’re going to have. It will probably be a whole new look, going from the more guard-oriented team that we have now, to next year when we’ll have some depth in the post as well.”

“Notre Dame emphasized strengthening their perimeter game and did so with size, athleticism and versatility,” said Dan Olson, director of the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.

The full press release, with a complete look at the newest members of the Notre Dame women’s basketball program, is available on-line at http://www.und.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/111309aab.html.

Irish Fans Crave Another Big Mac Attack
It’s year three 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 Irish score at least 88 points in a home game.

In the three-year history of the promotion (and counting exhibition games), Notre Dame has hit the 88-point mark 17 times, including wins this year over Indianapolis, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, IPFW, Valparaiso and Charlotte.

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 — junior 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 “SID has too much time on his hands”), 10 different players have converted the “burger ball”, including nine current members of the Irish roster.

What’s more, of the 17 Big Mac games to date, nine have been reached on two-point baskets, five on free throws, and three on three-pointers.

Irish Lend Hand For Haiti Earthquake Relief
Fundraising efforts held in conjunction with two University of Notre Dame home basketball games have resulted in more than $250,000 in donations that will go toward relief efforts in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit the island nation on Jan. 12.

Through the generosity of fans and alumni, as well as contributions from the University and the Notre Dame Monogram Club, the money was raised at the men’s and women’s basketball games that were played Jan. 23 and 24, respectively, at Purcell Pavilion.

Notre Dame donated full gate receipts and net concession revenue from both games to the relief effort. In addition, a collection organized by the Notre Dame Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) — led by president and current Irish women’s basketball senior center Erica Williamson, as well as baseball player Ryan Connolly and rower Emily Crosby — raised more than $25,000 from fans and alumni who contributed during the games. The Monogram Club added a $10,000 matching gift to the student total.

Money raised will benefit short-term needs and long-term rebuilding efforts in Haiti and will be distributed to the Notre Dame Haiti Program, which works to eradicate the debilitating mosquito-borne disease lymphatic filariasis; the Congregation of Holy Cross, which has served in Haiti since 1944 and was heavily affected by the earthquake; and Catholic Relief Services, the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States.

Next Game: Rutgers
It’s a quick turnaround for Notre Dame, as the Irish make the four-hour trip south to Piscataway, N.J., for an ESPN2 “Big Monday” matchup at Rutgers, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. (ET).

The Scarlet Knights (12-8, 4-2 BIG EAST), who are receiving votes in the latest ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, will travel to No. 17/15 Georgetown Saturday before returning home to face Notre Dame on Monday.

— ND —