Dec. 27, 2009
Full Notes Package in PDF Format 
2009-10 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 11
#3/3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-0 / 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Central Florida Knights (3-5 / 0-0 Conference USA)
DATE: December 29, 2009
TIME: Noon ET
AT: Orlando, Fla. – UCF Arena (10,000)
SERIES: ND leads 1-0
LAST MTG: ND 81-61 (11/25/89)
TV: CBS College Sports (live) (Dave Ryan, p-b-p / Debbie Antonelli, color)
RADIO: Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) (Bob Nagle, p-b-p)
TWITTER: @ndwbbsid
TICKETS: (407) 823-1000
Storylines
Notre Dame has won its last six games come back from the Christmas holiday, including a 68-61 win at Charlotte last season.
Tuesday’s game tips off a stretch that will see the Irish play on TV seven times in their next eight games.
#3 Irish Return To Action Tuesday Afternoon At Central Florida
After a season-long nine-day break for the Christmas holiday, No. 3 Notre Dame gets back on the hardwood Tuesday with a noon (ET) contest at Central Florida. The game will be televised live to a national cable audience by CBS College Sports, the first of three appearances for the Irish on that network during the next three weeks.
Notre Dame extended its season-opening win streak to 10 games with a 90-31 victory over Charlotte on Dec. 20 at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish opened the game on a 16-0 run and forced the 49ers into 43 turnovers (the most by a Notre Dame opponent in 28 years) en route to their largest victory in two decades.
Senior guard Ashley Barlow led the Irish with game highs of 19 points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Kaila Turner chalked up career highs of 11 points, five steals and four rebounds for Notre Dame, which also logged 24 steals, the highest total in its BIG EAST era.
Rankings
Notre Dame was third in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls last week.
UCF is not ranked.
Quick Hitters
The Irish have appeared in the top five of the AP poll all seven weeks this season, matching the second-longest string of consecutive AP Top 5 rankings in program history (first set from Jan. 17-Feb. 21, 2000) and behind only the final 17 weeks in 2000-01.
Notre Dame’s current 10-game winning streak is its longest since a 10-game run from Nov. 20, 2007-Jan. 2, 2008.
The Irish are in the midst of 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 defeated three AP Top 25 opponents (all away from home) in its first six games this season, matching the feat first set by the 1998-99 Irish club (although that team won all three games at 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.Six different players have led the Irish in scoring this season, while five different players have earned team-high honors in rebounds and assists. In the past six games alone, Notre Dame has had a different player lead them in scoring each time.
In the Dec. 21 NCAA statistical rankings, Notre Dame appears among the top 25 in nine categories, including six top-10 rankings. Besides leading the nation in steals (15.6 spg.) and sharing top honors in won-loss percentage, the Irish are third in assists (19.7 apg.), fifth in scoring offense (83.6 ppg.) and scoring margin (+26.5 ppg.), and eighth in turnover margin (+7.9).
Conversely, Notre Dame has no player ranking among the top 70 in any NCAA statistical category (as of Dec. 21). In fact, senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow is the only Irish player ranked inside the top 100 in any category, ranking 73rd in the land in steals at 2.6 per game.
Notre Dame is forcing 27.5 turnovers per game this season, including 31.7 at home. The Irish also have registered at least 20 takeaways in all 10 games to date, with no fewer than 29 opponent turnovers in five of six home games this year.
Notre Dame is averaging 8,423 fans per game this season, unofficially ranking fifth in the nation and showing an increase of 17.5 percent from last year (7,168). The Irish also are one of two schools from the top 25 of the final 2008-09 NCAA attendance rankings to see an increase in attendance this year (Iowa State is up 1.5 percent).
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 324 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 130 of their last 132 home games, including six Purcell Pavilion sellouts (most recently on Dec. 7, 2008 vs. Purdue).
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 completed work on her undergraduate degree one semester early in December 2009).
A Quick Look At UCF
After a stirring run to the 2009 Conference USA Tournament title and a gritty five-point loss to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Championship, UCF brings back four starters and 10 letterwinners hungry for more.
The Knights (3-5) have been on the wrong end of several close games this season (three losses by three points or less), but headed into the holidays on a winning note with a 76-38 rout of Jackson State on Dec. 20. Junior guard Marshay White scored a game-high 20 points, while junior forward Emma Cannon had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for UCF.
Cannon also averages a double-double for the season (14.8 ppg., 10.6 rpg.), while White is second on the squad in scoring (12.1 ppg.) with an outstanding .542 three-point percentage.
Head coach Joi Williams is in her third season at the Knights’ helm with a 30-42 (.417) record. Including her four-year tenure at Murray State, Williams has a 84-103 (.449) career record, with Tuesday marking her first-ever matchup with Notre Dame.
The Notre Dame-UCF Series
Notre Dame and UCF will be meeting for only the second time, and the first in more than 20 years. The Irish won the only prior game between the schools, an 81-61 verdict on Nov. 25, 1989, in the title game of the UCF Rotary Classic in Orlando.
The Last Time Notre Dame and UCF Met
Comalita Haysbert scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first half, connecting on 9-of-10 shots in the period, to help Notre Dame win the UCF Rotary Classic with an 81-61 win over the host Knights on Nov. 25, 1989 at UCF Gym in Orlando.
Sara Liebscher added 14 points, Karen Robinson had 13 points and Lisa Kuhns chipped in with 12 points for the Irish, who had five double-figure scorers and shot 56.7 percent from the field (38-of-67) in the contest, not attempting a single three-point basket on the day.
Yolanda Rhodes had a team-high 19 points for UCF, while Jill Killen piled up eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Knights.
Notre Dame led by six points for much of the first half before a late 10-5 run ballooned its lead to 45-33 by halftime.
UCF got back within 53-45 on Kacie Kemmer’s basket with 13 minutes to play, but Liebscher ignited a 10-4 Notre Dame run to push the Irish lead back to double digits for good.
Other Notre Dame-UCF Series Tidbits
UCF is one of three opponents on this year’s Notre Dame schedule that the Irish will be playing for the first time in at least two decades (the others being San Diego State and South Carolina at last month’s Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands).
Notre Dame’s only other visit to the UCF campus actually was more notable for Notre Dame’s 113-35 win over Liberty the day before the matchup with the Knights, with the Irish setting school records for points in a game and margin of victory.
Notre Dame’s most recent trip to the Orlando area came on Dec. 3, 2000, when the Irish defeated North Carolina, 78-55 at the Honda Elite 4 Classic, played inside the Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Notre Dame has had eight Floridians suit up in the 33-year history of the program, with current senior walk-on guard Alena Christiansen (Fort Lauderdale/Cardinal Gibbons HS) being the latest Sunshine State resident to don the Irish colors.
Notre Dame vs. Conference USA
Notre Dame is 7-2 (.778) against the current Conference USA alignment, with a 4-2 (.667) mark away from home (2-2 on opponent’s home floors). The Irish have not played a current C-USA team since March 23, 2008, when they defeated SMU, 75-62, in the first round of the NCAA Championship at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
Notre Dame has not visited a current C-USA arena since Dec. 28, 2001, when it fell at Rice, 72-61, at Autry Court in Houston (the Owls were members of the Western Athletic Conference at the time).
Sunshine State Success
Notre Dame is 21-5 (.808) all-time against Florida schools, including a 13-2 (.867) record against Sunshine State teams away from home (road/neutral combined), and an 11-2 (.846) mark on their opponent’s home court.
The only true road losses the Irish have taken in the state of Florida came on Feb. 3, 1998, at Miami (77-76 on Octavia Blue’s free throw after time expired) and Jan. 13, 2007, at South Florida (87-78 in overtime).
Notre Dame also is 14-3 (.824) when playing in the state of Florida, regardless of the opposition, with the only other loss coming to James Madison, 53-51, on Jan. 3, 1986 at Miami’s Burger King Classic in Coral Gables (JMU won on a three-point play with four seconds left).
Another Present Under The Tree
Notre Dame is 21-11 (.656) all-time in in its first game after the Christmas holiday, with a 9-5 (.643) record on the road and a 15-7 (.682) record in the Muffet McGraw era (1987-88 to present).
The Irish also have won their last six games coming off the Christmas break, including a 68-61 victory at Charlotte last season (Dec. 28, 2008). Tuesday will mark the first time Notre Dame has played on the road right after Christmas in consective years since a five-season run of post-Yuletide road contests from 2000-04.
Getting The Jump
At 10-0, Notre Dame is 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.
Spread The Wealth
Notre Dame has seen six different players led the team in scoring this season, while five Irish players have each taken the lead in rebounding and assists at some point this year.
That trend has been particularly evident in Notre Dame’s last six games, with a different player setting the pace in scoring each time out, while five separate players have taken the lead in either rebounds or assists.
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 has two 5-5-5 outings (Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Oklahoma), while senior guard Ashley Barlow (Iona), freshman guard Skylar Diggins (Charlotte) and sophomore guard Natalie Novosel (Eastern Michigan) each have one.
The Season For Taking
Although the Christmas holiday is a time for giving gifts, Notre Dame has been in the taking mood this year, forcing its opponents into at least 20 turnovers in all 10 games thus far, with Irish foes averaging 27.5 giveaways per game.
Most recently, Notre Dame harassed Charlotte into 43 turnovers in a Dec. 20 win, tying 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 have been particularly hard on opponents in six home games this season, forcing 31.7 turnovers per game (at least 29 in five of the six Purcell Pavilion contests) while holding visitors to 49.8 points a night and a .313 field goal percentage (106-of-339).
The Five-Finger Discount
According to the Dec. 21 NCAA statistical report, Notre Dame leads the nation in steals with 15.6 thefts per game. The Irish have posted double-digit steal totals in seven of their 10 games this season, including each of the past four games, during which time Notre Dame is averaging 18.5 steals per outing.
Road Warriors
Notre Dame is 21-9 (.700) in true road games since the start of the 2007-08 season, including a 68-67 win at No. 21 Michigan State to begin this year.
In addition, the past seven 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).
Pomp And Circumstance
On Jan. 3, senior center Erica Williamson will receive 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 will begin graduate studies in the spring.
With Williamson collecting her diploma next week, 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.
Polling Station
Notre Dame was ranked third in the Dec. 21 Associated Press poll, appearing in the top five for the seventh consecutive week — it’s the longest run in the AP Top 5 for the Irish since the 2000-01 season, when Notre Dame was a top-five fixture for the final 17 weeks.
This current ranking also marks the 45th consecutive AP poll appearance for the Irish, with the No. 3 ranking not only matching a season high (Dec. 7), but also being Notre Dame’s highest 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 185 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 23rd all-time in that category.
In addition, the Irish rose to a season-high No. 3 in the Dec. 22 ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches’ poll. It’s 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.
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 consective weeks before falling just outside the Top 25 in the final poll of last season. With their most recent No. 3 ranking, the Irish have appeared in the coaches’ poll for 177 weeks during their history (all coming during McGraw’s tenure).
More Polling Data
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw is one of 24 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 185 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 24 people on this list, 12 currently are NCAA Division I head coaches (see accompanying chart).
Game #10 Recap: Charlotte
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw was pleased with everything about her team after its 90-31 victory over Charlotte — at least at first.
“I really have no complaints about this one,” she said.
Freshman guard Skylar Diggins wanted to make sure everyone knew how rare it was for McGraw to make such a statement.
“Make sure you’re all recording this,” Diggins said, drawing a laugh from her coach.
The fourth-ranked Irish (10-0) had reason to be happy after registering their most lopsided victory since a 113-35 win against Liberty to open the 1989-90 season. It was their fewest points allowed since a 66-31 win over St. John’s in 2002.
Still, after a longer look at the final statistics, McGraw said she was disappointed that her team had 13 turnovers in each half.
“So there’s something I can be unhappy about,” she said.
Charlotte coach Karen Aston was disappointed her team didn’t give Notre Dame a better game considering the 49ers played the Irish tough in a 68-61 loss last season.
“I was surprised by our lack of competitiveness,” she said. “I’m disappointed we didn’t compete better and give them a better game.”
The 43 turnovers forced and 24 steals by the Irish were their most since they joined the BIG EAST Conference for the 1995-96 season. Five players had at least three steals, led by five by freshman guard Kaila Turner.
Senior guard Ashley Barlow scored a season-high 19 points, Turner added 11 and all 12 Irish players who got in the game scored.
Notre Dame missed its first seven shots, then scored seven points in 25 seconds when Barlow hit a three, Diggins had a steal and basket, then Diggins stole the ball again and scored on a rebound.
“It really ignited the whole team,” McGraw said.
Aston said once the Irish got going, the 49ers couldn’t stop them.
“It snowballed on us,” she said. “We lost our composure and lost our character and completely lost our frame of mind as far as what our focus was in the game.”
The Irish extended the lead to 16-0 before Charlotte scored its first points, and added a 30-3 run in the second half.
The Irish had more points in the paint (32), more points from their reserves (52) and more points off turnovers (44) than the 49ers had total points. Notre Dame also held Charlotte (5-6) to 24.5 percent shooting, the first time the 49ers shot below 30 percent in a game since 2006.
Shannon McCallum led Charlotte with 10 points.
Noting The Charlotte Game
Notre Dame posts the fourth-largest margin of victory in program history and its largest since Nov, 24, 1989, when the Fighting Irish set a school record in that category by defeating Liberty, 113-35, in the first round of the UCF Rotary Classic in Orlando.
It also was Notre Dame’s largest margin of victory at home in the 23-year Muffet McGraw era, dating back to Feb. 28, 1985 (a 99-36 win over Butler).
The Fighting Irish opened the game on a 16-0 run, their largest game-opening surge since Dec. 13, 2003, when they scored the game’s first 26 points (a school record for a game-opening run) in a 78-41 win over Dayton at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame also set a school record with its fifth win this season by at least 35 points — in fact, Notre Dame’s last three wins have come by an average of 45.3 points per game (91.3-46.0).
The Fighting Irish held Charlotte to 31 points, the fewest by a Notre Dame opponent since Feb. 13, 2002, when the Fighting Irish posted a 66-31 win over BIG EAST foe St. John’s at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame set new high-water marks in its BIG EAST era (1995-96 to present) with 43 turnovers forced and 24 steals.
Charlotte’s 43 turnovers were the most caused by the Fighting Irish in a single game since the Dec. 8, 1981 win over Saint Mary’s (Ind.) (also 43), establishing a new high in the McGraw era.
Charlotte’s four assists are the fewest by a Notre Dame opponent since Nov. 20, 2007, when Central Michigan had three helpers in a 94-41 Fighting Irish win at Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Notre Dame’s 24 steals were its highest total since tying the school record with 29 thefts at Saint Louis on Jan. 31, 1991.
The Fighting Irish defense held Charlotte to an opponent season-low .245 field goal percentage, the lowest by a Notre Dame foe since Nov. 25, 2008 (.214 by Georgia Southern); the 49ers also connected on an opponent season-low 1-of-10 (.100) from the three-point line.
The Fighting Irish shot a season-best .889 (24-27) from the foul line and tied their season high with eight three-pointers.
Senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow scored a season-high 19 points and became Notre Dame’s sixth different leading scorer in the past six games.
Barlow moved up into 16th place on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,228 points, passing Letitia Bowen (1,219 points from 1991-95).
Barlow also gained sole possession of fifth place on the Notre Dame career steals list with 227 thefts, breaking out of a tie with Krissi Davis (226 from 1987-91).
Freshman guard Kaila Turner scored a career-high 11 points, becoming the 10th different Notre Dame player to crack double figures this season.
Turner also set new career highs with five steals and four rebounds.
Junior guard Brittany Mallory dished out a career-best seven assists.
Freshman guard Skylar Diggins tied her career high with five assists.
Fifth-year senior guard/tri-captain Lindsay Schrader earned her 101st career start, tying Sandy Botham (1984-88) for 10th on the school’s all-time list.
Senior walk-on guard Alena Christiansen had new career highs with five points (1-1 3FG and 2-2 FT) and two steals.
Notre Dame drew 8,821 fans, the 17th-largest crowd in school history and second-largest this season (9,080 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff for the Nov. 15 season opener).
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.
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.
Schrader reached another endurance milestone on Dec. 12 against Valparaiso, becoming the 12th player in school history with 100 starting assignments in her career.
McGraw Joins Elite Notre Dame ClubWith 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 506-197 (.720) in 23 seasons at Notre Dame (1987-88 to present) and a 594-238 (.714) 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.
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 16th in school history with 1,228 career points, while Schrader is 20th with 1,163 points. They could be joined by their fellow senior guard and tri-captain, Melissa Lechlitner, who has 768 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Irish Enjoy Successful ’09 European Tour
In May, the Notre Dame women’s basketball program embarked on a memorable 11-day adventure to France, Monaco and Italy, visiting some of the world’s most historic landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Prince’s Palace in Monaco, picturesque Lake Como in the foothills of the Italian Alps, the famed El Duomo cathedral in Milan, the Colosseum and Forum in Rome, as well as St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel located at The Vatican.
The Irish also had the chance to play three exhibition games against international opponents on the tour, winning all three contests against the French Junior National Team (77-44) and Italian professional teams GEAS Sesto San Giovanni (78-68) and Roma Athena Basket (94-39). The win over the French side was particularly noteworthy, as it came only weeks before France won the gold medal at the European U20 Championships with much of the same team that faced the Irish in May.
Senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow led Notre Dame in scoring (13.0 ppg.) and three-point percentage (.727, 8-11) on the trip, while junior forward Becca Bruszewski was second in scoring (12.0 ppg.) and fourth in rebounding (5.7 rpg.). Other statistical leaders included: fifth-year senior guard Lindsay Schrader and sophomore forward Kellie Watson (6.3 rpg.), sophomore guard Natalie Novosel (3.3 spg.), senior guard Melissa Lechlitner (3.3 apg.) and sophomore forward Erica Solomon (2.5 bpg.).
Half And Half
During the past decade, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Irish are 173-17 (.911) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead, including wins in 101 of their last 112 such contests.
Notre Dame has led at the break in all 10 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 201-14 (.935) record when they hold their opponents below 60 points in a game.
Notre Dame has added six more wins to the ledger this season with victories over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (102-57), Iona (80-45), South Carolina (78-55), Eastern Michigan (69-59), Valparaiso (88-47) and Charlotte (90-31).
…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 130-4 (.970) 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 seven more wins to this ongoing record with its conquests of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (102-57), Iona (80-45), No. 23/24 San Diego State (84-79), No. 20/17 Oklahoma (81-71), IPFW (96-60), Valparaiso (88-47) and Charlotte (90-31).
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 179 of their last 203 games (.882) at the 9,149-seat Purcell Pavilion, including winning streaks of 51 and 25 games in that span. Notre Dame also has a 99-17 (.853) 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 82 of their last 89 non-BIG EAST contests (.921) 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 329-85 (.795) 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 six home games this season, Notre Dame is averaging 8,423 fans per game, putting the Irish nearly 600 fans above their school-record attendance average of 7,825 fans per game, also set in 2001-02.
Notre Dame has posted six sellouts in program history, the most recent coming on Dec. 7, 2008, for a 62-51 win over in-state rival Purdue. That capacity crowd not only was the first on-campus sellout in the 22-game series with the Boilermakers, but it also helped the Irish win the NCAA/BIG EAST Conference Pack The House Challenge for 2008-09.
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 147 televised games, including 94 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.
Purcell Pavilion Opens Its Doors
Following an intensive five-month, $26.3 million interior renovation, the arena for the newly-christened Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center made its regular season women’s basketball debut on Nov. 15 when Notre Dame defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 102-57.
The UAPB game was part of the culmination of a two-year project to upgrade the home for Notre Dame basketball and volleyball.
The first (exterior) phase of the project, that began in September 2008, involves construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena. That structure will include a new three-story lobby, which will house 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 existing arena seating footprint, including installation of single-color chair-back seating throughout the arena, began following the University’s Commencement Exercises in May 2009 and was completed in time for the Irish volleyball team to play the first athletic event in the facility on Oct. 30 (a 3-1 win over Seton Hall). The entire project is scheduled for completion in January 2010.
The University announced in October 2007 that this ambitious arena renovation had received a $12.5 million leadership gift from Notre Dame alumnus and Trustee Philip J. Purcell III, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley.
Additional cornerstone donations were made by: Vincent J. Naimoli (’59), whose $5 million contribution will lead to the creation of the new Naimoli Family Club Room, and South Bend-area auto dealership owner Mike Leep Sr., whose generous gift will be recognized with the naming of the Mike Leep Sr. Varsity Shop.
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 season over Indianapolis (exhibition), 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 way 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 (including the past two home games).
Next Game: Vanderbilt
It’s a quick turnaround for Notre Dame, as the Irish return home for a 2 p.m. (ET) New Year’s Eve matinee against No. 19/16 Vanderbilt at Purcell Pavilion. The game will be televised live to a national cable audience by CBS College Sports.
Vanderbilt (10-1) has only a six-point home loss to Bowling Green marring its resume. Since that setback, the Commodores had won three in a row heading into their home game with East Tennessee State on Monday night.
— ND —