Fifth-year senior guard Lindsay Schrader is tied for ninth in school history with 102 career starts, including a current streak of 60 in a row heading into Thursday's matchup with No. 18/16 Vanderbilt at Purcell Pavilion.

#3 Irish Set For New Year's Eve Matinee Against #18/16 Vanderbilt

Dec. 30, 2009

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2009-10 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 12

#3/3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-0 / 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. #18/16 Vanderbilt Commodores (11-1 / 0-0 Southeastern)

DATE: December 31, 2009
TIME: 2:00 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind. – Purcell Pavilion (9,149)
SERIES: ND leads 3-1
1ST MTG: VU 86-64 (1/8/89)
LAST MTG: ND 59-57 (12/30/08)
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: (574) 631-7356

Storylines

  • Notre Dame faces its fourth ranked opponent of the season, and its first at home.
  • The Irish will be playing on New Year’s Eve for the eighth time in program history, having gone 5-2 all-time on Dec. 31.

No. 3 Irish Set For New Year’s Eve Matinee Against No. 18/16 Vanderbilt
Just over 48 hours after an impressive road win at defending Conference USA Tournament champion UCF, No. 3 Notre Dame returns home to take on another conference champion, as reigning SEC monarch (and No. 18/16) Vanderbilt comes to town for a 2 p.m. (ET) New Year’s Eve special at Purcell Pavilion. Like the UCF contest, Thursday’s matchup will be televised live to a national cable audience by CBS College Sports.

Notre Dame rode another frenetic defensive performance to an 85-52 win at UCF on Tuesday afternoon. The Irish forced the Knights into 36 turnovers (21 coming on steals) and shot 50.8 percent from the field to extend the second-best start in program history.

Junior guard Brittany Mallory made the most of her 18 minutes of court time at UCF, piling up a game-high 16 points and five steals. Senior guard Ashley Barlow added 15 points, including four in a 13-0 run to end the first half.

Rankings

  • Notre Dame is third in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this week.
  • Vanderbilt is 18th in the latest Associated Press poll and 16th in the current ESPN/USA Today poll.

Quick Hitters

  • The Irish have appeared in the top five of the AP poll all eight weeks this season, 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 current 11-game winning streak is its longest since a school-record 23-game run from Nov. 17, 2000-Feb. 14, 2001.
  • 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 seven games alone, Notre Dame has had a different player lead them in scoring six times.
  • 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 (now 16.1 spg.) and sharing top honors in won-loss percentage, the Irish are third in assists (19.2 apg.), fifth in scoring offense (83.7 ppg.) and scoring margin (+27.1 ppg.), and eighth in turnover margin (+8.9).
  • 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 (now 2.5 per game).
  • Notre Dame is forcing 28.3 turnovers per game this season, including 31.7 at home. The Irish also have registered at least 20 takeaways in all 11 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 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 325 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 Vanderbilt
No. 18/16 Vanderbilt brings back three starters and eight letterwinners from a squad that won the Southeastern Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 a year ago.

The Commodores (11-1) carry a four-game winning streak into Thursday’s contest, having most recently downed East Tennessee State, 96-83 on Monday night in Nashville. Freshman forward Tiffany Clarke racked up a career-high 27 points (10-13 FG) and 11 rebounds, as Vanderbilt shot 54.5 percent from the floor (36-of-66) and posted a season-high point total.

Senior guard Merideth Marsh leads the Commodores in scoring (14.4 ppg.) and three-point percentage (.397), while junior forward Hannah Tuomi is second in scoring (12.7 ppg.) and tops in rebounding (6.4 rpg.) and field goal percentage (.610).

Head coach Melanie Balcomb is in her eighth season at Vanderbilt with a 183-62 (.747) record at the school. She has a 17-year career record of 346-166 (.676), with an 0-1 record against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Vanderbilt Series
The Irish and Commodores will square off for the fifth time in series history on Thursday afternoon. Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 3-1, including a 77-63 win in the teams’ only prior matchup in South Bend on Jan. 4, 1990.

This year’s game is the back end of a home-and-home series with Vanderbilt, after the schools played a similar two-game set in 1989 and 1990. The other game between the teams came on March 26, 2001 in Denver, when Notre Dame defeated the Commodores, 72-64 in the NCAA Midwest Regional final.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Vanderbilt Met
Becca Bruszewski scored 10 points in the second half and No. 12/6 Notre Dame completed the largest comeback in program history with a 59-57 victory over No. 20/19 Vanderbilt on Dec. 30, 2008 at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.

Vanderbilt (11-3) had a chance to tie, but Jessica Mooney’s driving layup bounced off the rim as time expired.

The Fighting Irish trailed by 18 (46-28) with 15:56 to play but outscored the Commodores 22-0 over the next 8:52.

Bruszewski’s layup with 8:36 left put Notre Dame (11-1) in front for the first time since it led 4-2 in the opening minutes.

The Irish led by as many as four five times in the closing minutes, but a turnover with four seconds left led to Mooney’s last-second shot.

Notre Dame had a 27-13 rebounding advantage (10-5 at the offensive end) in the second half and 45-34 overall. Ashley Barlow led the team with a season-high nine, Lindsay Schrader had eight and Bruszewski and Erica Solomon each had seven.

The Irish went 4-for-7 from three-point range over the final 15:44 after missing their first eight from beyond the arc. Kellie Watson made two, and Melissa Lechlitner made one during the 22-0 run. Bruszewski made the last with 3:29 remaining after Vanderbilt pulled to 52-51.

Notre Dame pressured Vanderbilt into 10-of-29 shooting (34.5 percent) in the second half, and Christina Wirth, who made four three-pointers in the opening half, was held scoreless for the final 20 minutes.

Bruszewski and Schrader led Notre Dame with 12 points each and Lechlitner added 11.

Vanderbilt’s Hannah Tuomi led all scorers with 20 points.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Vanderbilt Met At Purcell Pavilion
Comalita Haysbert scored a (then) career-high 22 points and Notre Dame shot 52.9 percent in the second half to erase a six-point halftiime deficit and topple 20th-ranked Vanderbilt, 77-63, on Jan. 4, 1990 at Purcell Pavilion. It was the first home win over a ranked opponent in program history.

Karen Robinson added 18 points and a game-high four assists, while Lisa Kuhns came off the bench to chip in 14 points in 15 minutes for the Irish, who had lost to the Commodores by 22 points down in Nashville a year earlier.

Wendy Scholtens had a team-high 21 points and a game-best nine rebounds for Vanderbilt, while Kris Becker scored 15 points, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the floor (including all three of her three-point attempts) for the Commodores.

Notre Dame wound up shading its guests on the boards, 37-35, and forced 25 Vanderbilt turnovers. The game also featured a statistical oddity, as the teams combined to go a perfect 6-for-6 from three-point range (making three treys apiece).

Other Notre Dame-Vanderbilt Series Tidbits

  • Throw out Notre Dame’s 0-20 record against Tennessee, and the Irish are 5-1 against other schools from that state (3-1 vs. Vanderbilt, 1-0 vs. Memphis and Middle Tennessee).
  • Notre Dame is 18-14 (.563) all-time in its final game before the start of the New Year, most recently closing out 2008 with a 59-57 win at Vanderbilt on Dec. 30.
  • VU assistant coach Kim Rosamond has visited Purcell Pavilion, serving as an aide at Middle Tennessee from 2003-05 and helping the Blue Raiders to the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament before they dropped a 59-46 decision at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame vs. The Southeastern Conference
Notre Dame is 9-30 (.231) all-time against the Southeastern Conference, although it should be noted that 20 of those losses have come to one opponent (Tennessee).

The Irish also are 6-7 in their last 13 meetings with SEC opponents, and are riding a program-best three-game winning streak against that conference, dating back to last season (wins at No. 24/22 LSU and No. 20/19 Vanderbilt).

Thursday marks the second of two games for Notre Dame against the SEC this season. The Irish defeated South Carolina 78-55 back on Nov. 27 at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Vanderbilt also is the first SEC opponent to visit Purcell Pavilion since Jan. 5, 2008, when third-ranked Tennessee dealt No. 14 Notre Dame an 87-63 defeat.

High-Caliber Opposition
Vanderbilt will be the fourth ranked opponent for the Irish this season. Notre Dame is 3-0 against Top 25 foes thus far in 2009-10, having defeated No. 21 Michigan State, No. 23/24 San Diego State and No. 20/17 Oklahoma, all away from home.

In those three ranked victories, the Irish held double-digit leads each time and never trailed by more than five points at any stretch (56-51 at MSU).

Ringing In The New Year
Notre Dame will be playing on New Year’s Eve for the eighth time in program history, having posted a 5-2 (.714) record on Dec. 31.

The Irish last played on New Year’s Eve in 2005, dropping a 62-51 decision to top-ranked Tennessee before a sellout crowd at Purcell Pavilion. Prior to that loss, Notre Dame had won its previous five New Year’s Eve contests.

Getting The Jump
At 11-0, 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.

Streak Stats
Notre Dame’s current 11-game winning streak ties for the fifth-longest run in program history (also in 1998-99), and it’s the longest since the school-record 23-game string to begin the 2000-01 season.

Advantage, Notre Dame
The Irish have held the lead at halftime in all 11 games this season, and have not trailed by more than five points at any time this year (56-51 with 10:16 to play at Michigan State on Nov. 19).

What’s more, in the nine games since that win at MSU, Notre Dame has not trailed by more than one possession (three points), and in the past four games, the Irish have led or been tied for all but 1:23 (21 seconds vs. IPFW on Dec. 8, 1:02 at UCF on Tuesday) and almost never past the midway point of the first half (actually 9:57 left in opening period vs. IPFW).

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 seven games, with a different player setting the pace in scoring six times, with junior guard Brittany Mallory the only repeat leading scorer for the Irish (Valparaiso and UCF).

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 and Oklahoma) and freshman guard Skylar Diggins (UAPB and Charlotte) each have two 5-5-5 outings, while senior guard Ashley Barlow (Iona) and sophomore guard Natalie Novosel (Eastern Michigan) have one apiece.

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 11 games thus far, with Irish foes averaging 28.3 giveaways per game.

In the past two contests, Notre Dame has harassed its opponents into a combined 79 turnovers (43 by Charlotte on Dec. 20 and 26 at UCF on Tuesday).

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 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 (currently at 16.1 thefts per game). The Irish have posted double-digit steal totals in eight of their 11 games this season, including five 20-steal efforts.

What’s more, Notre Dame has been particularly aggressive in the past four games, topping the 20-steal mark three times and averaging 21.0 steals per game during that span.

Road Warriors
Notre Dame is 22-9 (.710) in true road games since the start of the 2007-08 season, including wins at No. 21 Michigan State (68-67) and UCF (85-52) 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
For the second week in a row, Notre Dame is ranked third in the Associated Press poll, appearing in the top five for the eighth 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 marks the 46th consecutive AP poll appearance for the Irish, with the No. 3 ranking not only matching a season high (Dec. 7 & 21), 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 186 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 are spending a second consecutive week at a season-high No. 3 in the 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 consecutive weeks before falling just outside the Top 25 in the final poll of last season. With their current No. 3 ranking, the Irish have appeared in the coaches’ poll for 178 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 186 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 #11 Recap: UCF
Brittany Mallory had 16 points, Ashley Barlow scored 15 and No. 3 Notre Dame rolled past Central Florida, 85-52 on Tuesday in Orlando.

Barlow’s layup as time expired in the first half highlighted a 13-0 run by the Fighting Irish that turned a tight game into a blowout, smothering the Knights with a full-court press that forced 36 turnovers.

Marshay White had 12 points, and D’Nay Daniels added 10 points for the Knights (3-6), who were going for one of the biggest wins in school history. Instead, they lost for the third time this season to a ranked opponent.

The sparse black and gold crowd were treated to a fast start by the Knights, with the home team trading baskets for most of the first half. White’s 3-pointer cut Notre Dame’s lead to 31-29. But the celebration was short-lived.

The relentless full-court pressure by the Fighting Irish overwhelmed the Knights. Notre Dame’s backcourt caused errant passes, quick shots and turnovers.

Skylar Diggins had five points as the Fighting Irish scored 13 straight before intermission, including Barlow’s layup that came at the buzzer.

Her team scored the next two baskets of the second half, going ahead 48-29 as some of the fans who traveled with Notre Dame for the holiday break cheered “Let’s Go Irish.”

Notre Dame also got a boost with the return of forward Devereaux Peters, who hadn’t played since tearing a ligament in her left knee on Nov. 23, 2008. She scored two points in 10 minutes.

Noting The UCF Game

  • The Fighting Irish record their largest win on the road since Nov. 20, 2007, when they posted a 94-41 win at Central Michigan.
  • Notre Dame improves to 2-0 all-time against UCF, having faced the Knights for the first time since Nov. 25, 1989 (an 81-61 Notre Dame win in Orlando).
  • The Fighting Irish are 22-5 (.815) all-time against Florida schools, with a 12-2 (.857) record on the road and a 15-3 (.833) record all-time when playing in the Sunshine State, regardless of the opponent.
  • Notre Dame moves to 22-11 (.667) all-time in its first game after the Christmas holiday with a 10-5 (.667) record on the road and 16-7 (.696) mark in the 23-year Muffet McGraw era; the Fighting Irish also now have won their last seven games coming off the Christmas break.
  • Notre Dame shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the fourth time this year.
  • All 13 Fighting Irish players in uniform cracked the scoring column.
  • Junior guard Brittany Mallory chalked up her fifth double-figure scoring game of the season (she had nine in the first two years of her career combined), not bad considering Mallory has come off the bench in all 11 games to date.
  • Senior guard/tri-captain Melissa Lechlitner tied her career high with four steals (achieved twice before, most recently vs. Western Kentucky on Nov. 13, 2007) and matched her season high with six assists.
  • Senior guard/tri-captain Ashley Barlow moved into 15th place on Notre Dame’s career scoring list with 1,243 points, passing Mary Beth Schueth (1,233 from 1981-85).
  • Barlow also rose into fourth place on the Fighting Irish career steals list with 229 thefts, passing Karen Robinson (228 from 1987-91).
  • Fifth-year senior guard/tri-captain Lindsay Schrader made her 102nd career start, tying for ninth place on the program’s all-time list with Letitia Bowen (1991-95).
  • Senior walk-on guard (and Fort Lauderdale native) Alena Christiansen tied her career highs with two steals and six minutes played — she had two thefts in Notre Dame’s previous outing vs. Charlotte (Dec. 20) and six minutes of action in the game prior to that (Dec. 12 vs. Valparaiso).

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. Schrader now is tied with Letitia Bowen (1991-95) for ninth in school history with 102 career starts.

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 507-197 (.720) in 23 seasons at Notre Dame (1987-88 to present) and a 595-238 (.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 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.

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 15th in school history with 1,243 career points, while Schrader is 20th with 1,174 points. They could be joined by their fellow senior guard and tri-captain, Melissa Lechlitner, who has 771 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 174-17 (.911) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead, including wins in 102 of their last 113 such contests.

Notre Dame has led at the break in all 11 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 202-14 (.935) record when they hold their opponents below 60 points in a game.

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

…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 131-4 (.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 eight 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 and Charlotte.

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 148 televised games, including 95 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: Purdue
Notre Dame wraps up its non-conference schedule on Monday with a 7 p.m. (ET) visit to in-state rival Purdue for an ESPN2 nationally-televised matchup with the Boilermakers.

Purdue (6-6) will play host to Big Ten foe Indiana on Thursday afternoon before welcoming the Irish to town next week.

— ND —