#8 Irish Head To Michigan For Wednesday Night Matchup

Dec. 9, 2008

Full Notes Package in PDF Format

2008-09 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 8
#8/8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0 / 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Michigan Wolverines (5-4 / 0-0 Big Ten)

DATE: December 10, 2008
TIME: 7:00 p.m. ET
AT: Ann Arbor, Mich. – Crisler Arena (13,751)
SERIES: ND leads 9-6
1ST MTG: UM 93-66 (1/20/79)
LAST MTG: ND 77-46 (12/2/07)
TV: Big Ten Network (live) (Mark Neely, p-b-p / Stephanie White, color)
RADIO: Pulse FM (96.9/92.1) (Bob Nagle, p-b-p)
LIVE STATS: UND.com
TEXT ALERT: UND.com

Storylines

• Notre Dame plays six of its next seven games on the road, beginning Wednesday night at Michigan.
• The Irish have matched the second-best start in school history, with three of their seven wins coming over Top 25 teams.

No. 8 Irish Head To Michigan For Wednesday Night Matchup
As the non-conference portion of the schedule winds down, No. 8 Notre Dame will look to keep its early-season success going on Wednesday night when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a 7 p.m. (ET) game with Michigan at Crisler Arena. The Wolverines will be the third Big Ten Conference opponent for the Irish, all in the past four games.

Notre Dame (7-0) used a strong second-half defensive performance to pull free of No. 17/20 Purdue and take a 62-51 victory before a sold-out crowd on Sunday afternoon at the Joyce Center. The Irish trailed by nine points midway through the first half, but held the Boilermakers to just 33 points over the final 30 minutes on the way to their third consecutive victory over their in-state rivals.

Junior guard Melissa Lechlitner led the way for Notre Dame with a career-high 19 points, while senior guard Lindsay Schrader added her second consecutive double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Rankings

• Notre Dame is ranked eighth in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches’ polls.
• Michigan is not ranked.

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Following two seasons of impressive growth and development, Notre Dame has constructed a firm foundation upon which to build its next championship contender. The Irish enter the 2008-09 season on the heels of a seventh trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 and a highly-competitive effort in that regional semifinal that has players, coaches and followers optimistic that even greater success may be on the horizon.

Notre Dame has three starters and seven monogram winners returning this season from a squad that ranked among the top 10 in the country in scoring offense (8th – 76.2 ppg) and scoring margin (10th – +14.6 ppg) a year ago. The Irish also have many of the pieces back from the ’07-08 club that led the BIG EAST in steals for the second consecutive year (school-record 397, 11.68 per game) and forced an opponent-record 737 turnovers.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that Notre Dame’s present upward mobility has coincided with the arrival of its current junior class, including guards and co-captains Ashley Barlow and Melissa Lechlitner. Barlow earned honorable mention all-BIG EAST status last year and is the team’s top returning scorer (12.1 ppg), while also setting the defensive tone with a team-high 68 steals last season. Meanwhile, Lechlitner (5.5 ppg, 2.6 apg) assumes the mantle of leadership from the point guard position after two consistent years as a reliable understudy to Tulyah Gaines.

The Irish also should benefit from the veteran experience and guidance of senior guard and co-captain Lindsay Schrader, who joined Barlow on last year’s BIG EAST honorable mention squad after logging 10.3 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. She earned similar status this fall in preseason voting by the conference coaches and gives Notre Dame a unique blend of toughness and determination that has become the common thread running through the team’s recent resurgence.

The Irish sophomore class proved to be an exceptional complement to their predecessors last season, led by forward Devereaux Peters (9.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.0 bpg), who was a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team choice despite missing the final 11 games of the year with a knee injury. Guard Brittany Mallory (6.3 ppg, 34 3FG) joined Peters on the conference’s all-rookie squad, while forward Becca Bruszewski (5.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg) may be the team’s most improved player heading into this season after a scintillating three-game NCAA Tournament performance that included a season-high 16 points against both SMU and Tennessee.

Potent Notables About The Irish

• Notre Dame is among the nation’s winningest programs during the past 12 seasons (1996-97 to present), ranking seventh with 299 victories.
• Notre Dame has ranked among the top 20 in the nation in attendance each of the past eight seasons. This year, the program has averaged 7,504 fans for its first four home games. The Irish also have drawn 5,000-or-more fans to 114 of their last 116 home games, including six Joyce Center sellouts of 11,418 (most recently this past Sunday 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 eight 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. Allen, Megan Duffy (New York) and Ruth Riley (San Antonio) all were active in the league during the ’08 season, with all three teams making the playoffs (San Antonio made the WNBA Finals, while New York was the Eastern Conference runner-up). 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 third year in a row, the Irish posted a perfect 100-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), according to figures released by the NCAA in October 2008. Notre Dame also was one of only four teams with a perfect ’07 GSR to advance to the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16 (joining Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt). Furthermore, since Muffet McGraw became the Irish head coach in 1987, every Notre Dame women’s basketball player that has completed her athletic and academic eligibility at the University has graduated (a 57-for-57 success rate).

A Quick Look At Michigan
One of the most improved teams in the Big Ten Conference last season, Michigan has 10 letterwinners and four starters back from a 19-14 club that advanced to the quarterfinals of the postseason WNIT. The Wolverines also add four newcomers this season with their eyes set on returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.

UM is 5-4 this season and coming off a 60-45 loss at No. 12/14 Duke on Sunday. The Wolverines used a frenetic defense that forced 30 turnovers and a sharpshooting effort from the three-point line (10-for-24) to stay within striking distance of the Blue Devils before succumbing. It was Michigan’s third game against a ranked opponent this season, with the others being a win over 13th-ranked Vanderbilt (50-42) and a close loss to No. 12 Texas A&M (59-56), both at Crisler Arena.

Senior guard Jessica Minnfield is averaging a team-high 11.4 points and 3.3 assists per game for the Wolverines this season. Senior forward Carly Benson is second in both scoring (10.3 ppg) and rebounding (5.0 rpg) with a team-high .349 three-point percentage and 22 three-pointers.

Head coach Kevin Borseth is in his second season at Michigan (24-18, .571) after successful stints at Wisconsin-Green Bay (nine years), Michigan Tech (11 years) and Gogebic Community College (five years). He has a career record of 530-228 (.699) in his 27th season and will be facing Notre Dame for the second time in as many years.

The Notre Dame-Michigan Series
Wednesday will mark the 16th meeting between Notre Dame and Michigan with the Irish holding a 9-6 edge in the series. Notre Dame also has won five of the past six games with the Wolverines, including each of the past three in the current four-game home-and-home series.

UM has a 4-2 lead on the Irish when playing in Ann Arbor, but Notre Dame earned a 61-58 victory the last time the teams played at Crisler Arena on Dec. 1, 2006, going on a 10-2 run over the final 47.3 seconds, including a pair of free throws by Tulyah Gaines with 3.3 seconds left and two more by Charel Allen with 0.7 ticks remaining to complete the rally.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Michigan Met
Led by 19 points from Charel Allen and 15 from Tulyah Gaines, No. 22/23 Notre Dame used a pressing defense to gain control and cruised to a 77-46 victory over Michigan on Dec. 2, 2007, at the Joyce Center. It was the fourth consecutive win by 30 points for the Irish in the 2007-08 season, and it came in front of 10,825 fans, the largest non-sellout crowd in school history.

As in past games, the Notre Dame defense generated much of the offense, as the Irish (6-1) scored 22 points off 22 UM turnovers.

The Irish also held Michigan (4-3) to 27 percent shooting and only two Wolverines had baskets from the floor until midway through the second half. It was Michigan’s third loss by more than 20 points in its last four games.

The Irish had 10 players with 10 or more minutes of playing time and no starter played more than 28 minutes. Michigan used only eight players and four of the five starters played 31 minutes or more. The only starter who didn’t was Krista Phillips, the Wolverines’ leading scorer at 10.5 points a game, who played just 16 minutes because of foul trouble.

The Irish took control early with a 21-5 run and put the game away in the second half with a 22-5 run.

Janelle Cooper led Michigan with 11 points. Lindsay Schrader added 11 points and Devereaux Peters added 10 points, and the Irish outscored Michigan inside, 40-12.

Other Notre Dame-Michigan Series Tidbits

• Notre Dame’s current three-game winning streak matches the longest by either team in the series. Michigan won the first three games with the Irish from 1979-81, followed by a three-game run for Notre Dame from 1982-83.
• Notre Dame’s 61-58 win at Crisler Arena two years ago was its first in Ann Arbor since Dec. 12, 1982 (won by virtually the same score, 62-58). The 2007 game also was the closest game in the series since Dec. 8, 1979, when the Wolverines earned a 66-60 overtime win in South Bend.
• The aggregate point total in the 15-game series is extremely close, with Notre Dame having piled up 1,011 points (67.4 ppg) and Michigan amassing 978 points (65.2 ppg).
• One of the key matchups to watch for in Wednesday’s game will be Notre Dame’s defense against Michigan’s offense. Historically, when the Irish have held the Wolverines to 65 points or fewer, they are 8-0 in the series.
• Notre Dame freshman forward Erica Solomon is a native of Oak Park, Mich., and graduated in 2008 from Detroit Country Day School in Beverly Hills, Mich. She also was the ’08 Michigan Class B Co-Player of the Year and was runner-up for Michigan Miss Basketball honors.
• Irish freshman forward Kellie Watson hails from Ionia, Mich., and is the reigning Miss Basketball coming out of Ionia High School. She also shared 2008 Class B Player of the Year honors with Solomon.

Notre Dame vs. The Big Ten Conference
Notre Dame is 38-46 (.452) all-time against the Big Ten Conference, including a 31-32 (.492) record in the Muffet McGraw era (1987-88 to present).

What’s more, Notre Dame has won 11 of its last 15 games against Big Ten schools, including a pair of victories this season — 78-72 over 24th-ranked Michigan State on Nov. 29 at the Joyce Center, and a 62-51 victory over No. 17/20 Purdue this past Sunday in South Bend.

Michigan is the last of three Big Ten opponents for the Irish this season, all coming in a four-game stretch.

North Of The Border
Wednesday’s game also will wrap up a stretch for Notre Dame in which three of four games are against teams from the state of Michigan — vs. Michigan State (W, 78-72 on Nov. 29), at Eastern Michigan (W, 83-63 on Dec. 2) and Michigan (Wednesday).

The Irish are 52-19 (.732) all-time against Michigan schools, with a 32-7 (.821) mark against the Great Lakes State in the Muffet McGraw era (1987-88 to present).

Notre Dame also has won its last nine games against Michigan schools, since an 82-73 overtime loss to No. 15 Michigan State on Dec. 2, 2004 at the Joyce Center.

Piping Hot Turnovers
After forcing an opponent-record 737 turnovers (21.7 per game) last season, Notre Dame is at it again early this year, causing 159 turnovers (22.7 per game) in its first seven outings.

The majority of those turnovers have come via Irish steals, with Notre Dame registering 81 thefts (11.6 per game) after leading the BIG EAST Conference in that category each of the past two seasons.

The Upper Hand
In its first six games of the season, Notre Dame trailed for all of 7:34, never by more than one possession (three points) and never in the second half.

Sunday’s game against No. 17/20 Purdue saw that trend temporarily reversed, as the Irish fell behind by nine points (18-9) midway through the first half. However, a late three-point barrage by freshman forward Kellie Watson helped give Notre Dame a 23-22 lead at halftime and the Irish never looked back en route to the 62-51 win before a sold-out crowd at the Joyce Center.

Deep Thoughts
Notre Dame has found its shooting eye from the three-point line this season, connecting at a .432 clip from distance (38-of-88) and hitting at least five triples in five of the past six games. The Irish currenty rank second in the BIG EAST and sixth in the country (as of Monday) in three-point efficiency.

Notre Dame was particularly prolific from the arc in a four-game stretch from Nov. 19-29, making a combined 29 treys in that span (seven each in wins over Evansville and Boston College, six against Georgia Southern and nine vs. Michigan State).

One also has to go back seven years to find the last time Notre Dame made more than 29 combined three-pointers in a four-game span. From Nov. 21-Dec. 2, 2001, Notre Dame was lights-out from the arc at Colorado State (7), at Arizona (7), home vs. Army (10) and at a neutral site vs. Michigan (8).

The nine three-pointers and 25 attempts against MSU also were the most for Notre Dame in a single game since March 3, 2002, when the Irish went 10-for-26 from beyond the arc in an 84-79 loss to Syracuse in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals at Piscataway, N.J.

Thirty Deeds
Last year, the Irish tied a school record with 10 wins by 30-or-more points. It would seem Notre Dame is intent on challenging that mark this season, having won three games this season by at least 35 points — a first in school history.

Late in November, the Irish posted two of the larger winning margins in the program’s record books, rolling to a 48-point victory at Boston College (102-54), followed by a 49-point win at home over Georgia Southern (85-36).

In fact, the only time Notre Dame logged a larger combined margin of victory in consecutive games than this past week’s 97-point spread was Nov. 24-25, 1989, at the UCF Rotary Classic in Orlando, Fla., when the Irish downed Liberty (113-35) and host Central Florida (81-61) by a combined 98 points.

Spreading The Wealth
Notre Dame has seen six different players lead the team in scoring in the past six games, after junior guard Ashley Barlow was the team-high scorer in the first two outings. What’s more, in the past five games, each of the Irish leading scorers has registered a career-scoring high — Becca Bruszewski at Boston College (18), Brittany Mallory vs. Georgia Southern (19), Kellie Watson vs. Michigan State (18), Natalie Novosel at Eastern Michigan (18) and Melissa Lechlitner vs. Purdue (19).

For the season, 10 of the 11 players on Notre Dame roster have scored in double figures at least once, with freshman guard Fraderica Miller aiming to join that club.

Strong Out Of The Gate
At 7-0, Notre Dame is off to its best start since a similar 7-0 opening in 2004-05, a run that included winning the Preseason WNIT. It’s also matches the second-best start in school history, topped only by a 23-0 debut (and 34-2 overall record) during the program’s 2000-01 national championship season.

Three of Notre Dame’s wins this season have come against ranked opponents, marking just the second time in school history the Irish have notched three Top 25 victories in their opening seven contests. In 1998-99, Notre Dame knocked off No. 6 UCLA (99-82), No. 6/4 Duke (84-57) and No. 25/23 Illinois (101-93) in its first four games on the way to a 26-5 record.

Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
Notre Dame reeled off a 27-0 run in the second half of its Nov. 25 win over Georgia Southern, marking the second-longest string of consecutive points in school history. On Jan. 18, 1997, the Irish used a 31-0 spurt midway through the first half to seize control and take a 65-49 over Pittsburgh at the Joyce Center.

Watson Repeats As BIG EAST Freshman Of The Week
For the second consecutive week, freshman forward Kellie Watson has been selected as the BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week, it was announced Monday by the conference office. Watson is the first Irish rookie to earn the award in back-to-back weeks since Katy Flecky took the honor on Feb. 18 & 25, 2002. Watson also becomes just the fifth player in program history to be chosen as BIG EAST Freshman of the Week more than once in a single season — the others are Flecky, Jacqueline Batteast (seven times in 2001-02), Alicia Ratay (six times in 1999-2000) and Ruth Riley (three times in 1997-98).

Last week, Watson averaged 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game with a .714 field goal percentage (5-of-7) and an .800 three-point percentage (4-of-5) as Notre Dame improved to 7-0 for the first time in four seasons with double-digit victories last week at Eastern Michigan and at home over No. 17/20 Purdue.

The highlight of Watson’s week came last Sunday against Notre Dame’s in-state rival Purdue, when she came off the bench to score 13 points (4-6 FG, 3-4 3FG) and snag six rebounds in a 62-51 Irish win. All three of Watson’s triples came in the final 4:17 of the first half, as she almost single-handedly flipped what had been a nine-point deficit into a one-point halftime lead. What’s more, her last trey with 38 seconds remaining in the first half put the Irish ahead for good.

Becca’s A Bruiser
Sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski showed a hint of the promise to come late last season, chalking up a (then) career-high 16 points in two of her three NCAA Tournament games (first round vs. SMU, regional semifinal vs. Tennessee).

That improvement has carried over into this season, as the Valparaiso, Ind., native has earned her way into the Irish starting lineup and has not disappointed. On Nov. 19 against Evansville, she poured in a career-best 18 points, knocking down 7-of-9 shots from the field, including both of her three-point attempts. The latter statistic was particularly noteworthy, considering she was just 1-of-2 from beyond the arc during her entire freshman season.

Not to be outdone, Bruszewski matched her career high four days later on Nov. 23 at Boston College, connecting for a game-high 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Crowded House
Sunday’s game against No. 17/20 Purdue was officially sold out, representing the sixth women’s basketball sellout (11,418 capacity) in school history and the third in the past two seasons. It also was the first time in the 22-game series between the Irish and Boilermakers that an on-campus game has sold out.

Last year, Notre Dame sold out its games against Tennessee and Connecticut, and nearly did the same for the Michigan contest, drawing 10,825 fans for that game.

A full rundown of the top crowds in Joyce Center history can be found in the sidebar on page 9 of this notes package.

Polling Station
Notre Dame is ranked a season-high eighth in this week’s Associated Press poll, up three spots from last week’s ranking. It’s the 25th consecutive AP poll appearance for the Irish, who has risen into the Top 10 for the ninth time in the past 13 seasons (1996-97 through 2008-09). This week’s No. 8 position is the highest for Notre Dame since the week of Feb. 14, 2005, when the Irish were ranked fifth.

Notre Dame also has been ranked in the AP poll for 164 weeks during the program’s 32-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 stands 25th all-time in that category.

In addition, the Irish earned their 25th consecutive ranking in Tuesday’s ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches’ poll, remaining eighth for the second consecutive week. It’s the highest ranking for Notre Dame in the coaches poll since the week of Feb. 15, 2005, when the Irish checked in at No. 7. The Irish now have appeared in the coaches’ poll for 156 weeks during its 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 164 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 #7 Recap: Purdue
Kellie Watson jump-started Notre Dame’s offense, then Melissa Lechlitner made sure it kept running smoothly.

Watson cut No. 17/20 Purdue’s lead to two points by making two three-pointers after the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish went seven minutes in the first half without a basket, starting the game by making just 3 of 22 shots. Lechlitner then scored 13 of her career-high 19 points in the second half to lead Notre Dame to the 62-51 victory on Sunday.

The Irish (7-0) needed Lechlitner to play well with leading scorer Ashley Barlow missing her second straight game with a concussion. Lechlitner was 2-of-3 from three-point range, hit several more jumpers from outside and scored inside as well, driving to the basket when the Boilermakers (5-3) focused more on Notre Dame’s perimeter game.

Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton led the Boilermakers with 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the Irish outrebounded Purdue 47-35, repeatedly holding them to one shot. The Irish also outscored the Boilermakers 22-18 in the paint to overcome Notre Dame’s 34.4-percent shooting.

Watson finished with 13 points and Lindsay Schrader added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish. Lakisha Freeman had 12 points for the Boilermakers.

Notre Dame, which hadn’t trailed by more than three points all season, fell behind 18-9 when FahKara Malone made a pair of free throws with 7:04 left in the first half. That’s when Watson made her three-pointers, then Schrader tied the score on a 15-foot jumper with 3 minutes left. The Irish led 23-22 at halftime on Watson’s third three-pointer.

Lechlitner scored seven points during a decisive 14-4 run in the second half, giving the Irish a 41-29 lead on an inside basket with 8:48 left. The Irish extended the lead to 45-32 when Schrader scored on a driving layup.

Purdue used a 6-0 run to close to 45-38 on a jumper by Freeman, but couldn’t get any closer.

Noting The Purdue Game

• Notre Dame is off to its best start since the 2004-05 season (also 7-0).
• The Irish pick up their third win over a Top 25 team in their first seven games this season, the first time they have done that since 1998-99.
• Notre Dame extends its winning streak over Purdue to a series-long three games and has won four of its last five meetings with the Boilermakers; in the past three matchups, the Irish have held Purdue to its three lowest point totals in the series.
• Notre Dame has led at the half in its last six games, while the season-opening win at LSU was tied at halftime.
• The Irish knocked down at least five three-pointers for the fifth time in the past six games.
• Notre Dame has posted a plus-28 rebound margin in its last two games, following a minus-16 spread against Michigan State.
• Schrader notched her second consecutive double-double, becoming the first Irish player to do that in back-to-back games since Dec. 11 & 19, 2004, when Jacqueline Batteast pulled off that feat at home against Washington and at Marquette.
• Lechlitner scored a career-high 19 points and became the sixth different player to lead Notre Dame in scoring this season (all in the past six games).
• Mallory earned her second consecutive start and the first of her career at home.

Irish Fourth In BIG EAST Preseason Poll
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team has been projected to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Conference this season, according to a preseason vote of the league’s 16 head coaches that was announced during the 2008 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Media Day on Oct. 23 at the ESPN Zone in New York City.

The Irish collected 182 points, with Connecticut (14 first-place votes, 224 points), Rutgers (one first-place vote, 201 points) and Louisville (one first-place vote, 200 points) joining Notre Dame in the top four.

In addition, senior guard Lindsay Schrader was chosen as a Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection, one of 14 players to garner preseason all-conference status. Schrader averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game last season while scoring in double figures 21 times.

A 2008 honorable mention all-BIG EAST selection, Schrader is one of three starters and seven monogram winners back for the Irish from last year’s 25-9 club that finished fourth in the BIG EAST and advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the past 12 seasons.

Half And Half
During the past nine seasons, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Irish are 152-14 (.916) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead, including wins in 80 of their last 88 such contests.

This season, Notre Dame is 6-0 when up at the break, doing so in its last six games. Last year, the Irish went 22-2 when they led at the break, failing only to do so in their two postseason losses (BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. Pittsburgh, NCAA Oklahoma City Regional semifinal vs. Tennessee), although the UT lead marked the first time Notre Dame was up on the Lady Vols at the half in 20 series games.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense…
During the past 14 seasons (1995-96 to present), 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 188-12 (.940) record when they hold their opponents below 60 points in a game.

Notre Dame has added four more wins to that ledger this year with wins over LSU, Boston College, Georgia Southern and Purdue.

…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 14 seasons (since 1995-96), the Irish are 118-4 (.967) 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 has scored at least 80 points in four games this year, winning each time. Last season, the Irish won 14 of 15 games when reaching the 80-point mark.

Now That’s A Home Court Advantage
One of the hallmarks of Notre Dame’s success has been its stellar play at home. In fact, the Irish have been virtually untouchable at home in recent years, winning 166 of their last 187 games (.888) at the 11,418-seat Joyce Center, including winning streaks of 51 and 25 games in that span. Notre Dame also has a 93-15 (.861) record in BIG EAST Conference play at the Joyce Center, sporting a 31-game league winning streak at home before it ended with a 48-45 loss to Villanova in the ’02 home finale.

The Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 75 of their last 81 non-BIG EAST contests (.926) at the Joyce Center, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Four of the losses in that span came at the hands of Big Ten Conference opponents — Wisconsin in 1996 (81-69), Purdue in 2003 (71-54), Michigan State in 2004 (82-73 OT) and Indiana in 2006 (54-51) — with the other two defeats coming to Tennessee 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 Joyce Center, posting a 316-82 (.794) 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.

Irish Have New Home On The Dial
On Aug. 27, 2008, 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 now originates all Notre Dame women’s basketball games, with those events carried on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1), marking the first time since the 1998-99 season that the Irish are heard on an FM station. 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 new 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 (UND.com) through the Fighting Irish All-Access multimedia package.

The new agreement includes extensive Notre Dame athletics promotion aired on a combination of the LeSEA stations.

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 as the play-by-play voice of the Irish this season.

Notre Dame On The Small Screen
Notre Dame will have at least 19 regular-season games televised during the upcoming 2008-09 season. Highlighting this year’s broadcast schedule are eight nationally-televised Irish women’s basketball contests, including four games on the ESPN family of networks (beginning with the Nov. 16 State Farm Tip-Off Classic win at LSU, which aired on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com) and three others on CBS College Sports.

In addition, Notre Dame continues to expand its broadcast reach globally on the Internet. All 11 Irish regular-season home games that have not been selected for commercial TV coverage will air live on the official Notre Dame athletics web site, UND.com, via the site’s free multimedia package, Fighting Irish All-Access.

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 120 televised games, including 70 that were broadcast nationally.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Senior guard Lindsay Schrader and junior guards Ashley Barlow and Melissa Lechlitner are team captains for the 2008-09 season. All three players are serving as captains for the first time in their careers, and each received the captain’s honor following a vote of their teammates prior to the season.

Irish In The Pink (Zone) All Season Long
Notre Dame is proud to be a participant in the second annual Pink Zone initiative, created by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) in order to heighten breast cancer awareness and raise money for research towards finding a cure for the disease.

Throughout the 2008-09 season, the Irish will take part in several activities centered around the Pink Zone initiative, including:

• Open Practice/Tip-Off Luncheon – On Oct. 19, the Irish open the doors to one of their preseason practice sessions and allowed approximately 600 season ticket holders to watch the team prepare for the upcoming season. A luncheon with the team followed and a total of $3,311 was raised.
• Three-Point Pledge – Fans can pledge an amount to donate for every three-pointer the Irish make this season. Pledge cards are available at the Joyce Center Gate 10 marketing table prior to each home game.
• Beanie Bears/Calendars – The Irish are collecting a $5 donation for every special-edition Notre Dame women’s basketball beanie bear and team calendar sold during the season.
• T-Shirt Sales – Specially-commissioned “Irish Believe” pink t-shirts are on sale in the Hammes Bookstore and Varsity Shop on the Notre Dame campus. Proceeds from the sales of the t-shirt will go to breast cancer awareness and research.
• Brittany and Becca’s Class – Sophomores Brittany Mallory and Becca Bruszewski currently are taking a management class in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business under the guidance of Chuck Lennon, an Irish women’s basketball season ticket holder, as well as Associate Vice President for University Relations and Executive Director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association. This class has been focusing on ways to help promote and enhance the Pink Zone initiative on the Notre Dame campus and rolled out their ideas at the Dec. 7 Purdue game.
• Pink Zone Challenge – The Irish women’s basketball program has challenged some of the other top-drawing teams in the country to a friendly fund-raising competition to see which school can raise the most money for breast cancer awareness and research during the WBCA’s designated Pink Zone games (Feb. 13-22, 2009). A total of 15 schools from among the top 20 in last year’s final NCAA attendance rankings have committed for this inaugural challenge — Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, LSU, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri State, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Purdue, Tennessee, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt. The school raising the most money during their specific Pink Zone game will earn the first-ever Pink Zone Challenge Trophy, to be commissioned by Notre Dame and awarded during the WBCA National Convention, to be held April 3-7, 2009, at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in St. Louis.
• Game Day (Feb. 8 vs. DePaul) – The Irish have selected their Feb. 8 home game against DePaul as Notre Dame’s Pink Zone game, presented by Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. The Irish will take the court in white, pink and navy uniforms, specially-designed by the school’s official athletics apparel provider, adidas. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a free pink Irish t-shirt, compliments of Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, and pink pom-poms, balloons and posters will fill the crowd. In addition, breast cancer survivors will be recognized on the court during a special halftime ceremony. What’s more, should Notre Dame sell out this game, the Irish will donate an additional $10,000 to the Pink Zone initiative.

Proceeds from all of Notre Dame’s Pink Zone events this season will go to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, as well as three local charities — Women’s Task Force, Young Survivors Group and Secret Sisters Society. For more information on the WBCA’s Pink Zone initiative, log on to the WBCA’s official web site at www.wbca.org.

ND To Host NCAA Tourney Games in 2009
Notre Dame’s Joyce Center will serve as one of 16 host sites for first- and second-round games in this year’s NCAA Championship on March 22 & 24.

All-session tickets for this year’s NCAA Championship games at the Joyce Center are available by contacting the Notre Dame athletics ticket office (574-631-7356).

Notre Dame has played in the NCAA Championship on its home floor five times before, most recently defeating Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State) and Middle Tennessee in 2004 to make the program’s sixth NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. All told, the Irish are 6-1 in NCAA tourney play at the Joyce Center, winning six in a row since an 81-76 first-round loss to Minnesota in 1994.

Irish Fans Crave Another Big Mac Attack
After a wildly-successful debut last season, Notre Dame is bringing back its “Big Mac” promotion for 2008-09, offering fans a coupon for a free Big Mac from South Bend-area McDonald’s restaurants if the Irish score at least 88 points in a game.

It hasn’t take long for the burger watch to fire back up again this year, as Notre Dame topped the 88-point mark in both its lone exhibition game (96-30 win over Gannon on Nov. 5) and its regular-season opener (96-61 win over Evansville on Nov. 19).

Last year, the Irish reached the magic number eight times, doing so in both exhibition wins, along with regular-season victories over Miami (Ohio), Boston College, Canisius, Valparaiso, Marquette and South Florida.

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 — sophomore guard Brittany Mallory, who was sent the crowd home happy (and presumably with full bellies) four times.

This season, it’s been the Irish freshmen who have taken on the “Big Mac” mantle of responsibility, with guard Natalie Novosel doing the honors in the Gannon exhibition win and forward Erica Solomon putting Notre Dame over the top against Evansville.

Joyce Center Arena Renovation Underway
On Sept. 13, 2008, groundbreaking ceremonies for the new Purcell Pavilion, including the Joyce Center arena addition and renovation, were held to kick off the first phase of the two-year project to upgrade the home for Notre Dame basketball and volleyball.

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

The University announced in October 2007 that this $26.3 million project 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.

Exterior changes to the Joyce Center that began taking shape in September include a new, three-story addition on the south end of the current structure. The third floor area will include the stadium club/hospitality area. The first-floor addition will include almost 4,500 square feet for ticket offices (including four exterior and 10 interior tickets windows), 3,000 square feet for the varsity shop, as well as a completely new main entrance and lobby situated between Gates 8 and 10. The new entrance will feature graphics and theming that highlight Notre Dame’s competing athletic programs.

Changes to the interior of the Joyce Center arena include:

• New, blue chair-back seating from top to bottom of the arena, including all-new upper-arena sections. All seating will be replaced in the lower bowl (including platform seats), and the wooden bleachers in the upper bowl will be removed and replaced with treads and risers and permanent arena seats. The exchange of the bleacher sections for chair back seats will change the capacity from the current 11,418 to approximately 9,800.
• A stadium club/hospitality area (approximately 16,500 square feet) in the south end of the arena, with a separate, private entry and with premium club seating for nearly 800 fans (that figure is part of the projected 9,800 capacity). Included in this area will be food service and restroom facilities.
• New fixed concession areas, increased numbers of women’s restrooms and increased handicapped seating options.
• The interior seating changes provide an opportunity to consider new options for student seating. Students currently sit in both lower- and upper-arena sections behind the basket on the east end of the arena.

Next Game: Valparaiso
Notre Dame will make the short trip down the Indiana Toll Road Saturday for a 1:35 p.m. (CT) game with Valparaiso. The game will be televised on ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com, as well as locally on Lakeshore Public Television.

Valparaiso (3-2) has had an up-and-down season, winning the Coors Classic title out in Fort Collins, Colo., with a win over Florida State in the championship game. However, the Crusaders are coming off a 71-67 loss at North Texas last Saturday. Valparaiso is slated to play host to No. 23/21 Purdue Wednesday before the Irish come to town this weekend.

— ND —