Feb. 6, 2017
By Leigh Torbin
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Lindsay Allen’s quest to confirm her place as the nation’s best point guard took another step forward on Monday as she was named one of 10 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award. It marks the third consecutive year where Allen has been a finalist as she looks to follow in the footsteps of Notre Dame’s lone previous recipient, Skylar Diggins (2012 and 2013).
Fittingly, Diggins is the next hurdle for Allen as she continues her assault on both the Notre Dame and ACC career assist leader charts. With 744 in her Irish career, Allen is looking up only at Diggins (745) and Mary Gavin (778) on an Irish chart whose top spot has remained the same since 1988. On a conference level, Allen’s 744 is eclipsed just by Maryland’s Kristi Toliver (751) and Virginia’s Sharnee Zoll (785), leaving both marks well within Allen’s reach.
Allen both leads the ACC and ranks in the top three nationally this season with her 185 assists, 7.7 assists per game and 3.49 assist-to-turnover ratio. Her 744 career assists makes her the nation’s active career assist leader, one ahead of Northwestern’s Ashley Deary who has 743. Allen also ranks 52nd nationally in steals (55) and 59th in minutes played (809).
Three times this year Allen has recorded 12 assists in a game — her career-high. She recently became the first Notre Dame player since Gavin in 1988 to record at least 10 assists in three consecutive games, dishing out 11 helpers at North Carolina (Jan. 22), 12 against Duke (Jan. 26) and 10 more against Virginia (Jan. 29). The streak narrowly ended when Allen recorded nine assists in a win at Virginia Tech on Feb. 2.
At Chattanooga on Dec. 27, Allen recorded the sixth triple-double in Irish lore as she scored 11 points, snared a career-high 11 rebounds and matched her career high with 12 assists against the Mocs. Allen’s first true double-double came in historic fashion against Virginia on Jan. 29. Her 11-rebound, 10-assist effort against the Cavaliers is believed to be the first double-double in Notre Dame history which did not include points as one of the categories.
Allen recently became the fourth player in Notre Dame history to log 4,000 career minutes, hitting the milestone in style by collecting two assists during her 4,000th minute. Allen has started each of the 136 games of her Irish career, helping guide Notre Dame to a 127-9 (.934) career record. Her 136 consecutive starts are by far a school record while her 1367 total starts is second in school history behind only the 144 by Diggins.
Earlier this year, Allen surpassed the 1,000 career point plateau. She currently stands 28th on Notre Dame’s all-time scoring list with her 1,174 career points.
Allen’s abilities will be on display for the nation tonight as the Irish play host to No. 9 Louisville at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
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Leigh Torbin, athletics communications associate director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2013 and coordinates all media efforts for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball and men’s golf teams. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Torbin graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He has previously worked full-time on the athletic communications staffs at Vanderbilt, Florida, Connecticut and UCF.