April 17, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will retain its home-and-home series with traditional rival DePaul, as part of the 2007-08 BIG EAST Conference schedule that was released Tuesday. Headlining the 16-game slate for the Irish will be a pair of matchups with the Blue Demons, whom Notre Dame has faced at least twice in each of the past two seasons. The two sides split their regular-season encounters last year, with each winning on their home court, before DePaul eliminated the Irish from the BIG EAST Championship with a 76-71 victory at the Hartford (Conn.) Civic Center.
All told, Notre Dame will play six of its eight conference home games next year against teams that advanced to the postseason in ’06-07, led by NCAA Elite Eight qualifier (and reigning BIG EAST regular-season champion) Connecticut. The other visitors to the Joyce Center next season will be: Marquette (NCAA second round), Pittsburgh (NCAA second round), Providence, Seton Hall (WNIT second round), South Florida (WNIT round of 16) and Villanova.
Conversely, four of Notre Dame’s eight road contests in BIG EAST play next season will come against ’06-07 postseason qualifiers. The featured BIG EAST road trip for the Irish next season will be Rutgers, with the Scarlet Knights coming off a trip to the ’07 NCAA national championship game (a game RU dropped to Tennessee, 59-46, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland). Notre Dame also will travel to Cincinnati, Georgetown, Louisville (NCAA second round), St. John’s, Syracuse and West Virginia (NCAA second round) during the coming year.
In terms of locations, Notre Dame’s conference docket for next season is the exact opposite from the 2006-07 ledger (and reverts to the same layout as the ’05-06 season). The ’07-08 non-conference schedule for the Irish will be announced at a later date, following approval from the University’s Faculty Board on Athletics. A complete list of dates and times for all of Notre Dame’s games next season also will be released at that time.
The Irish recently completed the 2006-07 season with a 20-12 overall record (their 13th 20-win season in the past 14 years), and a 10-6 mark in BIG EAST action, tying for fifth in the final conference standings. Notre Dame went on to make its 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance (14th overall), defeating California in the first round of the Dallas Region, 62-59, before bowing to eventual Final Four qualifier (and top-seeded) North Carolina, 60-51. The Irish will have three starters and nine monogram winners back in uniform next season, as well as three talented freshmen that make up the nation’s No. 11 incoming class (according to Blue Star Index) — it’s the 11th consecutive year Notre Dame has signed a top-20 rookie group.
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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball — 2007-08 BIG EAST Conference Schedule
Home (Overall, BIG EAST Record) '06-07 ND ResultConnecticut (32-4, 16-0) L, 47-64DePaul (19-13, 8-8) W, 78-70; L, 73-87; L, 71-76Marquette (26-7, 12-4) L, 62-71Pittsburgh (24-9, 10-6) L, 62-71Providence (13-16, 3-13) W, 82-65Seton Hall (19-12, 9-7) W, 64-61South Florida (21-12, 9-7) L, 78-87 (OT)Villanova (8-21, 2-14) W, 75-58Road (Overall, BIG EAST Record) '06-07 ND ResultCincinnati (15-14, 6-10) W, 81-70DePaul (19-13, 8-8) W, 78-70; L, 73-87; L, 71-76Georgetown (13-16, 3-13) W, 73-48Louisville (27-8, 10-6) W, 64-55Rutgers (27-9, 12-4) L, 60-76St. John's (8-20, 4-12) W, 83-65Syracuse (9-20, 3-13) W, 83-55West Virginia (21-11, 11-5) W, 77-67