Dec. 11, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the second consecutive week, a Notre Dame women’s basketball player has been named to the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll. On Monday, Irish senior guard and co-captain Breona Gray (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) earned the designation, marking the first time in her career she has been chosen for a weekly award from the BIG EAST. Junior guard Charel Allen was named to last week’s BIG EAST Honor Roll, and Notre Dame now has had five players awarded that distinction a total of seven times since the conference created the Honor Roll prior to last season.
Gray played a critical role in Notre Dame’s 67-58 victory over No. 10/9 Purdue last Wednesday at the Joyce Center. The 5-9 defensive specialist erupted on the offensive end for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a personal-best four three-pointers (and the go-ahead triple with three minutes to play). Gray also shared team-high honors with seven rebounds (one off her career best) and three steals (tied her career high), as the Irish knocked off a top-10 opponent for the fifth consecutive season, and now have done so in 10 of the past 11 years.
For the season, Gray is averaging 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, while also tying for 13th in the BIG EAST at 2.0 steals per contest. She has started all nine games for the Irish this season, and has been in the Notre Dame starting lineup for 64 of the past 72 games, spanning three years.
After a 10-day break for final exams, Notre Dame (6-3) returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET) inside the Joyce Center when it wraps up a three-game homestand with its first-ever matchup against IUPUI. The first 1,000 fans through the doors will receive an Irish women’s basketball Beanie Bear, courtesy of Notre Dame Federal Credit Union. The Irish also will hold their second annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans bringing a stuffed animal or teddy bear to donate to Toys-For-Tots will receive $2 off their admission and will have the chance to toss their stuffed animal/teddy bear on the court at halftime.
Tickets for the IUPUI game, and all remaining Irish women’s basketball contests, are available at a cost of $8 for adults and $5 for youths (21-and-under) or seniors (55-and-older), while Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s/Holy Cross students are admitted free with their student ID. Purchases can be made in advance at the Joyce Center second-floor ticket windows (located inside the Gate 1 entrance), by phone (574-631-7356), on-line at the official Notre Dame athletics web site by clicking here, or on game days at the Joyce Center Gate 10 ticket windows.
— ND —