Feb. 19, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame junior guard Charel Allen (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) continued to pile up the individual accolades this season, when she was named to the BIG EAST Conference Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth time in 2006-07, the league office announced Monday. Allen previously was chosen for that award on Dec. 4, Jan. 8 and Feb. 5, and she also has twice been selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Week (Jan. 22 and Feb. 12). Allen is one of three Irish players who have been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll a total of six times this season, joining senior guard Breona Gray (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman), who took the award on Dec. 11, and junior center Melissa D’Amico (Manorville, N.Y./William Floyd), who was accorded that status on Dec. 18.
Allen averaged 25.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with a .588 field goal percentage last week, as Notre Dame won at Villanova, 75-58 on Tuesday night and registered an 82-65 win at Providence on Saturday afternoon. At Villanova, Allen scored a game-high 25 points, connecting on her first seven shots from the field. She also added six rebounds and a career-high six assists (without a turnover) as the Irish posted their highest point total at VU since 1997. During the weekend at Providence, Allen tallied a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, scoring 14 of those markers during a 31-3 Notre Dame run that lasted more than 12 minutes and crossed between halves. She also became the first Irish player in nearly 10 years to score 25-or-more points in three consecutive games, a feat last accomplished by Katryna Gaither from March 17-28, 1997, as she led Notre Dame to the NCAA Final Four.
For the season, Allen leads the team and ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in scoring (17.4 ppg.), while also collecting a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game. Besides her scoring total, Allen is among the conference leaders in free throw percentage (second – .862) and steals (eighth – 2.08 spg.), and she has scored in double figures 23 times in 26 games this season. During conference play, Allen ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring (20.5 ppg.) and free throw percentage (.887), with seven of her nine 20-point games this year coming against league opponents, including a current string of five in a row (four of which have seen her score at least 25 points).
Riding a season-high five-game winning streak, Notre Dame (18-8, 9-4 BIG EAST) is preparing for its final two home games of the season, beginning Wednesday night against Georgetown at the Joyce Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. (ET), and tickets may still be purchased by contacting the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office (574-631-7356), ordering on-line by clicking here or stopping by the Joyce Center Gate 10 ticket windows on game night.
— ND —