Irish Head To Valparaiso For Tuesday Night Game

Complete Notes (PDF)

Dec. 19, 2006

Storylines

• Notre Dame has won its final pre-Christmas game in each of the past 10 seasons.
• The Irish are playing the last of four consecutive in-state opponents, and are playing just their second road game since Thanksgiving weekend.

Irish Head To Valparaiso For Tuesday Night Game Winners in four of its last five games, Notre Dame will look to keep its recent run of success going when it travels to Valparaiso Tuesday for a 7:05 p.m. (CT) contest at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The Irish and Crusaders have met regularly throughout the past three decades, dating all the way back to the first-ever Notre Dame women’s basketball game in December 1977.

The Irish came back from a 10-day break this past Saturday, leading from the opening tip to the final horn in a 75-65 victory over IUPUI at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame used a smothering defense during the first 10 minutes of the game and bolted out a 24-7 lead, forcing the Jaguars to battle from behind much of the afternoon. The Irish kept their lead in double digits the entire second half and went up by as many as 24 points en route to the win.

Junior center Melissa D’Amico paced three Notre Dame players in double figures with a career-high-tying 20 points (8-10 FG), while junior guard Tulyah Gaines added 16 points and a career-high five steals for the Irish.

Rankings

• Notre Dame received two votes in this week’s Associated Press poll.
• Valparaiso is not ranked.

Setting The Standard
Under the guidance of 20th-year head coach Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame has evolved into one of the country’s leading women’s basketball powers. The Irish have appeared in 13 NCAA Tournaments (including a current streak of 11 in a row) and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 six times in the previous 10 years. Notre Dame also has reached the NCAA Women’s Final Four twice, winning college basketball’s ultimate prize with the 2001 national championship.

In its history, Notre Dame has developed eight All-Americans, nine WNBA players (including six draft picks in the past six years) and four USA Basketball veterans (eight medals won). Now in their 30th season in 2006-07, the Irish own an all-time record of 600-269 (.690).

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Only a month into the 2006-07 season, the growth of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team already is evident, and the best may be yet to come.

With a young and inexperienced roster that has only two seniors and is missing its top returning scorer from a year ago, the Irish have had to learn on the run — and run is exactly what they have done this season. Notre Dame is averaging 70.8 points per game thus far, a significant improvement over the previous five Irish squads, none of which has averaged better than 66.3 points per night.

Of course, the Irish have traditionally hung their hat on their defense, a trait that is much harder to master and takes a bit longer. On the one hand, Notre Dame’s aggressive style has rattled opponents throughout the campaign, causing 22.7 turnovers per game (including a BIG EAST-best 12.6 steals per night). However, the flip side has seen the Irish allow opponents to shoot .421 from the floor (.376 from the three-point line), while the Irish claim just an 0.3 rpg. edge on the boards), two areas Notre Dame will continue to focus on as it works through the non-conference portion of the schedule.

Junior guard Charel Allen has been one of the main offensive catalysts for the Irish to this point, averaging a team-high 14.0 ppg., while scoring in double figures in eight of 10 outings to date. The Monessen, Pa., native, who was limited last year while recovering from knee surgery in the summer of 2005, also is collecting 5.2 rebounds per game and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 4 after averaging 18.0 ppg. and 6.0 rpg. against Richmond, Michigan and Indiana.

Allen’s classmate and backcourt running partner, Tulyah Gaines, is an early candidate as one of the conference’s most improved players. The speedy Gaines has assumed the large footprint left at the point by All-American (and WNBA Draft pick) Megan Duffy and has stoked the Notre Dame offensive fire to an even hotter level, averaging 11.4 points and 3.6 assists per game with a .520 field goal percentage. Gaines, who came into the season with a 3.7 ppg. career scoring average, has twice score 20 points in a game this year, including a career-high 25 points in a Nov. 13 overtime win vs. Bowling Green.

Another Irish junior, 6-foot-5 center Melissa D’Amico, continues to make strides in the post. The second-year starter is averaging 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game with a .583 field goal percentage (sixth in the BIG EAST), and is coming off a career-high 20-point effort vs. IUPUI that landed her on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday.

The most pleasing contributions of the year for Notre Dame to this point have come from its freshmen, three of whom have seen significant playing time. Guard Ashley Barlow is fourth on the team in scoring (10.2 ppg.) and tops in steals (2.4 spg., tied-fifth in BIG EAST), and came up with a 19-point, 10-rebound effort vs. Bowling Green, including 11-of-12 free throws and the two clinchers with 3.8 ticks left in OT. Center Erica Williamson (6.0 ppg., 5.1 rpg., 1.2 bpg., .512 FG%) is proving to be a capable understudy to D’Amico, amassing season highs of 12 points and nine rebounds at USC. And, guard Melissa Lechlitner (4.7 ppg., 2.4 apg.) has shown little drop off at the point behind Gaines, registering five assists in a game twice this year, and carding a season-high 11 points (including 3-of-4 three-pointers) at Penn State.

Potent Notables About The Irish

• Notre Dame is among the nation’s winningest programs during the past 11 seasons (1996-97 to present), ranking seventh with 254 victories in that span.

• Notre Dame’s incoming class of 2007 (announced Nov. 8) has been ranked 11th in the nation by Blue Star Basketball, marking the 11th consecutive season that the Irish have had a top-25 recruiting class. Notre Dame is one of only three schools (along with Connecticut and Tennessee) to have an active streak of that length. A thumbnail sketch of the newest Irish signees can be found on page 8 of these notes.

• Notre Dame currently is ranked ninth nationally in attendance (6,501 fans per game). Last season marked the sixth consecutive campaign the Irish were among the national top 20 in attendance (No. 11 ranking). Notre Dame also has attracted 5,000-or-more fans to 85 of its last 87 home games, including three Joyce Center sellouts of 11,418 (most recently on Dec. 31, 2005 vs. Tennessee).

• For the sixth time in school history, Notre Dame has been selected to host NCAA Tournament action, as the Joyce Center will be the site of NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games in 2010. In four of the five previous instances, Notre Dame was involved in NCAA Tournament play, going 6-1 all-time and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 three times (2000, 2001, 2004), with only a first-round loss to Minnesota in 1994 blotting the resume. Notre Dame also hosted the 1983 NCAA Mideast Regional at the Joyce Center, with Georgia defeating Tennessee, 67-63 in the regional final.

• The Irish have become a regular fixture in the WNBA Draft in recent years, as six Notre Dame players have been selected in the past six seasons. All-America guard Megan Duffy was the most recent Irish player to be chosen, going to the Minnesota Lynx in the third round (31st overall pick) of the 2006 WNBA Draft. Other active Notre Dame players in the WNBA during the 2006 season included Ruth Riley and Jacqueline Batteast (league champion Detroit Shock), while Niele Ivey sat out this year as a free agent, rehabilitating an injury after previously playing with Indiana, Detroit and Phoenix. Riley’s WNBA title with Detroit was her second (she was the 2003 WNBA Finals MVP), while Batteast earned her first pro crown this year.

• Notre Dame has been an elite program in the classroom as well. The Irish posted a perfect 100-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), according to figures released by the NCAA in October 2006. Notre Dame was one of 16 Division I-A programs to achieve this distinction, and one of only two BIG EAST programs (Syracuse is the other). 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 Quick Look At Valparaiso
Valparaiso is 4-5 this season and is currently in the middle of a three-game losing streak. Tuesday night’s game with Notre Dame will be just the third home contest of the season for the Crusaders, who have ventured throughout the Midwest while playing seven of their first nine games on unfriendly soil.

In its last outing this past Saturday afternoon, Valparaiso came away on the short end of a 67-49 score at Northern Iowa. Senior center Tamra Braun rolled up her fourth consecutive double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but she was the only Crusader to score in double figures during the contest. Valparaiso shot 40.4 percent from the floor in the game, but was outrebounded by the Panthers, 42-28.

Senior forward Betsy Rietema leads Valparaiso in scoring this season (12.8 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (6.3 rpg.). Braun is second in scoring (10.8 ppg.) and tops in rebounding (8.2 rpg.), field goal percentage (.594) and blocked shots (1.4 bpg.).

Head coach Keith Freeman is in his 13th season at Valparaiso, owning a 213-146 (.593) record with the Crusaders. He has an overall record of 342-193 (.639), and he is 0-9 in his career against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Valparaiso Series
The series with Valparaiso is the oldest in Notre Dame women’s basketball history, dating all the way to the program’s first varsity game on Dec. 3, 1977 (a 48-41 Irish win at the Joyce Center). All told, the teams have met 19 times, with Notre Dame winning on each occasion, including an 8-0 record at Valparaiso’s Athletics-Recreation Center.