Irish Open Senior Week Wednesday Night Against Georgetown

Feb. 20, 2007

Complete Notes (PDF)

2006-07 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 27
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (18-8 / 9-4 BIG EAST) vs.
Georgetown Hoyas (12-14 / 2-11 BIG EAST)

Storylines

• Notre Dame needs one victory to reach the 10-win mark in BIG EAST Conference play for the 11th time in its 12-year affiliation.
• The Irish have tightened up their three-point defense during their current five-game winning streak, with opponents shooting just .298 from beyond the arc.

Irish Open Senior Week Wednesday Night Against Georgetown
Bolstered by a successful two-game road swing last week, Notre Dame returns to campus for its final two home games of the 2006-07 season, beginning Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) when the Irish welcome Georgetown to the Joyce Center. Notre Dame is in the midst of a season-best five-game winning streak and has risen to the fourth position in the BIG EAST Conference standings with less than a week to go in the regular season.

The Irish kept up their winning ways last Saturday with an 82-65 victory at Providence. After trailing by as many as six points in the first half, Notre Dame closed the period on a 10-3 run, then bludgeoned the Friars with a 21-0 surge to begin the second half.

Junior guard Charel Allen played a key role in that 12-minute run, scoring 14 of her game-high 26 points during that time. Freshman guard Melissa Lechlitner added 16 points for the Irish, while junior center Melissa D’Amico chipped in with 11 points and freshman center Erica Williamson tallied 10 points.

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 611-274 (.690).

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Now in the final month of the 2006-07 regular 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 71.2 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, causing 21.0 turnovers per game (including a BIG EAST-best 11.2 steals per night). However, the flip side has seen the Irish allow opponents to shoot .420 from the floor (.351 from the three-point line), while the Irish claim just a 2.3 rpg. edge on the boards), two areas Notre Dame will continue to focus on during as it winds down BIG EAST play.

Junior guard Charel Allen has been one of the main offensive catalysts for the Irish to this point, averaging a team-high 17.4 ppg., while scoring in double figures in 23 of 26 outings to date. The Monessen, Pa., native, who is a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and four-time BIG EAST Honor Roll selection, also is collecting a team-high 6.6 rebounds and 2.08 steals per game.

Allen’s classmate and backcourt running partner, Tulyah Gaines, is easily one of the conference’s most improved players this season. The speedy Gaines has stoked the Notre Dame offensive fire to an even hotter level, averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 assists per game. Gaines, who came into the season with a 3.7 ppg. career scoring average, has scored 20 points in a game three times this year, including a career-high 27 points on Jan. 10 in a win over Cincinnati.

The most pleasing contributions of the year for Notre Dame to this point have come from its freshmen. Guard Ashley Barlow, who made her first career start Feb. 11 vs. DePaul, is second on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg.), tops in steals and sixth in the BIG EAST (2.19 spg.), and had a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds on Dec. 28 vs. Prairie View A&M. Center Erica Williamson (6.2 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 1.36 bpg.) logged her first career double-double at South Florida with 11 points and 18 rebounds (an Irish freshman record). And, guard Melissa Lechlitner (6.2 ppg., 3.0 apg.) has been particularly sharp of late, ranking second in the BIG EAST with a 1.86 assist/turnover ratio in conference play. She also scored a career-high 18 points vs. Syracuse and delivered a personal-best nine assists (without a turnover) against St. John’s.

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 265 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 11th nationally in attendance (6,323 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 92 of its last 94 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 Georgetown
Georgetown (12-14, 2-11 BIG EAST) got off to a hot start this season, winning 11 of its first 16 games, including a seven-game winning streak. On Dec. 30, the Hoyas also picked up a 60-57 home win over Utah, an NCAA Elite Eight participant last year.

However, fortunes have changed for GU in the past two months, as the Hoyas have lost nine of their last 10 games, all in BIG EAST play. Georgetown’s offense also has struggled at times, topping 60 points three times in that stretch.

The Hoyas are coming off their third consecutive loss, a 65-58 setback at home to Syracuse on Saturday. Junior forward Kieraah Marlow registered a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds, but Syracuse rallied in the second half, erasing a five-point deficit to claim the win.

Marlow leads Georgetown and ranks 10th in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.2 ppg.) while also pulling down 6.8 rebounds a night. Sophomore forward Katrina Wheeler is second in scoring (8.3 ppg.) and also stands ninth in the league with 8.0 rebounds per game.

Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is in her third season at Georgetown with a 34-47 (.420) career record. She is 0-2 all-time against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Georgetown Series
Notre Dame’s series with Georgetown dates back to the first season of BIG EAST Conference women’s basketball (1982-83) and predates the addition of the Irish to the league in 1995-96. Wednesday’s game will be the 23rd meeting between Notre Dame and the Hoyas, with the Irish holding a 20-2 advantage on GU. Notre Dame also has won each of the 10 prior matchups between the schools at the Joyce Center.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Georgetown Met
Megan Duffy scored 16 points and No. 24/22 Notre Dame defeated Georgetown 54-52, on Jan. 21, 2006 at McDonough Arena in Washington, giving the Irish their first BIG EAST road win of the ’05-06 season.

Melissa D’Amico had 10 rebounds for the Irish (12-5, 3-3 Big East), who scored only one field goal in the last 10 minutes as late-charging Georgetown put together a 19-4 run.

Bethany LeSueur scored 19 points and Kieraah Marlow added 12 for the Hoyas (8-9, 1-5). Kate Carlin’s three-pointer from the right wing fell short at the buzzer, sending Georgetown to its third straight defeat.

Breona Gray had the chance to seal the game for the Irish, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 14.9 seconds to play. She got to the line after stealing Nikki Bozeman’s pass on the previous possession.

Notre Dame led 32-18 at halftime and extended its lead to 17 points three times, the last coming on Charel Allen’s layup with 10:07 left.

Notre Dame led 19-6 early in the first half, as the Hoyas shot 1-of-11 from the floor in the opening six-plus minutes.

The Last Time Notre Dame and Georgetown Met At The Joyce Center
Jacqueline Batteast had 20 points and eight rebounds as No. 6/7 Notre Dame recovered from nearly squandering a 17-point lead, beating Georgetown 72-58, on Feb. 12, 2005 at the Joyce Center.

Georgetown (9-13, 4-7 BIG EAST), which trailed 31-14 with five minutes to go in the first half, cut the lead to 35-30 early in the second half on a basket by Varda Tamoulianis. Later in the half, the Hoyas closed to 42-39 when Mary Lisicky hit a three-pointer. Lisicky then closed the gap to 43-41 when she made a pair of free throws with 12:41 left.

But Batteast dribbled around a crowd in the lane and drove the baseline to spark a 17-4 run by the Irish (22-3, 10-2). Batteast and Charel Allen scored six points each during the spurt. Megan Duffy, who had 17 points and seven assists, capped the run with a pair of free throws to give the Irish a 60-45 lead with 6:34 left.

Teresa Borton added 14 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds for her fourth career double-double as the Irish outrebounded Georgetown 42-21. The Irish dominated inside, outscoring the Hoyas 30-22. Allen also scored 14 points for Notre Dame.

Lisicky led Georgetown with 16 points, while Kate Carlin added 11 points and Bethany LeSueur had 10. Kieraah Marlow, Georgetown’s leading scorer at 13.2 points a game, was held to six points. Notre Dame outshot the Hoyas 47 percent to 41 percent.

The Irish used an 18-6 run to open that 31-14 first-half lead when Batteast scored on a running 10-foot jumper down the lane. But the Hoyas, who made just five of their first 20 shots, converted their last five of the first half during a 12-4 run.

A three-pointer by Kristin Heidloff from a step across halfcourt just before the buzzer cut Notre Dame’s lead to 35-26 at the break.

Other Notre Dame-Georgetown Series Tidbits

• Georgetown is one of eight opponents Notre Dame has defeated at least 20 times in its history. The others are: Marquette (27), Dayton and Detroit (22 each), and Loyola (Ill.), Syracuse, Valparaiso and Xavier (20 each).
• Notre Dame is 16-1 against Georgetown since the teams began playing under the BIG EAST Conference umbrella. The Irish have held the Hoyas to less than 70 points in 16 of those 17 conference meetings, going 16-0 in such games. The lone exception – a 76-73 GU win on Jan. 7, 2004 in Washington.
• In the past six series games at the Joyce Center, Notre Dame has won by an average of 20.3 points per game, after two of the first four matchups were decided by single digits (including a 78-72 OT win for the Irish on Dec. 30, 1992).
• Notre Dame sophomore guard Lindsay Schrader (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett HS) and Georgetown junior guard Kristin Heidloff (Chicago/Fenwick HS) are two of the many talented players to have emerged from the Chicagoland area in the past couple of years. Schrader was the 2006 Illinois Miss Basketball and was a four-time all-state pick (as well as a 2005 consensus prep All-American), while Heidloff was a two-time all-state selection (2002 and 2003). The Irish will add another Windy City product next year when forward Devereaux Peters (also from Fenwick HS) enrolls at Notre Dame.
• Schrader and Georgetown sophomore forward Katrina Wheeler both were named to the 2005 McDonald’s High School All-America Team and played against one another in the McDonald’s High School All-America Game that was contested at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center on March 30, 2005. Schrader scored nine points (4-7 FG) and grabbed three rebounds for the West squad, while Wheeler started for the East team, piling up five rebounds and two steals. The West came out victorious, 80-64.
• Second-year Georgetown athletics director Bernard Muir formerly served as deputy athletics director at Notre Dame from 2000-05. His wife, Liz, also spent time in the Irish athletics department, most recently as assistant athletics director for rules education, before the Muir family moved to Washington in the summer of 2005.

Allen Makes Fourth Appearance On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Junior guard Charel Allen 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, who took the award on Dec. 11, and junior center Melissa D’Amico, 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, and registered an 82-65 win at Providence. Against 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.

The Deuce Is Loose
Junior guard Charel Allen is playing some of the best basketball of her college career during the past month. The Monessen, Pa., native is averaging 22.1 points in the past 10 games, cracking the 20-point mark seven times and scoring 25-or-more points on six occasions (including four of the past five contests).

Allen also has scored 25+ points in the past three Notre Dame games. Previously, the last time an Irish player tallied at least 25 points in three consecutive games was from March 17-28, 1997, when Katryna Gaither closed her career with four straight 25-point outings in the NCAA Tournament as the Irish made their first trip to the Final Four – at Texas (29), vs. Alabama (26), vs. George Washington (25) and vs. Tennessee (28).

Having A Grand Time
Only 40 points now separate junior guard Charel Allen from becoming the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Upon reaching that milestone, Allen will be the 14th player in the past 13 seasons to do so, with at least one Notre Dame player scoring her 1,000th career point in 10 of the past 13 seasons (1994-95 to present).

Barlow, Sell High
Freshman guard Ashley Barlow has come alive once again during Notre Dame’s current five-game winning streak. The rookie from Indianapolis has scored in double figures in four of the five Irish wins, averaging 13.6 ppg. with a .480 field goal percentage (24-of-50) over that time. She also has contributed in other ways, averaging 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 steals in the past five outings, including five thefts at Villanova (her third five-steal night of the year).

Pine Time Players
Part of the reason for Notre Dame’s success this season can be traced to the production the Irish have gotten from their bench (comprised almost entirely of their freshmen class). The Notre Dame reserves are averaging 23.5 points per game and are outscoring the opposition’s bench by 9.4 points per game.

For the year, the Irish second unit has outscored the opponent reserves in 21 of 26 games, with Notre Dame posting a 16-5 record in those contests.