Junior center Melissa D'Amico is averaging 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds with a .586 field goal percentage in her last eight games.

Irish Return From Christmas Break To Face Prairie View A&M Thursday

Complete Notes (PDF)

Dec. 27, 2006

DATE: December 28, 2006
TIME: 4:00 p.m. ET
AT: Notre Dame, Ind.
Joyce Center (11,418)
SERIES: First meeting
RADIO: ESPN Radio 1490 AM
Sean Stires, p-b-p
Ruth Riley, color
TV: None
LIVE STATS: www.und.com
TICKETS: (574) 631-7356

Storylines

  • Notre Dame is 12-1 against first-time opponents since 2000-01 and has won 12 consecutive home games vs. new foes.
  • The Irish have limited their last five opponents to 58.8 points per game.

Irish Return From Christmas Break To Face Prairie View A&M Thursday After playing twice in the past three weeks, Notre Dame will see its schedule kick back into high gear, beginning Thursday when it plays host to Prairie View A&M in a 4 p.m. (ET) contest at the Joyce Center. It’s the first of three games in six days for the Irish, who will visit Tennessee Saturday and close the stretch with their BIG EAST opener at Seton Hall.

The Irish went into the Christmas holiday on a high note, earning a 60-59 victory at Valparaiso on Dec. 19. For the second time in as many road games, Notre Dame used clutch free throw shooting in the final seconds to pull out a victory – senior guard Breona Gray did the honors this time around on her foul shot with 1.2 seconds left. The Irish led almost the entire way against the Crusaders, but couldn’t quite shake the hosts, who have been traditionally-tough opponents for Notre Dame.

Junior guard Charel Allen led a trio of Irish players in double figures with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior center Melissa D’Amico chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds, while freshman guard Ashley Barlow also scored 12 points and grabbed six boards.

Rankings

  • Notre Dame received one vote in this week’s Associated Press poll.
  • Prairie View A&M 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 601-269 (.691).

A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish
Only six weeks 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 69.8 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, causing 22.0 turnovers per game (including a BIG EAST-best 12.1 steals per night). However, the flip side has seen the Irish allow opponents to shoot .416 from the floor (.377 from the three-point line), while the Irish claim just an 0.7 rpg. edge on the boards), two areas Notre Dame will continue to focus on as it closes out its non-conference schedule.

Junior guard Charel Allen has been one of the main offensive catalysts for the Irish to this point, averaging a team-high 14.4 ppg., while scoring in double figures in nine of 11 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 5.5 rebounds per game (second on the team) 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 10.5 points and 3.4 assists per game with a .506 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 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game with a .571 field goal percentage (fifth in the BIG EAST), and has looked even better of late, averaging 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game with a .586 field goal percentage. She also earned a spot on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 18.

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 (10.4 ppg.) and tops in steals (2.4 spg., 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 (5.7 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 1.2 bpg.) 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 (4.5 ppg., 2.5 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 255 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 Prairie View A&M
Based in Prairie View, Texas (near Houston), Prairie View A&M comes to town with a 2-7 record, having lost its last seven games after beginning the year with back-to-back victories. The Lady Panthers also will be playing the eighth game in a rugged 11-game, five-week road trip that has seen them visit four other states (Indiana is the fifth) and will not have PVAMU returning home until Jan. 6.

Prairie View A&M opened its campaign at home with wins over Texas A&M-Commerce (77-73) and Nicholls State (76-37). However, during their current seven-game losing streak, the Lady Panthers are allowing 82.9 points per game while scoring 60.7 points a night. The two closest calls for PVAMU of late have been a 77-74 loss at North Texas on Nov. 28, and a 96-90 double-overtime setback to Houston on Dec. 15 at USC’s Women of Troy Classic in Los Angeles.

Prairie View A&M has been off since Dec. 19, when it dropped an 89-55 decision at Missouri. The Lady Panthers led by as many as five points (21-16) halfway through the first period, but Missouri responded by scoring 43 of the next 53 points in a 16-minute stretch to take control. Freshman forward Gaati Werema scored a game-high 17 points and freshman guard Shakeya Johns came off the bench to add 15 points for PVAMU, which shot 33.3 percent from the field and was outrebounded, 53-35.

Junior guard Shavonne Smith leads Prairie View A&M in scoring this season at 15.8 points per game, while shooting a team-best .385 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Werema is averaging a double-double (15.1 ppg., 10.2 rpg.) in her first collegiate campaign.

Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, a four-time WNBA champion with the Houston Comets and member of that league’s All-Decade Team, is in her second season as the head coach at Prairie View A&M, sporting a 9-28 (.243) record with the Lady Panthers. Thursday will mark her first-ever meeting against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-Prairie View A&M Series Thursday’s game will be the first-ever matchup between Notre Dame and Prairie View A&M in women’s basketball.

Notre Dame vs. The Southwestern Athletic Conference
Notre Dame has faced a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponent only once before in its 30-year history. On March 17, 2001, the Irish doubled up Alcorn State, 98-49 at the Joyce Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It would be the first of six consecutive postseason victories for Notre Dame, culminating with the program’s first national championship two weeks later.

Put Away The Presents
Notre Dame is 5-0 all-time when playing at home in its first game after the Christmas break. Overall, the Irish are 18-11 (.621) in such games, including a current three-game winning streak. Exactly one year ago on Dec. 28, 2005, Notre Dame returned from the Yuletide holiday to post a wire-to-wire 58-50 victory over Valparaiso at the Joyce Center.