Irish Set To Take On Connecticut

Jan. 11, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format

(#7 AP/#6 ESPN/USA Today) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-2, 2-1) vs. (#16 AP/#16 ESPN/USA Today) Connecticut Huskies (8-4, 2-0)

The Date and Time: Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET.

The Site: Joyce Center (11,418) in Notre Dame, Ind.

The Tickets: Still available through the Notre Dame athletics ticket office (574-631-7356) or at the Joyce Center Gate 10 ticket windows on game day.

The TV Plans: College Sports Television (CSTV) national broadcast with Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Debbie Antonelli (analysis), Frank Losquadro (producer) and Dean Korsmo (director). CSTV is available on most cable systems nationwide, as well as DirecTV (Channel 610).

The Radio Plans: Wednesday’s game will be broadcast live on WDND-AM (ESPN Radio 1580) and WNDV-AM (1490) in South Bend with Sean Stires (play-by-play) and former Irish standout Sara Liebscher (analysis) calling the action. These broadcasts also are available through the Notre Dame athletics web site at www.und.com.

Real-Time Statistics: Live in-game statistics, courtesy of College Sports Online’s GameTracker, are available for the Connecticut game, via the Notre Dame (www.und.com) athletics web site.

Web Sites: Notre Dame (www.und.com), Connecticut (www.uconnhuskies.com).

#7/6 IRISH BEGIN TOUGH STRETCH WEDNESDAY AGAINST #16 CONNECTICUT
No. 7/6 Notre Dame tips off perhaps its most difficult stretch of games since the Preseason WNIT when it plays host to 16th-ranked Connecticut Wednesday at 8 p.m. (ET) at the Joyce Center. Five of the next seven games for the Irish will be against teams that are currently ranked in both major national polls, although four of those games will be at home.

Notre Dame (13-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) comes into Wednesday’s game smarting from its second loss of the season, a 59-54 setback at Villanova on Sunday. The Irish fell victim to some untimely missed shots down the stretch, while the Wildcats made all eight of their free throws in the final minute for the win.

Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast led Notre Dame with 22 points, while senior center Teresa Borton added 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

UConn (8-4, 2-0) also lost its last outing, a 68-67 decision to No. 10 Tennessee on Saturday in Hartford. The Huskies led the Lady Vols much of the way, but a late three-point play by UT proved to be the difference. Freshman guard/forward Charde Houston led Connecticut with a season-high 19 points.

A pair of juniors – guard/forward Barbara Turner (13.4 ppg.) and guard Ann Strother (12.4 ppg.) – have been the leading scorers for UConn this year.

Head coach Geno Auriemma is 540-107 (.835) in 20 seasons at Connecticut, including a 15-3 mark against Notre Dame.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE FIGHTING IRISH
With four starters and seven monogram winners back in the fold, Notre Dame would appear to have all the pieces in place for a magical 2004-05 season.

Tested early and often by both a rugged schedule (eight games in the first 20 days of the season) and demanding opposition (No. 6 Duke, No. 10 Ohio State and No. 15 Michigan State), the Irish have been up to the challenge, opening with seven consecutive victories and claiming the Sportsview.tv Preseason WNIT championship. The pollsters have apparently taken notice of Notre Dame’s success, as the Irish have been a regular in the top 10 of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls this season, checking in at No. 7 and No. 6, respectively in this week’s polls.

Despite the added focus shown to her by opposing teams, senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast was a major catalyst for the Irish this season, averaging 19.1 points (24th in the nation as of Dec. 20), 6.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. She was named the Preseason WNIT Most Valuable Player and BIG EAST Player of the Week on Nov. 22 after logging a career-high 32 points in the WNIT championship game against Ohio State. She has scored in double digits in 14 Irish games this season, has earned game-high scoring honors eight times and has three double-doubles. With her 22-point effort at Villanova last weekend, Batteast also moved into fifth place on Notre Dame’s career scoring list (1,601 points), giving her top-five placement on the school’s all-time points, rebounds and blocks charts.

Junior guard Megan Duffy also has stepped up her play this season, registering 11.5 points per game with a team-high 4.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Duffy also leads Notre Dame and is eighth in the nation with a .903 free throw percentage (56-for-62) this season, sparking the Irish to a league-leading .753 free throw ratio (21st in the NCAA as of Jan. 3).

Duffy’s backcourt mate, sophomore Breona Gray, has also shown great improvement this year. Moviing effortlessly into the starting lineup, the Las Vegas native has nearly tripled her scoring average from last season (6.5 ppg.), highlighted by a career-high 17-point effort vs. Syracuse on Jan. 5, and she ranks second on the team with 22 steals (1.47 spg.).

Injuries also have not been enough to slow Notre Dame so far this season. When junior forward Courtney LaVere was sidelined in late November with minor knee surgery, sophomore forward Crystal Erwin stepped into the breach and filled the role nicely. In nine starts, Erwin is averaging 7.8 points per game, including a career-high 24 points (on 9-for-9 shooting) against Washington on Dec. 11. Prior to this season, Erwin had scored in double figures only once in her career, but she has done so four times this year.

SOME POTENT NOTABLES ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH

• Notre Dame won its first seven games this season, the second-best debut in the program’s history. The 2000-01 squad opened with a 23-game win streak en route to school’s first national championship. The Irish also reached the double-digit win mark Dec. 19 at Marquette, getting their 10th win faster than any team in school history (the ’00-01 team did it two days later on Dec. 21, 2000).
• The Irish are 5-1 on the road this year, and won their first five road games this season for the second time in school history. The 2000-01 club opened with a 10-game road winning streak to set the school standard. Ironically, Notre Dame struggled in true road games last year, losing its first four and six of its first seven on the opposition’s floor.
• Notre Dame’s defense has been especially sturdy of late, holding 10 of its last 11 opponents to less than 60 points, including all three BIG EAST foes.
• Notre Dame has been a fixture near the top of all major RPI charts this season. Through Jan. 10, the Irish are third in the WBCA/Summerville RPI rankings, with the nation’s sixth-toughest schedule.
• With this week’s No. 7 ranking in the Associated Press poll, Notre Dame has appeared in the top 10 of the AP balloting nine times in the first 10 polls of the year. On three other times in school history have the Irish spent longer in the AP top 10 – 1998-99 (16 weeks), 1999-2000 (15 weeks) and 2000-01 (18 weeks). All told, Notre Dame has spent 65 weeks in the AP top 10 and has a 99-17 (.853) all-time record when it’s ranked in the top 10.
• The Irish have posted 32 wins over Top 25 opponents in the past seven seasons (1998-99 to present), including two in its first four games this year (76-65 vs. No. 6 Duke and 66-62 vs. No. 10 Ohio State).
• The Irish have defeated 20 top-10 opponents in their history, adding to that total with their victories over sixth-ranked Duke and 10th-ranked Ohio State in the Sportsview.tv Preseason WNIT.
• Head coach Muffet McGraw has a 397-151 (.724) record in 18 seasons with the Irish, which puts her just three victories shy of the 400-win mark for her Notre Dame career.

A QUICK LOOK AT CONNECTICUT
Winners of the past three NCAA titles, Connecticut (8-4, 2-0 BIG EAST) is ranked 16th in both major national polls this week. The Huskies have endured some changes this season, with the losses of national player of the year Diana Taurasi and point guard Maria Conlon to graduation, not to mention several untimely injuries.

UConn returns to conference play Wednesday night following a 68-67 loss to No. 10 Tennessee last Saturday at the Hartford Civic Center. The Huskies used a 10-0 run to open up a double-digit lead in the first half and stayed in front for most of the game. However, UT rallied with an 11-2 run inside the final five minutes, taking a 62-61 lead with 2:37 remaining. That set the stage for a tense stretch drive that saw Connecticut move back on top and Tennessee respond, going ahead 68-66 on a three-point play by Sade Wiley-Gatewood with 15 seconds left. The Huskies had a chance to win, going to the foul line for three shots with 3.9 seconds remaining, but they made only one of three.

Freshman guard/forward Charde Houston led UConn with a season-high 19 points, while junior guard Ann Strother scored 16 points and senior guard/forward Ashley Battle tallied 15 points off the bench. The Huskies shot 49 percent from the floor in the game, but were outrebounded, 38-33.

Junior forward/guard Barbara Turner leads Connecticut in scoring (13.4 ppg.) and is second in field goal percentage (.552), although she has missed the past two games with an injury. Strother is second in scoring (12.4 ppg.) and tops in assists (3.3 apg.) and three-point percentage (.369), while Houston has had a solid rookie season, averaging 9.6 ppg. with a team-high .562 field goal percentage.

Head coach Geno Auriemma has amassed a 540-107 (.835) record in his 20 seasons at Connecticut, including a 15-3 career mark against Notre Dame.

THE NOTRE DAME-CONNECTICUT SERIES
Although it took six seasons to develop, the Notre Dame-Connecticut series has evolved into the one of the top matchups of the season in both the BIG EAST Conference and the nation as a whole. Connecticut leads the series by a 15-3 count (4-2 at the Joyce Center), although the past seven games have been almost evenly split with UConn winning four times and Notre Dame winning on three occasions.

The teams did not begin playing one another until the 1995-96 season after the Irish joined the BIG EAST. The Huskies were coming off their first national championship, while Notre Dame had made just two NCAA Tournament appearances up to that point. As expected, Connecticut held the upper hand in the early matchups, winning the first 11 times the clubs squared off.

Notre Dame broke through for its first victory over the Huskies on Jan. 15, 2001, a 92-76 conquest at the Joyce Center before a sell-out crowd of 11,418. That win was the first act in a remarkable Notre Dame-UConn trilogy during the 2000-01 season, with the Huskies claiming a heartstopping 78-76 win in the BIG EAST Championship final. The third installment saw the Irish rally from a 16-point deficit to defeat Connecticut, 90-75 in the NCAA national semifinals in St. Louis en route to the school’s first national championship.

The Huskies bounced back with three consecutive victories in the series, including a pair during the 2002-03 season. However, Notre Dame returned to the winner’s circle last season with a 66-51 win at the Joyce Center, adding yet another chapter in the fast-developing rivalry.

THE LAST TIME NOTRE DAME AND CONNECTICUT MET
Jacqueline Batteast posted her fifth double-double of the 2003-04 season with game highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds, lifting Notre Dame to a 66-51 victory over No. 4 Connecticut on Jan. 13, 2004, before a crowd of 8,574 fans, the seventh-largest in school history, at the Joyce Center.

Batteast turned in one of the finest performances of her college career, ringing up her second double-double in four days, both against ranked opponents. The South Bend native knocked down 10 of 13 shots from the floor and deftly navigated through second-half foul trouble to help Notre Dame snap the Huskies’ 45-game BIG EAST regular-season winning streak.

Courtney LaVere provided strong support off the bench, tallying 14 points in a season-high 33 minutes of action. Senior guard Le’Tania Severe offered up a stellar all-around effort with 12 points, six assists and four rebounds with only one turnover in just 23 minutes on the floor.

As a team, the Irish shot a blistering 59.5 percent (25 of 42) from the field and won the rebounding battle by a slender 33-32 margin. Notre Dame also continued its success against UConn’s All-America guard Diana Taurasi, holding the reigning national player of the year to only 11 points on four of 15 shooting, including two of nine from three-point range. Taurasi averaged 8.0 ppg. in seven career meetings with the Irish.

The Huskies (11-2, 2-1 BIG EAST) closed to 53-51 when Taurasi drove the baseline and hit a pull-up jumper with 4:50 left. But the Huskies didn’t score again, missing six straight shots down the stretch and turning the ball over twice. The most decisive miss came with 3:17 left, when Batteast – playing with four fouls – blocked a jumper by Taurasi and came down with the rebound. Seconds later, she powered her way inside for a second straight time with a basket inside, giving the Irish a 59-51 lead. Batteast scored five points during a decisive 13-0 game-ending run for Notre Dame.

Connecticut took an early 10-7 lead when Taurasi nailed her second (and final) three-pointer with 15:19 left in the first half. From there, Notre Dame went to work, going on a 21-4 run over the next 8:22 to seize a 28-14 lead. LaVere had seven points and Severe added six during the spurt, which saw the Huskies manage only one field goal.

Connecticut put together a run of its own, scoring 10 of the final 13 points in the first half to close within 33-26 at the break. Still, it marked the second consecutive conference game in which the Huskies trailed at halftime after they had gone more than three years since their last deficit. Notre Dame wound up shooting 60.7 percent (14 of 23) from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

UConn got steadily closer in the second half, eventually pulling within a point twice, the second time at 44-43 on a pair of free throws by Liz Sherwood at the 11:23 mark. However, Batteast drilled a three-pointer on Notre Dame’s next possession to regain some momentum for her side and the Huskies were forced to play from behind the rest of the way.

OTHER NOTRE DAME-CONNECTICUT SERIES NOTES

• For the first time in series history, Notre Dame and Connecticut enter their matchup having both lost their previous game (Irish lost at Villanova, Huskies lost to Tennessee).
• Wednesday’s game marks only the second time in series history Notre Dame will be ranked higher than Connecticut at tipoff. In the 2001 BIG EAST Championship final, the Irish were No. 1 in both polls, while the Huskies were second and UConn pulled out a last-second 78-76 win in Storrs.
• Connecticut is one of only two BIG EAST Conference opponents to hold a series edge over Notre Dame, leading the series with the Irish, 15-3. The other league foe with a winning record against Notre Dame is Rutgers, which owns an 11-8 series lead over the Irish.
• The first meeting between Notre Dame and Connecticut in 2001 (a 92-76 Irish win on Jan. 15) was the scene of the first-ever sellout in Irish women’s basketball history, as 11,418 fans packed the Joyce Center to witness the historic victory.
• Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Connecticut has lost by 15-plus points only four times, with three of those losses coming to Notre Dame (twice in 2000-01, once in 2003-04).
• Notre Dame is one of only four teams in the nation (and the first of three BIG EAST squads) to defeat Connecticut more than once in the past 12 seasons (1993-94 to present). During that 12-year stretch, Tennessee, Villanova and Boston College are the only other programs with multiple wins over the Huskies.
• During the past six seasons (1999-2000 to present), the Joyce Center is the only road arena to see multiple losses by Connecticut.
• The Irish and Huskies have combined to win the last five NCAA championships, making the BIG EAST the only conference to win the national title in five consecutive seasons. The BIG EAST also is the only league to have two different teams win the NCAA championship in consecutive seasons (Connecticut in 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2004; Notre Dame in 2001).
• Either Notre Dame or Connecticut has appeared in seven of the past nine Final Fours, with both teams reaching college basketball’s biggest stage in 2001.

RISING TO THE OCCASION
Connecticut is the fourth ranked opponent the Irish will play this season. Notre Dame is 2-1 against Top 25 teams thus far, defeating (then) No. 6 Duke, 76-65 and (then) No. 10/9 Ohio State, 66-62 in the semifinals and finals of the Sportsview.tv Preseason WNIT, while losing in overtime to (then) No. 15 Michigan State, 82-73. Currently, Notre Dame is the only team to defeat the nation’s new top-ranked team, Duke, this season, while the Irish led MSU by six points in the final half-minute of regulation before the Spartans rallied to win in the extra session.

THE BEAST OF THE BIG EAST
Notre Dame is 126-29 (.813) in regular-season competition against the rest of BIG EAST Conference, owning the best conference winning percentage of any current member of the BIG EAST since joining the circuit for the 1995-96 campaign. The Irish also have won 82 of their last 101 regular-season conference games, have finished either first or second in the BIG EAST eight times in their nine-year membership, and claimed a share of their first-ever regular-season conference championship in 2001.

When including postseason competition (BIG EAST and NCAA tournaments), Notre Dame is 139-38 (.785) against league opponents – when factoring in these 22 postseason tilts, the Irish are 71-7 (.910) at home, 55-25 (.688) on the road and 13-6 (.684) at neutral sites all-time vs. BIG EAST foes.

POLLING PLACE
Notre Dame is 174-42 (.806) all-time when it is ranked in the Associated Press poll at tipoff (the Irish are seventh entering Wednesday’s game against Connecticut). When playing at home, Notre Dame has been especially strong, going 81-9 (.900) as a ranked host after posting an 8-1 record at the Joyce Center this season. Conversely, the Irish are 69-25 (.734) all-time when they play on the road as a ranked team.

Upon closer inspection, Notre Dame has been very sharp when it’s ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll. The Irish are 99-17 (.853) as a top-10 squad, including a 48-3 (.941) record at home. In fact, prior to its Dec. 2 overtime loss to then-No. 15 Michigan State, Notre Dame had a 41-game home winning streak when it was ranked in the AP top 10, dating back to December of 1998.

UNLEASHING THE BEAST
Since perhaps her worst shooting night of the year (6-for-25) on Dec. 2 vs. Michigan State, senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast has bounced back very well. During the ensuing seven games, she is averaging 18.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, with two double-doubles and three 20-point games. She also is shooting 53.9 percent from the field (48-for-89) and has just 15 turnovers (2.14 topg.) in that time.

IT’S “T” FOR TWO
Senior center Teresa Borton has been a solid presence in the middle for the Irish this season, but the past two games have been especially productive for the Yakima, Wash., resident. Borton scored a season-high 17 points in both a win over Syracuse and a loss at Villanova, shooting a combined 80 percent from the floor (12-for-15) in those two contests.

During the early part of BIG EAST Conference play, Borton has been a big factor for Notre Dame, ranking second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg.) and posting a .737 field goal percentage (14-for-19) that would be leading the conference if she had one more made field goal to her credit (minimum five FG per game to qualify).

ROAD WARRIORS
The Irish are off to a 5-1 start on the road this season, a far cry from last year’s struggles away from the Joyce Center, when they lost their first four and six of their first seven true road contests. In fact, Notre Dame won its first five road games this year, marking only the second time in school history the Irish have opened with five or more road victories (they won 10 in a row to begin the 2000-01 campaign).

Accenting Notre Dame’s play on the road has been its defensive prowess. The Irish are holding opponents to 51.5 ppg., a .328 field goal percentage (111-for-338) and a .176 three-point percentage (18-for-102) away from home and have not allowed more than 59 points in any of their six road games this year.

THREE-FENSE
In the past 12 games, Notre Dame has limited its opponents to a .214 three-point percentage (44-for-206), after Irish foes were shooting .333 from beyond the arc (17-for-51) in the first three games of the season. On Dec. 9, Notre Dame held Dayton to an opponent season-low .071 three-point percentage (1-for-14), with the Flyers missing their final 13 three-point attempts.

For the season, Notre Dame leads the BIG EAST in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to a .237 mark (61-for-257) from long range.

THE FIVE-FINGER DISCOUNT
Notre Dame ranks second in the BIG EAST Conference in steals this season, averaging 10.07 thefts per game (145 total). The Irish have come up with at least 10 steals in seven games, including four of the past six contests, and had a season-best 20 thefts on Nov. 22 vs. Colorado State, the most by a BIG EAST team this season.

Individually, junior guard Megan Duffy is tops in the conference in steals (2.87 spg., 43 total), while her backcourt mate, sophomore Breona Gray is second on the team with 1.47 steals per game (22 total). Five other Notre Dame players have at least 10 steals this year – senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast (20), freshman guard Charel Allen (15), sophomore forward Crystal Erwin (13), senior center Teresa Borton (13) and freshman guard Tulyah Gaines (10).

THE SEASON FOR SHARING
One of the key elements in Notre Dame’s success this season has been its penchant for distributing the ball well. In fact, the Irish have 250 assists (16.7 apg.; third in the BIG EAST) on 370 field goals made (24.7 per game), including a Preseason WNIT-record 29 handouts in the season opener vs. Illinois State. Junior guard Megan Duffy leads the way at 4.7 assists per game (fifth in the BIG EAST), with at least five dimes in eight contests this season, including a career-high 10 assists vs. Washington on Dec. 11.

LOTS OF FREE STUFF
When given the opportunity, Notre Dame has taken advantage of its trips to the free throw line this season. The Irish lead the BIG EAST Conference and are 21st nationally (as of Jan. 3), shooting 75.3 percent from the charity stripe. In fact, they set a school record by going a perfect 18-for-18 on Nov. 30 at Valparaiso, which also matches the best mark by any team in the country this season.

Notre Dame has been led at the gift line by junior guard Megan Duffy (.903, 56-62), freshman guard Charel Allen (.833, 30-36) and senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast (.805, 62-77). Duffy currently is second in the BIG EAST and eighth in the nation in free throw percentage, while Batteast is fifth in the conference and has shown the greatest improvement among all Irish players this season with almost an 18-percent jump from last year’s career low .627 mark.

One side note about Duffy’s free throw prowess – the Irish junior struggled at the line early in her freshman season, shooting just 59.3 percent (16-27) during her first 15 collegiate games. However, in the 63 games since then (Jan. 20, 2003 to present), Duffy is connecting at an .859 clip (171-199) on her foul shots. She also has made 64 of her last 71 free throws (.901) in the past 21 Irish games, dating back to Feb. 28, 2004.

WINNING TEN-DENCIES
With its 50-47 win at Marquette on Dec. 19, Notre Dame recorded its 10th victory of the season, marking the earliest calendar date ever that the Irish have reached double-digit victories. The 2000-01 squad previously held that distinction, getting its 10th win on Dec. 21, 2000, ironically also at Marquette (75-56).

BEAT THE CLOCK
At Marquette on Dec. 19, senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast did something that no other Irish player had done in nearly a decade – hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer. Batteast buried a three-pointer from the right wing as time expired to give Notre Dame a 50-47 victory over the Golden Eagles. Prior to Batteast’s heroics, the last time an Irish player won a game at the horn was Jan. 14, 1995, when Letitia Bowen hit a putback as time ran out to give Notre Dame a 67-65 triumph at Detroit.

McGRAW’S MILESTONES
Entering this season, Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw had the opportunity to reach three career coaching milestones. Here’s a look at her progress toward each landmark:

• Winningest basketball coach at Notre Dame – picked up 394th victory with the Irish on Dec. 19 at Marquette, passing longtime men’s coach Digger Phelps (393 wins from 1971-91).
• 400th victory at Notre Dame – needs three wins (current record: 397-151, .724)
• 500th victory overall – needs 15 wins (current record: 485-192, .716)

THE VILLANOVA RECAP
Jackie Adamshick had 25 points and Kate Dessart Mager scored the winning jumper to lead Villanova to a 59-54 upset over No. 4 Notre Dame on Sunday at The Pavilion.

Betsy McManus made four free throws in the final 25 seconds for Villanova (9-4, 2-0 BIG EAST), snapping Notre Dame’s six-game winning streak.

The Irish (13-2, 2-1) never had an answer for Adamshick in the first half or Dessart Mager in the second. The two combined to go 16-for-30 from the floor with seven rebounds. Dessart Mager – who scored all of her 14 points in the second half – hit a layup that just beat the shot clock for a 51-49 lead and 1:41 left, putting the Wildcats ahead to stay.

She and McManus each added two free throws before Notre Dame senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast hit a three-pointer with 13.3 seconds left to make it 55-52. It wasn’t enough, though, as Villanova sealed the game at the free-throw line.

Batteast scored 22 points and senior center Teresa Borton added 17 for Notre Dame. The Irish shot 44 percent from the floor, but Villanova scored 19 points off 20 Irish turnovers.

After missing her only shot in the first half, Dessart Mager went 5-for-6 in the second half and scored six consecutive points in one stretch that helped the Wildcats take a six-point lead. When the Irish pulled to 44-43, Adamshick delivered with a three-pointer from the left side. But Adamshick – who shot 11-for-23 and fell two points shy of matching her career high – didn’t score again. The Irish got baskets from Borton and junior forward Courtney LaVere to make it 47-47 with 3:58 to play.

Dessart Mager and Batteast then swapped baskets before Dessart Mager hit the eventual game-winner.

Notre Dame seemed poised to turn the game into a blowout early until Adamshick started a Villanova run with six consecutive points, and later added a nice spin around two defenders in the lane for an easy layup to cut it to 21-19.

She scored the final two baskets of the first half and helped force a Notre Dame shot clock violation on its last possession to give the Wildcats a 25-24 halftime lead.

NOTING THE VILLANOVA GAME

• Villanova continues its recent hex over Notre Dame, defeating the Irish for fourth time in their last six meetings.
• The past five regular-season games between Notre Dame and Villanova have been decided by a total of 13 points (2.6 ppg.), with the outcome of all five games still in doubt inside the final minute.
• The Irish have held seven consecutive opponents and 10 of their last 11 foes to less than 60 points.
• The loss marked a rarity for Notre Dame – it’s only the seventh time in the past decade the Irish have lost when allowing less than 60 points and three of those setbacks have come against Villanova (139-7, .952 overall; 10-1 this season).
• Notre Dame has held 10 of its last 11 opponents under 40 percent shooting; in fact, only three teams have shot 40 percent vs. the Irish all year (Illinois State – .446, Ohio State – .442 and Valparaiso – .411).
• Notre Dame also trailed at the half for only the fourth time this season (2-2 in those games).
• The Irish attempted a season-low 43 shots.
• Notre Dame made both of its three-point attempts, the second time this year it’s been perfect beyond the arc (5-5 vs. #6 Duke).
• The Irish tied their season low with 11 assists, although junior guard Megan Duffy had seven of those assists without a turnover while playing all 40 minutes.
• Villanova tied a Notre Dame opponent season low with 27 rebounds.
• Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast moved into fifth place on Notre Dame’s career scoring list with 1,601 points, passing both Trena Keys (1,589 from 1982-86) and Karen Robinson (1,590 from 1987-91).
• Batteast also jumped into third place on the Notre Dame career blocked shots chart with 142 rejections, supplanting Katryna Gaither’s 141 blocks from 1993-97.
• In addition, Batteast registered the 27th 20-point game of her career, moving past former teammate Alicia Ratay (26 from 1999-2003) into fifth place in school history for career 20-point games.
• Batteast made the 101st start of her career (and 79th in a row), tying Sandy Botham (1984-88) for ninth place on the Irish career starts list.
• Senior center Teresa Borton tied her season high with 17 points for the second consecutive game (12-15 FG in the past two contests).

SPORTSVIEW.TV PRESEASON WNIT REWIND
Punctuated by emotional second-half rallies in the semifinal and final, Notre Dame won four consecutive games to claim the 2004 Sportsview.tv Preseason WNIT championship. The Irish capped off their season-opening charge with a 66-62 victory over No. 10/9 Ohio State in the title game, scoring the final 12 points of the contest to erase an eight-point Buckeye lead with a little more than five minutes remaining. That win came on the heels of a 76-65 semifinal conquest of No. 6 Duke, a victory that also saw Notre Dame come back from an eight-point deficit late in the second half.

Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 21.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists with a .507 field goal percentage in the four-game series. Batteast was at her best in the final two games, scoring a game-high 17 points vs. Duke (including a personal 10-0 run that put the Irish ahead for good) and then rolling up a career-best 32 points in the championship game against Ohio State. In that latter contest, she had another 10-point run in the first half and later scored seven of her team’s last 12 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 2:45 to play. However, her biggest contribution came with two seconds remaining, when she raced from beyond the top of the key all the way to the deep corner, blocking OSU’s potential game-tying three-pointer to cement Notre Dame’s title.

Not to be overlooked, junior guard Megan Duffy earned a place on the Preseason WNIT all-tournament team after recording 15.0 points and 6.0 assists per game with a .500 field goal percentage (.600 from beyond the arc). She was the catalyst for an Irish offense that averaged nearly 77 points per game and dished out better than 20 assists per night in the tournament, including a Preseason WNIT-record 29 assists in the first round vs. Illinois State.

HALF AND HALF
Over the past five seasons, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Irish are 88-7 (.926) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead. Notre Dame has added 11 wins to that count this season (Illinois State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Colorado State, USC, Valparaiso, Dayton, Washington, Northern Illinois, Seton Hall and Syracuse).

THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE …
During the past decade, Notre Dame has discovered that a solid defensive effort can almost certainly guarantee a victory. In fact, since the beginning of the 1995-96 season (Notre Dame’s first in the BIG EAST Conference), the Irish have an amazing 139-7 (.952) record when they hold their opponents to less than 60 points in a game, including a 10-1 mark this season.

… BUT SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SCORE IF YOU WANT TO WIN
Not resting solely on its defensive laurels, Notre Dame also seemingly has found the magic mark when it comes to outscoring its opponents. Over the past decade (1995-96 to present), the Irish are 89-3 (.967) when they score at least 80 points in a game. The only blemishes on that record are a pair of overtime losses to Texas A&M (88-84) and Michigan State (87-83) in 1995 and a 106-81 loss to Connecticut in 1998. Notre Dame tacked another win to that ledger with its opening-night 92-73 win over Illinois State.

SWEET SUCCESS
Notre Dame is one of only five schools in the country to have appeared in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen six times in the past eight seasons (1997-2004). The others are Connecticut (eight times), Tennessee (eight times), Duke (seven times) and Louisiana Tech (seven times).

THE GOLD STANDARD
The Irish are one of just six teams nationwide to have an active streak of 11 consecutive 20-win seasons. The others in these elite club are Tennessee (28), Texas Tech (15), Louisiana Tech (13), Old Dominion (13) and Connecticut (11).

NOTRE DAME AMONG RECENT WINS LEADERS
Notre Dame has won 215 games over the past nine seasons, which is the seventh-most wins of any school in the country during that time.

NOW THAT’S A HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
One of the hallmarks of Notre Dame’s success has been its stellar play at home. In fact, the Irish have been virtually untouchable at home in recent years, winning 121 of their last 131 games (.924) at the 11,418-seat Joyce Center. Notre Dame also has a 71-7 (.910) home record in BIG EAST play.

The Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 53 of their last 56 non-BIG EAST contests (.946) at the Joyce Center, dating back to the 1994-95 season. The only three losses in that span all came against Big Ten Conference teams – Wisconsin in 1996 (81-69), Purdue in 2003 (71-54) and Michigan State in 2004 (82-73 in OT).

Since its inaugural season in 1977-78, Notre Dame has played all of its games at the Joyce Center, posting a 271-71 (.792) record at the venerable facility. In three of the past five seasons (1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2003-04), the Irish were a perfect 15-0 at home, setting a school record for home wins in a season.

JAMMIN’ THE JOYCE
Beginning with its national championship season of 2000-01, Notre Dame has ranked in the top 15 in the nation in attendance each of the past four years, and early returns indicate this season will be no different. According to the Jan. 10 unofficial national attendance rankings (as compiled by the University of Wisconsin Sports Information Office), Notre Dame is 17th in the nation with an average of 5,112 fans per game.

All of the top 20 crowds in the Irish record book have occurred during the 18-year tenure of head coach Muffet McGraw (1987-present). And, as more evidence of Notre Dame’s rapid elevation to “hot ticket” status in South Bend, 19 of the top 20 crowds in school history have been recorded in the past six seasons (1999-2000 to present), including 12 audiences of 8,000 or more fans, and 58 of the past 60 home games with at least 5,000 fans filing into the Joyce Center.

NOTRE DAME ON THE SMALL SCREEN
The Irish are scheduled to make at least 13 appearances on regional or national television during the 2004-05 season (additional broadcasts may be announced at a later date).

Notre Dame made its TV debut this season on Nov. 20 when it defeated No. 10/9 Ohio State, 66-62 in the championship game of the Sportsview.tv Preseason WNIT. That contest was shown globally via broadband Internet connection at www.sportsview.tv, as well either live or delayed on several Comcast SportsNet outlets nationwide. The American Forces Network, which broadcasts to more than one million U.S. service men and women in 176 countries, also aired the game.

The Irish returned to the airwaves Dec. 2 when they dropped an 82-73 overtime decision to No. 15 Michigan State on College Sports Television (CSTV). That was the first of three Notre Dame games that will air nationally on the fledgling cable network, which has signed an agreement with the BIG EAST Conference to carry a national women’s basketball Game of the Week eight times in 2004-05. The Irish also will face Connecticut Wednesday at the Joyce Center and visit Boston College on Feb. 15 in front of the CSTV cameras.

In addition, Notre Dame is scheduled to play twice on ESPN2 this season. On Sunday, the Irish will battle Purdue in the second annual BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge at the Joyce Center. Two weeks later on Jan. 30, Notre Dame travels to Storrs, Conn., to meet Connecticut at Gampel Pavilion.

The BIG EAST also added two Irish games to its regional television package this season. Notre Dame already visited Villanova on Jan. 9 and will play host to Rutgers on Jan. 23, both on BIG EAST Television. Among those affiliates carrying the BETV package are Comcast SportsNet outlets in Chicago, Philadelphia and the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as Fox Sports Net outlets in New York, New England and Pittsburgh.

Detroit-based Comcast Local (Channel 3 on Comcast cable systems in South Bend) is the latest television outlet to select Notre Dame women’s basketball games for broadcast. The newly-formed network will air five Irish games this season – at USC (Nov. 26), and home games vs. Washington (Dec. 11), St. John’s (Jan. 26), Georgetown (Feb. 12) and West Virginia (Feb. 26). Comcast Local can be seen in South Bend on Comcast Cable channel 3.

NOTRE DAME ON THE AIRWAVES
Once again this season, every Irish women’s basketball game (home and away) airs on the flagship stations of the Artistic Media Partners (AMP) Network – WDND-AM (ESPN Radio 1580) and WNDV-AM (1490) in South Bend. Veteran broadcaster and AMP sports director Sean Stires is now in his fifth season handling the play-by-play for Notre Dame. The Irish also can be heard on the Internet at Notre Dame’s official athletics web site (www.und.com) by subscribing to College Sports Pass, which gives listeners full multimedia access to a variety of Irish athletics events for only $6.95 per month.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
For the fourth time in school history (all during the Muffet McGraw era), Notre Dame will have three players sharing the captain’s duties this year. Senior forward Jacqueline Batteast, senior center Teresa Borton and junior guard Megan Duffy all were accorded the honor based upon a vote of their teammates prior to the season. All three are serving as captains for the first time in their respective careers.

IRISH ADD TWO PLAYERS DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD
Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw has announced that Lindsay Schrader, a 6-0 guard from Bartlett, Ill., and Chandrica Smith, a 6-1 forward from Stone Mountain, Ga., have chosen to continue their careers with the Irish, signing National Letters of Intent to attend Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2005.

With the additions of Schrader and Smith, Notre Dame’s newest recruiting class is ranked 16th in the nation by Blue Star Index. That marks the ninth consecutive year the Irish have had a top-20 class, according to that publication, which makes Notre Dame one of only three schools in the nation that can claim that distinction (Connecticut and Tennessee are the others).

Schrader has been widely regarded as one of the top all-around players in the state of Illinois while attending Bartlett High School the past three seasons. She is a three-time all-state selection, a two-time Illinois Miss Basketball finalist, and a two-time Street & Smith’s All-America selection who has averaged 20.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in her prep career. Her finest all-around season came as a junior in 2003-04, when she averaged 20.8 ppg., 10.8 rpg. and 2.0 bpg. while earning first-team all-state honors from the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune and Champaign News-Gazette. She also was a sixth-team All-America selection by Street & Smith’s and was a finalist for Illinois Miss Basketball honors, an award she will likely contend for once again this season.

On the summer camp circuit, Schrader was an Underclass All-Star at the 2002 adidas Top Ten Camp, before attending the Nike All-America Camp in both 2003 and 2004. She is ranked among the top 30 high school seniors in the nation by three separate recruiting services – Blue Star Index (14th), All-Game Sports (21st) and All-Star Girls Report (26th overall – eighth among shooting guards).

In addition, Schrader made a significant impact at the 2004 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs. Playing for the North Team that won the silver medal, she ranked third at the Festival in scoring (14.8 ppg.) and rebounding (8.6 rpg.), as well as second in field goal percentage (.542). All three figures were team highs, as were her 2.2 steals per game. For her efforts, Schrader was invited to attend the 2004 USA Women’s Junior World Championship Qualifying Team Trials, where she was one of 17 finalists for the 12-player team that won the gold medal this past August.

Smith currently attends Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., where she transferred prior to her senior season. Previously, she was a standout at Stephenson High School in Stone Mountain, Ga., where she averaged 12.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.4 blocks per game with a .620 field goal percentage. She also was a key component in the Jaguars’ run to a 32-1 record and the Georgia 5A state championship last year. In fact, during her first three prep seasons, her teams posted a combined 89-7 (.927) record with three trips to the Georgia state championship and one state title.

Smith herself has received numerous accolades during her high school career. She is a two-time honorable mention All-America selection by Street & Smith’s and was a Student Sports All-American in 2004. In addition, she attended the adidas Top Ten Camp three consecutive years and was named to its prestigious all-star team all three years (Underclass All-Star in 2002 & 2003; Upperclass All-Star in 2004). Last season, she was an honorable mention 5A all-state selection and a first-team all-county choice. She is ranked as high as 29th in the nation among high school seniors by All-Star Girls Report.

Like Schrader, Smith also attended the 2004 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs. Playing for the South Team, she averaged 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, scoring a personal-best 13 points in the bronze-medal game victory over the East squad.

Muffet McGraw SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION THROUGH 2010-11 SEASON
On Nov. 6, Notre Dame announced that Muffet McGraw has signed a two-year extension to continue as head coach of the Notre Dame women’s basketball program through the 2010-11 season.

McGraw, who is now in her 18th season with the Irish, most recently signed a four-year contract extension in July 2002 that took her through the 2008-09 season. Her first 17 seasons at Notre Dame have been highlighted by 15 20-win campaigns (including a current string of 11 straight), 11 NCAA tournament appearances (including a current streak of nine straight) and the 2001 NCAA title. Entering the 2004-05 season, she had a 384-149 (.720) record at Notre Dame.

In 2003-04, McGraw skillfully guided her team to a 21-11 record and a second consecutive berth in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen (the fourth for the Irish in five years). McGraw’s charges placed second in the BIG EAST Conference, their eighth top-two finish since joining the league nine years ago. In addition, the Irish went 15-0 at home, their third perfect record at the Joyce Center in the past five seasons, and extended their overall home win streak to 20 games, the second-longest in school history and eighth-longest active string in the nation heading into the 2004-05 campaign.

McGraw has continued to enhance her reputation as one of the nation’s outstanding big-game coaches and tacticians, piloting Notre Dame to a school-record seven wins over top 25 teams during the 2003-04 regular season. During her 17-year tenure with the Irish, McGraw has compiled 40 victories over nationally-ranked opponents, including 30 in the past six seasons (an average of five per year).

Under McGraw’s guidance, the past nine years have been the most successful in Notre Dame’s history as the Irish have compiled an impressive 225-69 (.765) record, including a sparkling 124-28 (.816) regular-season mark in BIG EAST play, the best winning percentage in league history. Notre Dame also has averaged 25 victories per campaign during that span, with two 30-win seasons to its credit. The Irish have won at least one NCAA tournament game every season over that time, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen six times (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004) and the Final Four twice (1997 and 2001).

BIG EAST CONFERENCE APPROVES BASKETBALL STRUCTURE FOR 2005-06
The Presidents of the BIG EAST Conference institutions have approved all recommendations by the league’s athletic directors relating to the structure of men’s and women’s basketball beginning in the 2005-06 academic year. The approvals were made at the Presidents’ annual meeting held in Philadelphia on Nov. 9.

The recommendations include maintaining a 12-team postseason conference championship tournament and a one-division regular season structure. The men’s and women’s teams will continue to play 16-game regular season league schedules.

In 2005-06, the BIG EAST will include 16 schools. The new members will be: University of Cincinnati, DePaul University, University of Louisville, Marquette University and University of South Florida. While the tournament format will be the same for the men and women, the formula for regular season scheduling will be different. The men’s teams will play 13 opponents with three repeat matchups to reach 16 league games. The women’s teams will meet each opponent once and have one repeat opponent.

For regular season scheduling, the conference office will determine prior to each season which matchups will be repeated. The factors in making the repeat games will be television, rivalries and geography.

BIG EAST men’s teams have captured the last two NCAA crowns and three of the last six. BIG EAST women’s teams have won the last five NCAA titles. The BIG EAST conducts its men’s championship at Madison Square Garden in New York. The women’s championship is played at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Conn.

PROMOTIONAL CORNER
Here’s a rundown of some upcoming promotions and giveaways at future Notre Dame women’s basketball games this season (additional promotions and giveaways may be added at a later date):

• Jan. 12 vs. Connecticut – Glowing t-shirts (first 2,000 fans); Project Playground will perform
• Jan. 16 vs. Purdue – Jacqueline Batteast mini-basketballs (first 2,000 fans)
• Jan. 23 vs. Rutgers – Notre Dame women’s basketball nesting dolls (first 500 fans)

NEXT GAME: PURDUE
Notre Dame steps out of conference play for the final time in the regular season when it welcomes Purdue to the Joyce Center Sunday at 5 p.m. (ET) for the second BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. The game will be televised live nationally on ESPN2, marking the third consecutive year and fourth time in five seasons a matchup between the Irish and Boilermakers will be broadcast across the country.

Purdue currently is ranked 20th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches’ polls, although all four of its losses have come to teams that have been ranked in one or both national polls at some point this season (three away from home).

The Boilermakers also have opened with three wins in their first four Big Ten games this season, most recently dispatching Michigan, 60-43 last Sunday in West Lafayette. Like Notre Dame, Purdue (10-4) has a formidable conference game looming before this weekend’s meeting with the Irish in South Bend. The Boilermakers will play host to No. 11 Minnesota Thursday night at Mackey Arena in an early battle for supremacy in the Big Ten Conference.

Purdue holds a 13-4 series lead over Notre Dame and has won the past four games between the clubs. Last season, the Boilermakers ousted the Irish, 76-63 in the first BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge in West Lafayette. Purdue also has won four of the six series matchups in South Bend, although two of the past three games at the Joyce Center have gone to Notre Dame.