Irish Set To Take On Syracuse

Jan. 4, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format

(#4 AP/#3 ESPN/USA Today) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-1, 1-0) vs. Syracuse Orange (8-4, 0-1)

The Date and Time: Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005, at 7 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 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 Syracuse game, via the Notre Dame (www.und.com) athletics web site.

Web Sites: Notre Dame (www.und.com), Syracuse (www.suathletics.com).

#4/3 IRISH PLAY HOST TO SYRACUSE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
Winners of five consecutive games, No. 4/3 Notre Dame will look to maintain its recent run of success when it welcomes Syracuse to the Joyce Center Wednesday for a 7 p.m. (ET) BIG EAST Conference game. The Irish have used an especially sturdy defense to put together their current winning streak, having held four of their last five opponents under 50 points, while limiting the past three foes to shooting percentages below 30 percent.

Notre Dame (12-1, 1-0 BIG EAST) opened conference play Sunday afternoon with a 54-33 victory over Seton Hall at the Joyce Center. An early 26-7 run lifted the Irish comfortably in front and the defense did the rest, holding the Pirates to opponent season lows of 33 points and a .222 field goal percentage.

Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast turned in another solid performance with a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds against Seton Hall. Junior guard Megan Duffy chipped in with 10 points and six steals, adding to her league-leading total of 3.1 steals per game.

Syracuse (8-4, 0-1) is coming off a 63-57 loss at home to Pittsburgh in its BIG EAST opener on Sunday. The Orange got 15 points off the bench from senior guard Rochelle Coleman, but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers rallied for the victory.

Senior forward/center Chineze Nwagbo leads SU in scoring (11.4 ppg.), rebounding (8.7 rpg.) and field goal percentage (.458), ranking among the conference leaders in all three categories.

Head coach Keith Cieplicki is in his second year at Syracuse with a 14-25 (.359) record.

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. 4 and No. 3, 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 19.2 points (24th in the nation as of Dec. 20), 6.9 rebounds and 3.4 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 12 Irish games this season and has earned game-high scoring honors eight times. In addition, she has three double-doubles this year, most recently piling up game highs of 27 points and 10 rebounds, while hitting the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Marquette on Dec. 19. For her efforts in that game, she was named the conference Player of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 20.

Junior guard Megan Duffy also has stepped up her play this season, registering 11.8 points and a team-high 4.4 assists and 3.1 steals per game. Duffy also leads Notre Dame and is eighth in the nation with a .912 free throw percentage (52-for-57) this season, sparking the Irish to a league-leading .754 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 more than doubled her scoring average from last season (5.8 ppg.) and ranks second on the team with 20 steals (1.5 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 seven starts, Erwin is averaging 8.9 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 is off to a 12-1 start, 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 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 5-0 on the road this year, marking just the second time in school history they have won their first five true road games in a season. 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 eight of its last nine opponents to less than 60 points, including four of the past five below 50 points.
• Notre Dame has been a fixture near the top of all major RPI charts this season. Through Jan. 3, the Irish are fourth in the CollegeRPI.com rankings, with the nation’s seventh-toughest schedule.
• With this week’s No. 4 ranking in the Associated Press poll, Notre Dame has appeared in the top 10 of the AP balloting eight times in the first nine 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 54 weeks in the AP top 10 and has a 98-16 (.860) 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 396-150 (.725) record in 18 seasons with the Irish, which puts her just four victories shy of the 400-win mark for her Notre Dame career.

A QUICK LOOK AT SYRACUSE
If the mark of an improving team is how it deals with challenges, then Syracuse is certainly a team on the rise. The Orange came into this season having to figure out a way to deal with the graduation of all-BIG EAST guard Julie McBride, the program’s all-time leading scorer (1,605 points), three-point shooter (229 made) and playmaker (574 assists). They also had to shrug off the after-effects of a 6-21 record last season that included 13 consecutive losses to end the campaign. On top of all that, the Orange entered the year with a revamped roster that included five new but inexperienced faces, part of the program’s first-ever Top 25 recruiting class.

Syracuse (8-4, 0-1 BIG EAST) has overcome these obstacles with a flourish this season, already rolling up more victories than it had all of last year. Opening the campaign on a five-game winning streak, the Orange also went on to record their highest non-conference win total (8) since the 1989-90 season.

However, the early momentum was blunted a bit as BIG EAST Conference play opened last weekend, with Syracuse dropping a 63-57 decision at home to Pittsburgh. The Orange led by as many as 10 points in the second half, but the Panthers rallied and scored the final six points of the game to pull out the win. Senior guard Rochelle Coleman was the only SU player to score in double figures, coming off the bench to tally 15 points, including 4-of-9 three-pointers. Senior forward/center Chineze Nwagbo grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds (seven offensive) for the Orange, who lost their 13th consecutive conference game, dating back to last season.

Nwagbo leads Syracuse in scoring (11.4 ppg.), rebounding (8.7 rpg.) and field goal percentage (.458) this season. Sophomore guard Lauren Kohn, a BIG EAST all-freshman team selection last year, is the Orange’s second-leading scorer (9.8 ppg.), while making a team-best 22 three-point field goals. Coleman has made an impact as a top reserve for SU this season, averaging 7.7 ppg. and hitting a team-best .429 from the three-point line. One of the new faces to watch for is 6-foot-4 freshman center Vaida Sipaviciute, who leads the BIG EAST in blocked shots at 2.33 rejections per night.

Head coach Keith Cieplicki is in his second season at Syracuse with a record of 14-25 (.359) at the school. Prior to his tenure with the Orange, Cieplicki spent six years as the head coach at Vermont, leading the Catamounts to four 20-win seasons and two postseason berths, including the 2000 NCAA Tournament. He has an overall record of 141-78 (.644) in eight seasons as a collegiate head coach, with an 0-2 record against Notre Dame.

THE NOTRE DAME-SYRACUSE SERIES
Notre Dame and Syracuse will be meeting for the 19th time in their series on Wednesday night, with the Irish owning a 16-2 lead in the rivalry. It also will represent the ninth time the schools have tangled at the Joyce Center, with Notre Dame have won all eight of the prior encounters in South Bend.

The Irish and Orange first played one another back in the 1987-88 season, Muffet McGraw’s first as the head coach at Notre Dame, and the Irish came away with an 81-64 win at home. A year later, Notre Dame visited Syracuse for the first time and the host Orange weren’t very accommodating, dealing the Irish a 63-56 setback. However, Notre Dame bounced back in the next two matchups, squeezing out a narrow 71-66 win at home in 1990 and an 81-60 triumph at Syracuse on New Year’s Eve 1991.

Since the Irish joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96 and began playing the Orange annually, the series has been tipped in Notre Dame’s favor. In fact, the Irish have won 13 of the 14 times the teams have met under the BIG EAST banner, including all 12 regular-season conference contests. Syracuse’s only victory in that time came at the 2002 BIG EAST Championship, when the seventh-seeded Orange upset the No. 2 seed Irish, 84-79 in Piscataway, N.J., breaking Notre Dame’s 12-game series winning streak.

Wednesday’s game is the first of two between the Irish and Orange during the next two weeks. On Jan. 19, Notre Dame will visit Manley Field House in Syracuse for a rematch, marking the fifth time in the past nine years that the Irish will face the Orange twice in the same season. The same thing occurred last year, when Notre Dame swept Syracuse (64-35 on the road; 54-33 at home).

THE LAST TIME NOTRE DAME AND SYRACUSE MET
Freshman guard Breona Gray came off the bench to score a (then) career-high 11 points, hitting all four of her field goal attempts, as Notre Dame rolled to a 54-33 win over Syracuse on March 2, 2004, at the Joyce Center. In the process, the Irish completed the 2003-04 regular season with a 13-0 mark at the Joyce Center, the third time in the last five years Notre Dame has posted a perfect record on its own floor.

Junior forward Jacqueline Batteast offered up her 10th double-double of the year for the Irish, posting game highs of 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Senior guard Le’Tania Severe added 12 points in her final regular-season game at the Joyce Center.

Syracuse lost its 12th consecutive game, despite picking up team highs of 12 points and eight rebounds from senior guard Julie McBride. The losing streak for the Orange has seen a pair of defeats to Notre Dame serving as its bookends – the Irish downed Syracuse, 64-35 back on Jan. 21 in upstate New York.

In both of its matchups with the Orange in 2003-04, Notre Dame rode its defense to victory. In the latter game, Syracuse registered Irish opponent season lows with 33 points and a .224 field goal percentage (13 of 58), surpassing marks the Orange set in their first meeting with Notre Dame in January (35 points, .231 field goal percentage). In fact, the 33 points were the fewest yielded by the Irish since Feb. 13, 2002, when Notre Dame toppled St. John’s, 66-31 at the Joyce Center.

The game was a defensive struggle on both sides of the ball, as the teams went scoreless for the first three minutes and failed to sink a field goal until the 15:08 mark. The first half crawled along at a snail’s pace, thanks in part to the slow-down style of play employed by Syracuse, which burned nearly all 30 seconds of the shot clock on every possession. The strategy paid off for a time, as Notre Dame led by only a 15-10 score with 7:21 remaining in the period.

The Irish finally broke free, ending the first half on an 11-4 run that opened up a 12-point halftime lead. Syracuse shot just .167 (5-for-30) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, its lowest first-half percentage of the year (topping the .204 mark it set in the January loss to Notre Dame).

The second half began much like the first, with each team managing just one field goal over the first 5:38 of the frame. A quick 9-4 run by Notre Dame, sparked by seven points from Gray, gave the Irish their biggest lead to that point at 37-20 with 10:48 still to play. Syracuse clawed back to within 12 points twice in the period, the last coming on a layup by McBride with just under six minutes to go. However, the Irish ended the game on an 11-2 run, capped off by a layup from senior walk-on guard and fan favorite Anne Weese with 0.3 seconds to play.

OTHER NOTRE DAME-SYRACUSE SERIES NOTES

• Only four times has Notre Dame failed to score at least 70 points in its 18-game series with Syracuse. On the other hand, the Orangewomen have topped the 70-point mark just twice all-time against the Irish, most recently turning the trick in their last win over Notre Dame (84-79 on March 3, 2002 at the BIG EAST Championship in Piscataway, N.J.).
• All but two of Notre Dame’s 16 wins in the series have come by double-digit margins, with an average spread of 17.5 points per game in the 18-game rivalry. The Irish margin of victory is slightly larger at the Joyce Center, where Notre Dame has won all eight series games by an average of 20.1 points per contest.
• Notre Dame has held Syracuse to its two lowest point totals in the series in the teams’ last two matchups (35 on Jan. 21, 2004; 33 on March 2, 2004). Ironically, the Irish were held to their lowest offensive output in the most recent series game, scoring only 54 points in the March 2 contest.
• Notre Dame is 7-1 all-time when it is ranked heading into the Syracuse game. However, the last time a ranked Irish squad faced the Orange was March 3, 2002, when Syracuse upset No. 21/25 Notre Dame, 84-79 in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championship.
• Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast leads all current Irish players with 10.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in five career games against Syracuse. She also has collected double-doubles in each of her four regular-season matchups against the Orange, only missing the mark when she came off the bench and played limited minutes in the 2002 BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals while recovering from a knee injury.

THE BEAST OF THE BIG EAST
Notre Dame is 125-28 (.817) 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 81 of their last 99 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 138-37 (.789) against league opponents – when factoring in these 22 postseason tilts, the Irish are 70-7 (.909) at home, 55-24 (.696) on the road and 13-6 (.684) at neutral sites all-time vs. BIG EAST foes.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
Notre Dame owns a superb 32-2 (.941) record all-time against schools from the state of New York, going 16-2 vs. Syracuse, 14-0 vs. St. John’s and 1-0 vs. both Army and Fordham. The Irish also are a perfect 16-0 at the Joyce Center against Empire State teams, winning by an average margin of 26.7 points per game. In fact, only once in those 16 home games has a New York-based squad come within single digits of Notre Dame – the Irish edged Syracuse, 71-66 on Dec. 8, 1990.

POLLING PLACE
Notre Dame is 173-41 (.808) all-time when it is ranked in the Associated Press poll at tipoff (the Irish are fourth entering Wednesday’s game against Syracuse). When playing at home, Notre Dame has been especially strong, going 80-9 (.899) as a ranked host after posting a 7-1 record at the Joyce Center this season. Conversely, the Irish are 69-24 (.742) 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 98-16 (.860) as a top-10 squad, including a 47-3 (.940) 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.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Irish are off to a 5-0 start on the road this season, marking just the second time in school history Notre Dame has won its first five true road games of the year. Only the 2000-01 team managed to win more than five road games to open the season, going on a 10-game road winning streak before losing at Rutgers, 54-53.

Accenting Notre Dame’s play on the road has been its defensive prowess. The Irish are holding opponents to 50.0 ppg., a .316 field goal percentage (90-for-285) and a .163 three-point percentage (14-for-86) away from home and have not allowed more than 59 points in a road game this year.

STREAK STATS
During its current five-game winning streak, Notre Dame has recorded an average victory margin of 17.6 ppg., holding opponents to 45.2 ppg., a .276 field goal percentage (77-for-279) and a .202 three-point percentage (17-for-84). The Irish also have forced an average of 20.2 turnovers per game, with 9.2 of those takeaways coming on steals (led by junior guard Megan Duffy’s 4.2 spg.).

Notre Dame also has played from in front throughout most of its present winning streak. In fact, during the second half of those five games (covering a span of 100 on-court minutes), the Irish trailed for a grand total of 4:07 and never fell behind by more than a single point (all deficits at Marquette on Dec. 19).

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 five games, she is averaging 18.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, with two double-doubles and two 20-point games. She also is shooting 60.3 percent from the field (35-for-58) and has just eight turnovers (1.6 topg.) in that time.

THREE-FENSE
In the past 10 games, Notre Dame has limited its opponents to a .192 three-point percentage (31-for-161), 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 .226 mark (48-for-212) from long range.

THE FIVE-FINGER DISCOUNT
Notre Dame leads the BIG EAST Conference in steals this season, averaging 10.54 thefts per game (137 total). The Irish have come up with at least 10 steals in seven games, including each of the past four contests, and had a season-best 20 thefts on Nov. 22 vs. Colorado State.

Individually, junior guard Megan Duffy is tops in the conference in steals (3.08 spg., 40 total), while her backcourt mate, sophomore Breona Gray is second on the team with 1.54 steals per game (20 total). Four other Notre Dame players have at least 10 steals this year – senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast (17), freshman guard Charel Allen (15), sophomore forward Crystal Erwin (11) and freshman guard Tulyah Gaines (10).

THE SEASON FOR SHARING
One of the key elements in Notre Dame’s early success has been its penchant for distributing the ball well. In fact, the Irish have 217 assists (16.7 apg.; third in the BIG EAST) on 325 field goals made (25.0 per game) in their first 13 outings, including a Preseason WNIT-record 29 handouts in the season opener vs. Illinois State. Junior guard Megan Duffy leads the way at 4.4 assists per game (sixth in the BIG EAST), with at least five dimes in six 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 75.4 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 (.912, 52-57), freshman guard Charel Allen (.833, 30-36) and senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast (.806, 54-67). Duffy currently leads the BIG EAST and ranks eighth in the nation in free throw percentage, while Batteast has shown the greatest improvement among all Irish players this season with nearly 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 62 games since then (Jan. 20, 2003 to present), Duffy is connecting at an .861 clip (167-194) on her foul shots. She also has made 60 of her last 66 free throws (.909) in the past 19 Irish games, dating back to Feb. 28, 2004.

CHARGING FROM THE GATE
At 12-1, Notre Dame is off to the second-best start in school history. In 2000-01, the Irish won their first 23 games of the season and ascended to the No. 1 ranking before falling at Rutgers, 54-53.

Notre Dame’s 7-0 start this season also marked the second time ever that the Irish opened with seven consecutive victories.

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 four wins (current record: 396-150, .725)
• 500th victory overall – needs 16 wins (current record: 484-191, .717)

THE SETON HALL RECAP
Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast had 18 points and No. 6 Notre Dame held Seton Hall to a season-low 22-percent shooting, beating the Pirates 54-33 on Sunday at the Joyce Center.

It marked the fewest points allowed by the Irish (12-1) this season and fewest points scored this season by the Pirates, who had their six-game winning streak snapped. The Irish dominated inside, outscoring Seton Hall 26-6 in the paint. Notre Dame also converted 24 Seton Hall turnovers into 20 points. The Irish had a season-low eight turnovers, leading to just one point for Seton Hall.

Junior guard Megan Duffy added 10 points for Notre Dame, which shot 36.4 percent. Heta Korpivaara led Seton Hall (8-4) with seven points and Ashley Bush had six for the Pirates.

Seton Hall simply couldn’t penetrate Notre Dame’s zone defense during the contest. During one span in the second half, the Pirates put up air balls on three consecutive possessions, two of them on three-point attempts by Korpivaara and Asia Carroll. Seton Hall outrebounded the Irish 50-35, with Monique Blake pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.

After falling behind 5-2 when Seton Hall made its first two shots, Notre Dame took control. Batteast scored on a steal and layup to begin a 26-7 run during which Seton Hall made just 2-of-21 shots. The Irish led 30-14 at halftime and never let the margin dwindle below 14 points in the second half.

NOTING THE SETON HALL VICTORY

• Notre Dame improves to 13-3 all-time against Seton Hall, including a 7-1 mark at the Joyce Center.
• The Irish are 7-3 in BIG EAST Conference openers and have won five of their last six BIG EAST lidlifters since joining the league prior to the 1995-96 season.
• Notre Dame is 21-7 (.750) all-time in its first game of the new year, including wins in 10 of its last 11 such contests.
• Notre Dame held Seton Hall to an opponent season-low 33 points, the fewest by an Irish foe since last year’s regular season finale (54-33 vs. Syracuse on March 2, 2004 at the Joyce Center).
• The 33 points scored by SHU also represented the fewest by either team in the 16-game series history.
• In an ironic twist, the Pirates had no player score in double figures, after Notre Dame found itself in a similar predicament in last year’s 51-45 loss at Seton Hall.
• Notre Dame limited SHU to an opponent season-low .222 field goal percentage, the third consecutive game the Irish defense has come through with its best field goal percentage defense mark of the season.
• The SHU game marked the eighth time in the past nine outings Notre Dame has held an opponent under 60 points.
• The Irish committed a season-low eight turnovers, the fewest giveaways by Notre Dame since a school-record seven turnovers vs. Virginia Tech on Jan. 26, 2002 at the Joyce Center.
• Conversely, Notre Dame caused 24 Seton Hall turnovers, marking the seventh time this season the Irish have come up with at least 20 takeaways.
• Fourteen of those SHU turnovers came via Notre Dame steals, the seventh time this year and fourth game in a row that the Irish have had double-digit steals; junior guard Megan Duffy swiped six steals for her third six-steal game of the season.
• Sophomore forward Crystal Erwin grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, one more than her previous best set on Dec. 11 vs. Washington.
• The Joyce Center crowd of 6,188 for the Seton Hall game was the second-largest of the season for the Irish, a scant two persons behind the Nov. 12 attendance of 6,190 for a season-opening victory over Illinois State in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.

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 87-7 (.926) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead. Notre Dame has added 10 wins to that count this season (Illinois State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Colorado State, USC, Valparaiso, Dayton, Washington, Northern Illinois and Seton Hall).

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 138-6 (.958) record when they hold their opponents to less than 60 points in a game. That count includes this season’s wins over Nebraska, Colorado State, USC, Valparaiso, Dayton, Washington, Marquette, Northern Illinois and Seton Hall.

… 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.

NOTRE DAME AMONG RECENT WINS LEADERS
Notre Dame has won 214 games over the past nine seasons, which is the seventh-most wins of any school in the country during that time.

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).

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 120 of their last 130 games (.923) at the 11,418-seat Joyce Center. Notre Dame also has a 70-7 (.909) home record in BIG EAST Conference 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 270-71 (.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. 3 unofficial national attendance rankings (as compiled by the University of Wisconsin Sports Information Office), Notre Dame is 14th in the nation with an average of 5,104 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 57 of the past 59 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 on Jan. 12 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 Jan. 16, 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 has added two Irish games to its regional television package this season. Notre Dame will visit 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. Exact clearances will be made available closer to game time.

Comcast Local (based in Detroit) 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. 5 vs. Syracuse – Notre Dame women’s basketball license plates (first 2,000 fans)
• 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)

NEXT GAME: VILLANOVA
Notre Dame will open the road portion of its BIG EAST Conference schedule Sunday when it travels to Villanova for a 2 p.m. (ET) game at The Pavilion. That contest is the first of two Irish games this season that will be broadcast on a regional basis via the BIG EAST syndicated television package. Five broadcast outlets (Madison Square Garden Network, Fox Sports New England, Fox College Sports, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and Comcast Charter Sports Southeast) are slated to air the game live, while another three will show the game on a same-day delayed basis (Comcast Local at 3 p.m. ET; Comcast SportsNet Chicago at 5 p.m. ET; and Cox Sports Television at 7 p.m. ET).

Villanova (8-4, 1-0 BIG EAST), which is idle until this weekend’s contest with Notre Dame, currently is receiving seven votes in the Associated Press poll following a 45-34 victory over Providence on Sunday in the BIG EAST opener for both teams. Junior forward Liad Suez scored a game-high 15 points and junior guard Courtney Roantree made three consecutive three-pointers during a 16-3 second-half run as the Wildcats turned back a pesky Friar squad. Suez leads Villanova in scoring (14.1 ppg.), while sophomore forward Jackie Adamshick is second in scoring (11.4 ppg.) and first in rebounding (6.3 rpg.).

Notre Dame holds a 13-6 lead in the series with Villanova, including a 5-4 mark at The Pavilion. However, the series has been exceptionally close of late, with the Wildcats winning three of the five matchups and all four regular-season games being decided by three points or less. Last year, the Irish scratched out a 38-36 victory over Villanova in the lowest-scoring game in Joyce Center history. Jacqueline Batteast scored 14 points and hit two free throws with 17.5 seconds left to give Notre Dame the win.