Irish Wrap Up Regular Season Monday At DePaul

Feb. 25, 2007

Complete Notes (PDF)

2006-07 ND Women’s Basketball: Game 29
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (19-9 / 10-5 BIG EAST) vs.
DePaul Blue Demons (17-11 / 7-8 BIG EAST)

Storylines

• Notre Dame will be playing its 200th BIG EAST Conference regular-season game, owning a 155-44 (.779) record to date.
• With a victory, the Irish would post their 13th 20-win season in the past 14 years.

Irish Wrap Up Regular Season Monday At DePaul
The Notre Dame-DePaul rivalry has stretched back more than two decades and a new chapter will be written Monday at 8 p.m. (CT) when the schools square off in the BIG EAST regular-season finale at McGrath Arena in Chicago. The Irish have not won on the DePaul campus since 1991, but a victory on Monday night would secure a top-four seed (and a first-round bye) for the upcoming BIG EAST Championship.

Notre Dame saw its season-long six-game winning streak snapped Saturday with a 76-60 loss to No. 21/22 Rutgers at the Joyce Center. The Irish trailed by a point at halftime and were still within striking distance at 52-46 with eight minutes to go before RU went on an 8-1 run to finally repel a determined Notre Dame squad. The Scarlet Knights also shot .481 from the floor (.538 from the three-point line) during the afternoon.

Junior guard Charel Allen recorded team highs of 20 points and seven rebounds for the Irish, while classmate (and backcourt partner) Tulyah Gaines added 10 points and five rebounds.

Rankings

• Notre Dame was receiving votes in last week’s Associated Press poll.
• DePaul is not ranked.

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

In its history, Notre Dame has developed eight All-Americans, nine WNBA players (including six draft picks in the past six years) and four USA Basketball veterans (eight medals won). Now in their 30th season in 2006-07, the Irish own an all-time record of 612-275 (.690).

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

With a young and inexperienced roster that has only two seniors and is missing its top returning scorer from a year ago, the Irish have had to learn on the run – and run is exactly what they have done this season. Notre Dame is averaging 70.9 points per game thus far, a significant improvement over the previous five Irish squads, none of which has averaged better than 66.3 points per night.

Of course, the Irish have traditionally hung their hat on their defense, a trait that is much harder to master and takes a bit longer. On the one hand, Notre Dame’s aggressive style has rattled opponents, causing 21.0 turnovers per game (including a BIG EAST-best 11.0 steals per night). However, the flip side has seen the Irish allow opponents to shoot .419 from the floor (.360 from the three-point line), while the Irish claim just a 2.4 rpg. edge on the boards), two areas Notre Dame will continue to focus on during as it closes out BIG EAST play.

Junior guard Charel Allen has been one of the main offensive catalysts for the Irish, averaging a team-high 17.3 ppg., while scoring in double figures in 25 of 28 outings to date. The Monessen, Pa., native, who is a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week and four-time BIG EAST Honor Roll pick, also is logging a team-high 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

Allen’s classmate and backcourt running partner, Tulyah Gaines, is easily one of the conference’s most improved players this season. The speedy Gaines has stoked the Notre Dame offensive fire to an even hotter level, averaging 9.6 points and 3.9 assists per game. Gaines, who came into the season with a 3.7 ppg. career scoring average, has scored 20 points in a game three times this year, including a career-high 27 points on Jan. 10 in a win over Cincinnati.

The most pleasing contributions of the year for Notre Dame to this point have come from its freshmen. Guard Ashley Barlow, who made her first career start Feb. 11 vs. DePaul, is second on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg.) and third in steals (2.0 spg.), and had a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds on Dec. 28 vs. Prairie View A&M. Center Erica Williamson (6.3 ppg., 5.6 rpg., 1.3 bpg.) logged her first career double-double at South Florida with 11 points and 18 rebounds (an Irish freshman record). And, guard Melissa Lechlitner (6.2 ppg., 2.9 apg.) has been particularly sharp of late with a 1.64 assist/turnover ratio in conference play. She also scored a career-high 18 points vs. Syracuse and delivered a personal-best nine assists (without a turnover) against St. John’s.

Potent Notables About The Irish

• Notre Dame is among the nation’s winningest programs during the past 11 seasons (1996-97 to present), ranking seventh with 266 victories in that span.

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

• Notre Dame currently is ranked 11th nationally in attendance (6,364 fans per game). Last season marked the sixth consecutive campaign the Irish were among the national top 20 in attendance (No. 11 ranking). Notre Dame also has attracted 5,000-or-more fans to 94 of its last 96 home games, including three Joyce Center sellouts of 11,418 (most recently on Dec. 31, 2005 vs. Tennessee).

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

• The Irish have become a regular fixture in the WNBA Draft in recent years, as six Notre Dame players have been selected in the past six seasons. All-America guard Megan Duffy was the most recent Irish player to be chosen, going to the Minnesota Lynx in the third round (31st overall pick) of the 2006 WNBA Draft. Other active Notre Dame players in the WNBA during the 2006 season included Ruth Riley and Jacqueline Batteast (league champion Detroit Shock), while Niele Ivey sat out the campaign as a free agent, rehabilitating an injury after previously playing with Indiana, Detroit and Phoenix. Riley’s WNBA title with Detroit was her second (she was the 2003 WNBA Finals MVP), while Batteast earned her first pro crown in ’06.

• Notre Dame has been an elite program in the classroom as well. The Irish posted a perfect 100-percent Graduation Success Rate (GSR), according to figures released by the NCAA in October 2006. Notre Dame was one of 16 Division I-A programs to achieve this distinction, and one of only two BIG EAST programs (Syracuse was the other). Furthermore, since Muffet McGraw became the Irish head coach in 1987, every Notre Dame women’s basketball player that has completed her athletic and academic eligibility at the University has graduated.

A Quick Look At DePaul
On the heels of its first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2006, DePaul had three starters and 10 letterwinners returning to try and build on last year’s success. The Blue Demons looked sharp during the non-conference portion of the season, winning 10 of their first 11 games and rising as high as No. 17 in the national polls.

However, injuries challenged DePaul throughout the season, at times trimming the Blue Demons’ active roster to just seven players. Still, DePaul has persevered and as the squad has continued to get healthier, Blue Demon fortunes have brightened with wins in six of the past 11 games.

DePaul (17-11, 7-8 BIG EAST) had its two-game winning streak snapped Saturday with an 87-80 loss at Pittsburgh. The Blue Demons outshot the Panthers with a .476 field goal percentage and were a perfect 11-of-11 at the free throw line, not to mention committing just 11 turnovers. However, DePaul was hampered by a 49-24 rebounding deficit (resulting in Pittsburgh’s 22 second-chance points) and saw the Panthers make 6-of-8 three-point shots on the afternoon.

The Blue Demons nearly had three 20-point scorers against Pittsburgh, led by junior forward Caprice Smith, who chalked up a team-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while adding a team-best six rebounds. Junior guard Allie Quigley tallied 20 points, including four three-pointers, while senior guard/forward Jenna Rubino scored 19 points and dished out a team-high six assists.

Smith ranks among the BIG EAST leaders in both scoring (12th – 15.6 ppg.) and rebounding (sixth – 8.6 rpg.). Quigley is right behind Smith at 13th in the conference in scoring (15.5 ppg.), while also standing seventh in the loop in three-point percentage (.364) and ninth in three-point field goals made (1.71 per game). Rubino is third on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg.) and tied with Quigley for ninth in the conference in three-pointers per game (1.71).

Veteran head coach Doug Bruno is in his 21st season at DePaul with a 392-228 (.632) record in Lincoln Park. He is 8-5 all-time against Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame-DePaul Series
Through four decades and two different conference affiliations, the Notre Dame-DePaul series has been one of the top rivalries in the Midwest. The Irish and Blue Demons will be tangling for the 27th time on Monday night, with DePaul owning a 15-11 series edge vs. Notre Dame. The Blue Demons also hold a 9-4 lead on the Irish when playing in Chicago.

The series itself has been close of late, with Notre Dame winning four of the past seven contests (each side has won on its home floor). For the second consecutive year, DePaul is Notre Dame’s “repeat” opponent in the BIG EAST, with the Irish winning the first meeting, 78-70 back on Feb. 11 at the Joyce Center.

The Last Time Notre Dame and DePaul Met
Junior guard Charel Allen poured in a game-high 25 points and snared a career-high 13 rebounds, leading Notre Dame to a 78-70 BIG EAST Conference win over DePaul on Feb. 11 at the Joyce Center.

Allen, who registered her third career double-double (all this year), chalked up five key points during a 14-5 second-half run as Notre Dame turned back a determined Blue Demon squad down the stretch. Freshman guards Ashley Barlow and Melissa Lechlitner scored 13 points apiece, while junior guard Tulyah Gaines added 12 points and a team-high five assists for the Irish.

Behind Allie Quigley’s 11 consecutive points to start the game, DePaul moved out to a six-point lead on four occasions in the first half, the last coming at 19-13 on Quigley’s transition layup with 7:45 remaining in the period. Notre Dame came out of the gate slowly, missing on 10 of its first 12 shots from the floor, but the Irish came back and used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the day, extending out to a 22-19 edge on two foul shots by Gaines at the 5:42 mark. A trey by Quigley tied the game 28 seconds later, but Allen’s two free throws with 4:51 left put the hosts back in front for good. The Notre Dame lead ballooned to six points twice in the closing moments of the half, with a 32-26 spread by intermission.

DePaul halved the deficit on its first possession of the second half, as Missy Mitidiero knocked down her lone three-pointer of the game. However, the Irish answered with an 11-2 run during the next two and a half minutes, capped by Allen’s layup off a pretty Gaines assist at the 16:25 juncture. The Blue Demons came back with a run of their own, using a 10-2 spurt to get as close as 47-43 when Threatt hit a jumper in the lane with 10:13 to play.

That’s when Allen came through with her biggest plays of the night, converting an old-fashioned three-point play and adding a long jumper in a span of 21 seconds to help Notre Dame rebuild a nine-point lead. The Irish opened their advantage to as much as 13 points twice, the second at 68-55 with 2:42 to play, before DePaul began a frantic last-minute rally that included three consecutive three-point baskets. Caprice Smith buried the final two treys in the surge, getting the Blue Demons to 71-66 with 47 seconds to go. But, the visitors would get no closer, as Notre Dame made 7-of-8 free throws in the last 38 seconds to preserve the win.

The Last Time Notre Dame and DePaul Met At McGrath Arena
Allie Quigley had 26 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 17/15 DePaul over Notre Dame 79-50 on Feb. 12, 2006 at the DePaul Athletic Center (now known as McGrath Arena) in Chicago.

Khara Smith had 12 points and 19 rebounds for DePaul (20-5, 7-5 BIG EAST). Caprice Smith and Erin Cattell added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Notre Dame (14-9, 5-7) got 15 points and six rebounds from Charel Allen. Megan Duffy had 12 points and Courtney LaVere added 10 for the Irish, who shot a season-low 25 percent from the floor.

DePaul’s defense held Notre Dame without a field goal for the first six minutes of the game en route to a 13-3 lead. But the lead didn’t last long as Notre Dame went on a 14-1 run to take a 24-21 lead with 3:17 remaining. DePaul then answered with an 8-2 run that gave the Blue Demons a 29-26 advantage at halftime.

DePaul extended its lead with a 11-2 run midway through the second half to make it 40-31. A 15-0 run minutes later extended DePaul’s lead to 21.

Other Notre Dame-DePaul Series Tidbits

• With Monday’s 27th series matchup, Notre Dame will have played only two schools more often than DePaul in its 30-year history – Marquette (32) and Dayton (28).

• The Irish and Blue Demons have previously faced off as members of the North Star Conference from 1983-88, with the two sides splitting their 10 NSC games.

• Neither team has won consecutive games in the series since 1993, when DePaul won its second in a row over the Irish, 71-55 in Chicago.
• In each of the past seven series games, the winning team has scored at least 75 points. Notre Dame kept that trend going earlier this season with a 78-70 victory over DePaul back on Feb. 11.

• The Irish will be seeking to snap a four-game losing streak at the DePaul Athletic Center. Notre Dame has not won on the Blue Demons’ home floor since Jan. 11, 1991, an 81-66 decision.

• Notre Dame has won back-to-back games in the series only once. The Irish won three in a row over DePaul in the 1984-85 and 1985-86 seasons, taking a pair of games at the Joyce Center and one in Chicago. The ’85-86 season also represented the only time Notre Dame defeated the Blue Demons twice in the same season.

• Notre Dame is 19-15 (.559) all-time when playing in the city of Chicago, including a 10-7 (.588) mark in the Muffet McGraw era (1987-present).

• Both head coaches have ties to the old Women’s Professional Basketball League (WBL). Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw was a point guard for the California Dreams in 1979, while DePaul’s Doug Bruno was the head coach and director of player personnel for the Chicago Hustle from 1978-80.

• Bruno is in his second year as president of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), and in June 2005, McGraw was one of his first appointments to the WBCA Board of Directors, assuming the title of that body’s NCAA Division I Legislative Chair from another BIG EAST coach, Marquette’s Terri Mitchell.

• Notre Dame sophomore guard Lindsay Schrader (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett HS) is the 10th Illinois native to play for the Irish, and the ninth to come from the Chicagoland area. Some of the other notable Notre Dame products from the Windy City include NCAA career three-point percentage leader Alicia Ratay (Lake Zurich/Lake Zurich HS), as well as 1,000-point scorer and 2004 Purple Heart recipient Danielle Green (Chicago/Roosevelt HS). The Irish will add another Chicago native next season when forward Devereaux Peters of national prep power Fenwick High School enrolls at Notre Dame.

• Schrader was the 2005 Illinois Miss Basketball, having claimed that honor last spring by the sixth-largest margin (374 points) since the award was created in 1986.

Allen Makes Fourth Appearance On BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Junior guard Charel Allen continued to pile up the individual accolades this season, when she was named to the BIG EAST Conference Women’s Basketball Weekly Honor Roll for the fourth time in 2006-07, the league office announced Feb. 19. Allen previously was chosen for that award on Dec. 4, Jan. 8 and Feb. 5, and she also has twice been selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Week (Jan. 22 and Feb. 12). Allen is one of three Irish players who have been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll a total of six times this season, joining senior guard Breona Gray, who took the award on Dec. 11, and junior center Melissa D’Amico, who was accorded that status on Dec. 18.

Allen averaged 25.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with a .588 field goal percentage last week, as Notre Dame won at Villanova, 75-58, and registered an 82-65 win at Providence. Against Villanova, Allen scored a game-high 25 points, connecting on her first seven shots from the field. She also added six rebounds and a career-high six assists (without a turnover) as the Irish posted their highest point total at VU since 1997. Last weekend at Providence, Allen tallied a game-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, scoring 14 of those markers during a 31-3 Notre Dame run that lasted more than 12 minutes and crossed between halves.

The Deuce Is Loose
Junior guard Charel Allen is playing some of the best basketball of her college career during the past month. The Monessen, Pa., native is averaging 21.0 points in the past 11 games, cracking the 20-point mark eight times and scoring 25-or-more points on six occasions.

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

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

Pine Time Players
Part of the reason for Notre Dame’s success this season can be traced to the production the Irish have gotten from their bench (comprised almost entirely of their freshmen class). The Notre Dame reserves are averaging 23.3 points per game and are outscoring the opposition’s bench by 8.9 points per game.

For the year, the Irish second unit has outscored the opponent reserves in 22 of 28 games, with Notre Dame posting a 16-6 record in those contests.

Peaking When It Counts
When the regular season enters its stretch run in the month of February, Notre Dame historically seems to raise its level of play. Since joining the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96, the Irish are 71-18 (.798) in February games, including a 41-4 (.911) mark at home. Two of those February home losses for the Irish in the past 12 seasons came against Villanova (48-45 on Feb. 26, 2002; 69-65 in overtime on Feb. 7, 2006), with the others coming at the hands of Connecticut (79-64 on Feb. 19, 2006) and Rutgers (76-60 this past Saturday).

In the 20-year Muffet McGraw era (1987-present), the Irish are 119-33 (.783) in the month of February, including a 63-10 (.863) home record. In that time, Notre Dame has not had a losing February, and only once did the Irish end the month at .500 (4-4 in 1988-89, McGraw’s second season in South Bend).

On The Learning Curve
While some would agree Notre Dame has performed above outside expectations this season, the youthful Irish have opened some eyes even in defeat. In fact, Notre Dame has been either leading or trailing by just one possession during the second half in six of its last seven losses (three of which came at the hands of Top 25 opponents).