No. 3 Irish To Set To Face Third Top-15 Opponent Of The Season Thursday Night

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(#3 AP/#3 ESPN/USA Today) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0)
vs.
(#15 AP/#15 ESPN/USA Today) Michigan State Spartans (4-1)

The Date and Time: Thursday, Dec. 2, 2004, 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).

The TV Plans: College Sports Television (CSTV) national broadcast with Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Debbie Antonelli (analysis) and Andy Greathouse (producer/director). CSTV is available on most cable systems nationwide, as well as via DirecTV (channel 610).

The Radio Plans: Thursday’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 Michigan State game, via the Notre Dame (www.und.com) athletics web site.

Web Sites: Notre Dame (www.und.com), Michigan State (www.msuspartans.com).

NO. 3 IRISH SET TO FACE THIRD TOP-15 OPPONENT OF THE SEASON THURSDAY NIGHT
As if playing eight games in the first 20 days of the season wasn’t difficult enough, No. 3 Notre Dame will play its third top-15 opponent of the young season when it welcomes No. 15 Michigan State to the Joyce Center Thursday for a 7 p.m. (ET) contest. College Sports Television (CSTV) will air the game live to a nationwide audience in the first of five nationally-televised games for the Irish during the regular season.

Notre Dame (7-0) continued the second-best start in school history with a 69-59 win at Valparaiso on Tuesday night. The Irish led from the opening tip to the final horn, but could never quite shake the pesky Crusaders. A 12-4 second-half run by Notre Dame proved to be the difference as the Irish earned the second road win of the year.

Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast piled up her first double-double of the season (and 33rd of her career) with game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Megan Duffy ably complemented Batteast with a season-high 20 points.

Michigan State (4-1) won its first four games of the season before an 80-75 loss to then-unranked TCU in the finals of the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. Junior guard Lindsay Bowen led the Spartans with 33 points, while senior center Kelli Roehrig (currently averaging a team-best 16.0 ppg.) contributed 22 points.

Head coach Joanne P. McCallie is in her fifth year at MSU with a record of 72-53 (.576) in East Lansing.

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 (seven games in the first 18 days of the season) and demanding opposition (No. 6 Duke and No. 10 Ohio 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 moved up to No. 3 in the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls released earlier this week.

Despite the added focus shown to her by opposing teams, senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast has been a major catalyst in the early-season charge for the Irish, averaging 20.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game with a 2.64 assist/turnover ratio (29 assists, 11 turnovers). 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 all seven Irish games this season and has been Notre Dame’s leading scorer five times. In her last outing Tuesday at Valparaiso, Batteast notched her first double-double of the year with game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Junior guard Megan Duffy also has stepped up her play this season, registering 14.1 points and a team-high 5.0 assists per game, serving as the focal point on an Irish offense that has raised its scoring average by almost eight points per game from last year. Duffy also leads Notre Dame with a .974 free throw percentage (37-for-38) this season, following a 6-for-6 effort Tuesday night at Valparaiso.

Another aspect of Notre Dame’s sharp play this season has been the contributions from its reserves, who are averaging 16.3 points per game. Freshman guard Charel Allen has been the leading bench contributor early on, averaging 8.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Her play was critical in the Preseason WNIT semifinal win over Duke, as she scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half to help the Irish come back from an eight-point deficit and eliminate the Blue Devils. Sophomore forward Crystal Erwin also has stepped to the forefront in the past three Notre Dame wins, averaging 8.3 points per game with a .632 field goal percentage (12-for-19).

SOME POTENT NOTABLES ABOUT THE FIGHTING IRISH

• Notre Dame is 7-0 for only the second time in school history, with both coming in the past five seasons. The 2000-01 squad opened with a 23-game win streak en route to school’s first national championship.
• The Irish have risen to their highest ranking (No. 3) since the end of the 2000-01 season. That year, Notre Dame was second in the final Associated Press poll (taken before the NCAA Tournament) and first in the year-end ESPN/USA Today poll. That ’00-01 squad is the only other Irish team to appear in the top three in the AP poll at any point during the season.
• Including Thursday night’s game, Notre Dame has been ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll in three of its last four games against Michigan State. In 1998-99, the Irish were seventh and claimed a 75-64 win, and in 1999-2000, Notre Dame again was seventh and earned an 84-54 victory.
• Notre Dame currently owns a 25-game homecourt winning streak entering Thursday’s game with Michigan State. That’s the second-longest home winning streak in school history (51 games from 1998-2002) and it’s the fifth-longest active run in the nation (as of Nov. 30).
• Notre Dame has won 52 of its last 54 non-conference home games, dating back to 1994-95.
• 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 needs three victories to pass Digger Phelps for the most wins ever by a Notre Dame basketball coach (men’s or women’s). In 17-plus seasons with the Irish, McGraw has a 391-149 (.724) record, which also puts her just nine victories shy of the 400-win mark for her Notre Dame career.

A QUICK LOOK AT MICHIGAN STATE
During the past two seasons, Michigan State has emerged as one of the nation’s rising power programs. The Spartans have made consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and finished in the upper half of the always-tough Big Ten Conference. Last season, MSU went 22-9 to register its first 20-win campaign since 1996-97, and was ranked as high as 15th, its best ever poll placement.

Building off last year’s NCAA second-round appearance, the Spartans (4-1) opened with four consecutive victories this year and jumped up to 13th in the Associated Press poll before an 80-75 setback to then-unranked TCU late last Sunday night in the championship game of the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu. Sharpshooting guard Lindsay Bowen scored 33 points and center Kelli Roehrig added 22 points for Michigan State, which had a 10-point lead midway through the second half before the Horned Frogs rallied for the victory.

The Spartans show a balanced offensive attack with four players currently scoring in double figures. Roehrig sets the tone at 16.0 ppg., along with team bests of 8.2 rebounds per game and a .618 field goal percentage. Bowen is tied for second on the squad with forward Liz Shimek at 14.6 ppg., with Bowen connecting at a .478 clip from the three-point line and Shimek grabbing 8.0 rebounds a night. Bowen’s backcourt mate, Kristin Haynie, rounds out the double-digit quartet at 10.4 ppg., pairing up with a team-high 4.4 assists and 4.0 steals per game.

Head coach Joanne P. McCallie has been the architect of Michigan State’s renaissance, charting a 72-53 (.576) record since she arrived from Maine in 2000. Now in her 13th season as a collegiate head coach, the energetic McCallie has a career mark of 239-126 (.655).

THE MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
Michigan State leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 7-4, including a 3-2 edge when the scene shifts to the Joyce Center, site of Thursday night’s game. Notre Dame has won two of the past three matchups in the series, although MSU won the last time they squared off, 92-63 on Nov. 26, 2003 in East Lansing.

Although the Irish record books do not reflect it, the teams actually met for the first time in 1975, with the Spartans winning, 84-23 in East Lansing. That game is not counted in the series record since Notre Dame’s women’s basketball program had not yet been granted varsity status, something it would achieve for the 1977-78 season.

The Irish moved up from Division III to Division I in 1980-81 and began facing Michigan State on a regular basis as part of its new schedule. The two schools played one another four times in the next five seasons, with the Spartans winning the first three before Notre Dame got its first series victory early in the 1984-85 campaign.

Since that time, the teams have played two-year, home-and-away series on four occasions (including the past two seasons). Each side has swept the two-game set once (ND in 1998-99; MSU in 1994-95) with the third twinbill being split (1988-89).

ADDITIONAL NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN STATE SERIES NOTES

• Five games in the series have been decided by single digits, with Michigan State winning four of those contests (including an overtime victory in 1995).
• One of the determining factors in the series has been Notre Dame’s defense vs. the Michigan State offense. When the Irish hold the Spartans to 65 points or less, they are 4-1. Conversely, when the Spartans crack the 65-point mark, they are 6-0. For reference purposes, Notre Dame has limited Michigan State to 64.0 ppg. in five previous visits to South Bend.
• Thursday’s game will mark the fourth time Notre Dame has been ranked when facing Michigan State. The Irish are 2-1 against the Spartans as a ranked team, winning as the No. 7 team in the nation in both 1998 (75-64) and 1999 (84-54), while MSU downed the 17th-ranked Irish last season (92-63). The Spartans will enter Thursday’s game ranked for the first time in their 12-game series with Notre Dame.
• The 87-83 overtime win by MSU in 1995 represents a rarity in recent Notre Dame basketball history. It is one of only three times in the past decade that the Irish have lost when scoring at least 80 points in a game (covering a span of 92 games).

THE LAST TIME NOTRE DAME AND MICHIGAN STATE MET
No. 17 Notre Dame suffered a disappointing setback, falling at Michigan State, 92-63, on Nov. 26, 2003, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. The Irish simply ran into a highly-motivated Spartan club that shot the lights out, hitting 56.7 percent from the floor (.545 from the three-point line) and forcing the Irish to play from behind virtually the entire night.

Jacqueline Batteast and Courtney LaVere each scored a team-high 12 points for Notre Dame, with Batteast chipping in a team-best five rebounds. As a team, the Irish shot well from the floor, posting a .480 field goal percentage, but they were soundly beaten on the glass by a 40-20 count (going the entire first half without an offensive rebound).

MSU’s one-two backcourt punch of Lindsay Bowen (26 points) and Kristin Haynie (23 points) combined to shoot a staggering 16-of-21 (.762) from the field, including a .667 mark from beyond the arc. Haynie also added a game-high seven assists, while center Kelli Roehrig came off the bench to collect 10 points in only 15 minutes of court time.

The game itself was close until late in the first half, when Michigan State went on a 14-2 run during the final seven minutes to take a 45-29 lead at the break. Notre Dame climbed back to within 11 points (51-40) four minutes into the second half, but a 13-2 Spartan run midway through the period halted any chances for an Irish comeback. The final margin would prove to be MSU’s largest lead of the night.

THE LAST TIME NOTRE DAME AND MICHIGAN STATE MET AT THE JOYCE CENTER
No. 7/6 Notre Dame led almost all the way and 11 different Irish players cracked the scoring column in a 84-54 victory over Michigan State on Dec. 11, 1999 at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame shot 52.8 percent from the floor and held a 44-37 edge on the glass in the win.

Ruth Riley paced a trio of Notre Dame players in double figures, winding up with a game-high 18 points (9-11 FG) and six blocks, while Niele Ivey had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. Ericka Haney chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Irish, who registered 32 assists on 38 field goals and forced 24 Spartan turnovers. Kristen Rasmussen had 15 points and eight rebounds to lead Michigan State.

It was a tight ballgame for much of the first half, but Notre Dame pulled free of the Spartans with a 22-10 run late in the period to take a 15-point lead into the locker room. The margin stayed the same through the first four minutes of the second half, before the Irish put together a 23-4 run the spanned the next 7:36 to blow the game wide open.

NOTRE DAME AGAINST THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE
Notre Dame is 28-42 (.400) all-time against the current alignment of the Big Ten Conference, although the Irish have have a winning record at home (16-14, .533) against Big Ten schools. Notre Dame has played all 11 members of the Big Ten, owning .500 or better records against Indiana (5-3), Wisconsin (4-2), Northwestern (2-1), Ohio State (1-1) and Iowa (1-0).

Michigan State is the second of three Big Ten opponents on Notre Dame’s 2004-05 regular-season schedule. Back on Nov. 20, the Irish downed No. 10/9 Ohio State, 66-62 in the championship game of the Sportsview.tv Preseason WNIT, rallying from eight points back in the final five minutes to earn the victory. Notre Dame’s third Big Ten opponent, Purdue, will come to town Jan. 16 for the second annual BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, with that game to be televised nationally on ESPN2.

CLIMBING THE LADDER
The Irish moved up to third in the Associated Press this week after avoiding the Thanksgiving weekend upset bug that claimed No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas among its victims. Notre Dame’s No. 3 ranking is its highest in either major national poll since the end of the 2000-01 season, when the Irish were second in the AP poll and first in the ESPN/USA Today balloting after winning the program’s first national championship (the final AP poll was taken before the NCAA Tournament). In fact, that ’00-01 team is the only other Notre Dame squad that has ever been ranked in the top three of either national poll at any point during the season.

POLLING PLACE
Notre Dame is 168-40 (.808) all-time when it is ranked in the Associated Press poll at tipoff (the Irish are third entering Thursday night’s game against Michigan State). When playing at home, Notre Dame has been especially strong, going 78-8 (.907) as a ranked host after opening this season with five consecutive victories at the Joyce Center. Conversely, the Irish are 66-24 (.733) 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 93-15 (.861) as a top-10 squad, including a 45-2 (.957) record at home. In fact, Notre Dame currently has a 41-game home winning streak when it is ranked in the AP top 10, ever since the No. 6 Irish lost to top-ranked Connecticut, 106-81 on Dec. 8, 1998.

CHARGING FROM THE GATE
Notre Dame’s 7-0 start is the second-best season debut in school history and it’s only the second time ever that the Irish have opened with seven consecutive victories.

IRISH PLAYING EARLY AND OFTEN
The Nov. 22 game with Colorado State capped off a rugged early-season stretch for Notre Dame that saw the Irish play five times in the first 11 days of the campaign. The last time Notre Dame had such a compressed start to the season was 2000-01, when the Irish played their first five games in a 10-day span. They wound up winning all five contests, highlighted by victories over No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 6 Georgia at the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge.

Actually, Notre Dame isn’t quite off the hook as far as quick turnarounds are concerned. By the time the Irish leave the floor after facing No. 15 Michigan State on Thursday night, they will have played eight games in 20 days, with just one break of more than three days in that time frame (between road games at USC game Nov. 26 and Valparaiso this past Tuesday night).

The schedule finally becomes a bit kinder to Notre Dame after the MSU game. The Irish will play just four times during the ensuing 30 days, with the trickiest stretch coming with games at Dayton (Dec. 9) and home against Washington (Dec. 11).

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 122 assists (17.4 apg.) on 183 field goals made (26.1 per game) in their first seven outings, including a Preseason WNIT-record 29 handouts in the season opener vs. Illinois State. Junior guard Megan Duffy leads the way, averaging 5.0 assists per game with at least five dimes in four of her first seven contests.

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 are shooting 78.4 percent from the charity stripe, led by junior guard Megan Duffy (.974, 37-38), senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast (.842, 32-38) and freshman guard Charel Allen (16-19, .842). Batteast has shown the greatest improvement among all Irish players with a better than 22-percent jump from last year’s career low .627 mark. What’s most impressive is the fact that as a team, Notre Dame is connecting on almost 84 percent of its foul shots (31-37) in the final five minutes of regulation, often times with the game in the balance (see chart on page 4).

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 56 games since then (Jan. 20, 2003 to present), Duffy is connecting at an .869 clip (152-175) on her foul shots. She also has made 45 of her last 47 free throws (.957) in the past 13 Irish games, dating back to Feb. 28, 2004.

THE VALPARAISO RECAP
Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast had game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds and junior guard Megan Duffy added a season-high 20 points for the Irish (7-0), who needed a 12-4 surge in the final 4:30 to avoid becoming the fourth top-five team to be upset in the last 10 days.

Betsy Rietema scored 14 of her 16 points in the second half for Valparaiso (1-3), which stayed competitive throughout in a series dominated by Notre Dame. Coming into the game, the Irish had won the previous 17 games of the series by an average of 20 points.

The Irish appeared well on their way to another easy win after Batteast scored 11 of Notre Dame’s first 13 points to key a 21-9 start. But the Crusaders responded with a 9-2 run keyed by strong inside play from Tamra Braun, and opened the second half with an 8-3 spurt to make a game of it.

Down 53-43 with just under nine minutes to play, the Crusaders went on an 8-0 run to get back in the game. Rietema scored six points during the charge, including a driving layup that cut the lead to two points with 6:18 to play.

But the momentum changed on the next play. Batteast got a layup off an inbounds pass that quieted the crowd, senior center Teresa Borton hit two free throws to pad the lead, and the Irish held on to narrowly avoid another upset in women’s basketball. Tennessee, Georgia and Texas lost last week, allowing the Irish to climb to No. 3 in the Associated Press poll.

Notre Dame avoided a similar fate by outrebounding Valpo 43-27, making all 18 of its free throws and holding the Crusaders to 35-percent shooting. The Irish were also able to limit Valpo forward Jenna Stangler, who came into the game averaging 21.3 points, but was hounded by Irish double teams all night. Valpo’s top scorer didn’t get a shot off in the first six minutes and finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

NOTING THE VALPARAISO VICTORY

• Notre Dame is off to the second-best start in school history (7-0), surpassing the 6-0 debut the Irish made in 1998-99; the school record remains the 23-0 start by the 2000-01 national championship squad.
• The Irish are 18-0 all-time against Valparaiso, including an 8-0 mark on the road (5-0 at the Athletics-Recreation Center).
• Notre Dame also is 21-0 all-time against the current Mid-Continent Conference membership.
• The Irish are 101-31 (.765) in their history against other Indiana schools.
• Notre Dame set a new school record for free throw percentage (min. 15 attempts), going a perfect 18-for-18 at the free throw line; the old record was .960 (24-for-25) against Marquette on Dec. 1, 1993.
• The Irish committed a season-low 10 turnovers, their fewest giveaways since a 10-turnover day vs. No. 5 Penn State in last year’s NCAA East Regional Semifinal in Hartford, Conn.
• Notre Dame has held its last six opponents to 65 points or less, and its last three foes have not cracked 60 points.
• The Valparaiso game was the seventh in the first 18 days of the season for Notre Dame (averaging one game every 2.6 days).
• Senior All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast recorded her first double-double of the year and the 33rd of her career; she breaks a tie with Mary Beth Schueth for third place on Notre Dame’s career double-doubles list (Ruth Riley is next with 36, while Katryna Gaither had a school-record 40 from 1993-97).
• Batteast also moved into eighth place on the Irish career scoring list with 1,458 points, passing Sheila McMillen (1,439 from 1995-99); up next is Sandy Botham, who had 1,460 points from 1984-88.
• Batteast’s 25 points give her 24 career 20-point games, pushing her into sixth place on the school’s all-time chart ahead of both Shari Matvey (1979-83) and Heidi Bunek (1985-89), who each had 23; Alicia Ratay is next on the list with 26 from 1999-2003.
• Batteast’s double-digit scoring outing was the 79th of her career, lifting her into sixth place in that category at Notre Dame, ahead of Trena Keys (78 from 1982-86); up ahead is Karen Robinson’s mark of 82 from 1987-91.
• Junior guard Megan Duffy scored a season-high 20 points, the third 20-point game of her career (first since a 22-point night at Georgetown on Jan. 7, 2004).
• Notre Dame had two 20-point scorers for the first time since Dec. 4, 2003, when Duffy had a career-high 25 points and Courtney LaVere added 22 points in an 82-64 win over Wisconsin at the Joyce Center.

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.

BATTEAST RAKES IN PRESEASON HONORS
Senior forward Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend, Ind.) has been squarely in the national spotlight during the past three months as the 2004-05 campaign gets underway. In fact, no less than seven different outlets have placed the 6-foot-2 wing among the nation’s elite women’s college basketball players heading into this season (see chart on page 8 for complete rundown of honors).

The run began in August, when Batteast was selected to the John R. Wooden Women’s Award Preseason All-American Team, also putting her on a list of the top 30 candidates for the Wooden Women’s Award that is presented to the nation’s top women’s college basketball player. This marks the second consecutive year in which Batteast has been accorded preseason honors from the Wooden Women’s Award.

Shortly thereafter, Batteast’s name was placed on the 31-player watch list for the State Farm/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Wade Trophy, that also goes to the country’s top female collegiate cager. Like the Wooden Award, this is Batteast’s second consecutive appearance on the Wade Trophy Watch List.

In early September, two national publications came out with their preseason All-America teams and Batteast was a top selection by both outlets. Lindy’s College Basketball Annual touted Batteast as a preseason first-team All-America selection, while Street & Smith’s put the South Bend native on its preseason “Terrific 10” list, highlighting what it believes to be the 10 best players in the country.

The web-based publication Gballmag.com also chimed in on Batteast’s abilities, making her a preseason second-team All-America selection in October.

Earlier this week, two more honors came Batteast’s way. The Associated Press named her to its exclusive five-player preseason All-America team, while the Naismith Trophy placed her on its 50-player preseason watch list for the award, which goes to the nation’s top player.

However, Batteast’s highest honor to date came in late October, when Basketball News chose her as its 2004-05 Preseason National Player of the Year. The magazine also made her a preseason first-team All-America choice. All three preseason publications (Lindy’s, Street & Smith’s and Basketball News) are currently available at newsstands across the country.

BATTEAST, DUFFY EARN PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
Notre Dame senior forward Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend, Ind./Washington HS) was chosen as the 2004-05 BIG EAST Conference Preseason Player of the Year, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches. In addition, Batteast was a unanimous preseason first-team all-conference selection, while Irish junior guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne HS) was named a preseason second-team all-BIG EAST honoree. The preseason all-conference teams were announced Oct. 28 at BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Media Day, which was held at the Liberty Airport Hilton in Newark, N.J.

Batteast, a fifth-team All-America pick by Basketball Times and honorable mention All-America choice by the Associated Press last season, is the first player from a school other than Connecticut to be chosen as the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year since Miami’s Vicki Plowden in 1992. Plowden went on to earn first-team all-conference honors and was the Most Outstanding Player of the 1993 BIG EAST Championship, which Miami won.

Batteast is coming off the finest campaign of her Notre Dame career, averaging personal bests of 16.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while garnering first-team all-BIG EAST Conference honors, her third consecutive all-league selection. In addition, Batteast was dominating in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, averaging 22.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game with a .483 field goal percentage and three double-doubles as the Irish advanced to the Sweet Sixteen and came within a minute of ousting top-seeded Penn State in the regional semifinals before falling, 55-49. Her performances against Top 25 opponents last season also were sharp, as she registered 16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks with five double-doubles and three near double-doubles in 11 games.

Duffy was chosen as the 2004 BIG EAST Most Improved Player and was an honorable mention all-conference selection last season after averaging 9.9 points and 3.9 assists per game. She posted a nearly 100 percent improvement in both her field goal (.403) and three-point (.404) percentages while more than tripling her scoring average from her freshman season. She also was a steady influence at the point guard position, ranking seventh in the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio (1.36) and free throw percentage (.819). She is set to begin her second full season as a starter for the Irish next month.

NOTRE DAME RANKED SECOND IN PRESEASON BIG EAST POLL
According to a preseason survey of the BIG EAST Conference coaches, Notre Dame is expected to finish second in the conference this season. Those were the results released at the league’s annual Media Day Oct. 28 in Newark, N.J. The Irish earned 105 points, including two first-place votes, which placed them behind only three-time defending national champion Connecticut (120 points, 10 first-place votes). Boston College was third, followed by Rutgers, Villanova and West Virginia. All six of those schools qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season, with Notre Dame, Connecticut and Boston College all advancing to the Sweet Sixteen.

Notre Dame is beginning its 10th season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference in 2004-05. The Irish have gone 124-28 (.816) all-time in regular-season conference games, posting the best winning percentage in league history. Connecticut is second with a .778 success rate. Notre Dame also has finished either first or second in the final BIG EAST regular-season standings eight times in its first nine seasons in the conference, including a share of the BIG EAST title in 2000-01.

HALF AND HALF
Over the past five seasons, Notre Dame has been nearly unbeatable when it has the lead at halftime. The Irish are 83-7 (.922) since the start of the 2000-01 campaign when they go into the dressing room with the lead. Notre Dame has added six wins to that count this season (Illinois State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Colorado State, USC and Valparaiso).

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 133-6 (.957) 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 and Valparaiso.

… 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 209 games over the past nine seasons, which stands as the eighth-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 118 of their last 127 games (.929) at the 11,418-seat Joyce Center, including a current 25-game winning streak, the second-longest in school history and the fifth-longest active run in the nation (through games of Nov. 30). Notre Dame also has a 69-7 (.908) record in BIG EAST Conference play at the Joyce Center, sporting a 31-game league winning streak at home before it was snapped with a 48-45 loss to Villanova in the 2002 home finale.

The Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 52 of their last 54 non-BIG EAST contests (.963) at the Joyce Center, dating back to the 1994-95 season. The only two losses in that span came to Wisconsin in 1996 (81-69) and Purdue in 2003 (71-54). The Purdue loss snapped a 33-game non-conference home winning streak which began after the UW setback.

Since its inaugural season in 1977-78, Notre Dame has played all of its games at the Joyce Center, posting a 268-70 (.793) 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. According to the Nov. 29 unofficial national attendance rankings (as compiled by the University of Wisconsin Sports Information Office), Notre Dame is 11th in the nation with an average of 4,739 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 54 of the past 56 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 eight 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 return to the airwaves Thursday night when they play host to Michigan State on College Sports Television (CSTV). That’s 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.

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):

* Dec. 2 vs. Michigan State – Notre Dame women’s basketball rally towels (first 1,500 fans)

* Dec. 11 vs. Washington – Notre Dame women’s basketball glow balls (first 2,000 fans)

* Jan. 2 vs. Seton Hall – Adidas bracelets (first 5,000 fans)

NEXT GAME: DAYTON
For the first time all season, Notre Dame will have a chance to catch its breath, as it takes a week off from competition. The Irish will return to the hardwood Thursday, Dec. 9 when they pay a visit to Dayton for a 7 p.m. (ET) game at UD Arena. It will be a homecoming for Notre Dame junior guard Megan Duffy, who is a Dayton native and played at national prep power Chaminade-Julienne High School.

Notre Dame and Dayton are traditional rivals, dating back to their days as members of the North Star and Midwestern Collegiate conferences in the 1980s and 1990s. The Irish hold a 21-6 edge in the all-time series and have won 10 of the previous 13 matchups in Dayton. Last season, the two teams met in South Bend, with Notre Dame registering a 78-41 victory at the Joyce Center. The Irish jumped out to a 26-0 lead, the largest game-opening run in school history and held the Flyers to an opponent record-low .050 field goal percentage (1-for-20) in the first half en route to the win.

Dayton (3-1) has opened the season with three road victories in its first four games, and is a single point away from being undefeated (losing to Chicago State, 56-55 at home). The Flyers visited future BIG EAST Conference member Cincinnati on Wednesday night, with additional games against No. 11/10 Ohio State (home – Saturday) and Wright State (road – Dec. 7) scheduled before Notre Dame comes calling.