Sept. 19, 2005
2005-06 Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Schedule in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will play 15 games against teams that advanced to postseason play last year, including nine against NCAA Tournament qualifiers, as part of a demanding 2005-06 schedule that was released Monday. The Irish also are scheduled to play 13 regular-season home games this year, with visits from perennial powers Connecticut and Tennessee highlighting the Joyce Center docket. Notre Dame will likely make several appearances on television as well, although those games will be announced at a later date.
This year, Notre Dame has eight monogram winners and three starters back from the ’04-05 club that posted a 27-6 record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive season before being upset by Arizona State, 70-61 in the second round. Nevertheless, the Irish did register their 12th consecutive 20-win season and are one of only six teams in the country to have an active streak of that length. In addition, Notre Dame has been cited in several national publications, having been ranked in the top 20 of their respective preseason polls (Athlon – #15; Lindy’s – #18). Lindy’s also tapped senior All-America guard Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) as a preseason third-team All-America selection.
“This is the kind of schedule that will challenge us right from day one,” 19th-year Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said. “Our non-conference schedule has a great mix of teams who play different styles and that’s something that will only help us later in the year. Then, you have the BIG EAST, which is only getting stronger with the expansion to 16 teams and the introduction of all of those great programs. We’ll be tested every time we take the floor and that’s a good thing because when we get to March and the postseason, we’ll be prepared for whatever is thrown our way.”
Notre Dame’s 2005-06 schedule opens with a pair of exhibition games against NCAA Division II squads, as Indianapolis (Nov. 1) and Ferris State (Nov. 10) make their way to the Joyce Center. UI is coming off a solid 22-10 campaign last year and a trip to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional semifinals. The Irish will be playing the Greyhounds and Bulldogs for the first time ever on the hardwood.
The regular season then tips off for Notre Dame on Nov. 18, as the Irish renew acquaintances with Michigan in a rare 9 p.m. (EST) start at the Joyce Center. The matchup with the Wolverines is the first of four games against Big Ten Conference opponents for Notre Dame this season, with the Michigan game being the only home contest. The unusual 9 p.m. time was neccessitated because a football pep rally will take place in the arena prior to the game.
Two days later, the Irish will make the short trip to Kalamazoo, Mich., to take on Western Michigan in Notre Dame’s first visit to University Arena since 1985. Another longtime rivalry will be rekindled on Nov. 23, when the Irish venture to Bloomington, Ind., to take on Indiana in the first matchup between the schools since 1996. IU is led by first-year head coach Sharon Versyp, who earned Indiana Miss Basketball honors in 1984 at Mishawaka High School, not far from the Notre Dame campus.
The Irish then will return home on Nov. 27 for a tough inter-sectional matchup with USC. The Women of Troy are coming off a 20-11 season that saw them advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame has won all six of its games vs. USC since the rivalry resumed in 1999, although last year’s contest was the closest to date, a 60-56 Irish victory at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.
Following a home game with Iona on Nov. 29, Notre Dame will embark on a four-game road swing that will take the Irish away from the Joyce Center for nearly a month. The trip begins with a visit to Big Ten foe Wisconsin on Dec. 4, as the Irish play in Madison, Wis., for the first time since winning the 2000 Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge (defeating the host Badgers, 83-56 in the opening round). Three days later on Dec. 7, Notre Dame will head to West Lafayette, Ind., for its annual showdown with in-state rival Purdue. Last season, the Irish broke a four-game series losing streak with an 86-69 conquest of the Boilermakers at the Joyce Center.
After stepping aside for final exams, Notre Dame returns to the court Dec. 17-18 at the Las Vegas Duel in the Desert, taking on Arkansas State in the first round of the Gray Division. On the other side of the bracket, North Carolina State and Utah will square off on the opening day, with the Irish poised to face one of the two NCAA Tournament qualifiers in the championship or consolation game on Dec. 18. All tournament games will be played at the Cox Pavilion, located adjacent to the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.
The Irish close out their non-conference schedule with home dates against Valparaiso (Dec. 28) and Tennessee (Dec. 31). The latter contest will mark the Lady Vols’ first appearance at the Joyce Center since 1994, and it will be Notre Dame’s seventh New Year’s Eve game, with the Irish posting a 5-1 record on the final day of the year, including a 75-68 win at Marquette in their last such game in 2003.
The BIG EAST schedule should be particularly rugged this season after the conference expanded to 16 teams with the addition of Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida offsetting the departure of Boston College. Nine current BIG EAST teams advanced to the postseason in 2004-05, paced by Rutgers’ run to the NCAA Elite Eight, Connecticut’s ascension to an NCAA Sweet 16 berth and West Virginia’s charge to the WNIT championship game. The new BIG EAST scheduling format will see teams play seven opponents at home, another seven on the road, with teams playing the remaining institution — designated as the “repeat opponent” twice (once at home, once on the road). League newcomer DePaul, which posted a 26-5 record and advanced to the second round the NCAA Tournament last year, will serve as Notre Dame’s “repeat opponent” this season.
Once the BIG EAST campaign kicks into gear in January, the Irish will not play more than two consecutive games at home or on the road the remainder of the regular season. Spotlighting Notre Dame’s home schedule in conference play are games with DePaul (Jan. 17) and Connecticut (Feb. 19), as well as conference newcomers Marquette (Jan. 10) and South Florida (Jan. 28).
Conversely, the Irish road docket opens with a stern test at St. John’s (Jan. 4) and also includes marquee matchups at Louisville (Jan. 14), Rutgers (Jan. 24), DePaul (Feb. 12) and West Virginia (Feb. 22). The 2006 BIG EAST Championship is scheduled for March 4-7 at Hartford (Conn.) Civic Center, marking the third consecutive season the conference tournament will be held at a neutral site.
Season ticket packages for Irish women’s basketball are available by contacting the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office at (574) 631-7356 or by visiting the ticket windows on the second floor of the Joyce Center (accessible through Gate 1).
— ND —
2005-06 IRISH SCHEDULE NOTES: Six of Notre Dame’s opponents were ranked in either the Associated Press or ESPN/USA Today coaches’ polls at the end of last season (#3/4 Tennessee, #9/7 Rutgers, #10/10 Connecticut, #17/20 DePaul, #21 (AP) North Carolina State and #22 (ESPN/USA Today) USC) … four opponents (Connecticut, DePaul, Rutgers and Tennessee) won the regular-season or tournament title in their respective conferences … all told, 16 of the 26 regular-season opponents on Notre Dame’s schedule had a record of .500 or better last season, with 11 posting 20-win seasons (both potential foes in the Las Vegas Duel in the Desert — North Carolina State and Utah — won at least 20 games, but they are counted as one opponent) … Irish opponents notched a combined record of 458-357 (.562) last season.