March 17, 2000

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Notre Dame (25-4) vs. San Diego (17-12) Joyce Center – Notre Dame, IN
FINAL SCORE: Notre Dame 87, San Diego 61

• Tonight’s game is the first meeting between Notre Dame and San Diego.
• The Irish enter tonight with a 4-1 record in contests against West Coast Conference teams with the only loss coming to Santa Clara in the 1991 WNIT. The Toreros are 1-1 in games against BIG EAST teams.
• Notre Dame is making its fifth straight trip to the tournament and seventh overall. San Diego is making its second appearance in the NCAA tournament and first in seven years. In 1993, the Toreros lost to Nebraska 81-58 in the first round.
• The second-seeded Irish received an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing second in the BIG EAST with a 15-1 mark and losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Rutgers. The 15th-seeded Toreros secured one of the 30 automatic bids to the tournament by beating Pepperdine (68-51) in the final of the West Coast Conference tournament after putting up a 7-7 regular season conference mark.
• For the second year in a row, the Irish enter the tournament with their best ever seeding. A season ago the Irish were a number five seed and lost in the second round. This is the first time San Diego has been seeded in the tournament, as they were unseeded in 1993 when only four teams were seeded in each region of the 48-team field.
• This marks the second time in school history that the Joyce Center has been the host of a first round NCAA contest. In 1994, Notre Dame lost to Minnesota, 81-76.
• Tonight’s attendance of 5,195 is the second largest of the year and seventh-largest crowd ever for a women’s basketball game at the Joyce Center.
• The Irish started strong, jumping out to a 10-1 lead. The Toreros did not make a field goal until a Robyn Fortney three-point goal 4:15 into the first half.
• Jessica Gray’s four rebound effort ups her season total to 281, which sets a San Diego school record for rebounds in a season, breaking the previous mark of 278, set by Chris Enger in 1992-93.
• Maria Perez-Barris’ 16 point output is a new season high and also matches her career high, which she originally set against Portland in February 1999.
• Ivey’s three steals today makes her season total now 84, moving her into fourth place on the all-time list for steals in a season. Also, her three three-pointers today move her career total to 129, which puts her third on the Irish list for career threes.
• Melissa Glazebrook’s four assists ups her career total to 211, putting the sophomore in sixth on the all-time San Diego assist list.
• Niele Ivey’s 14 points and Kelly Siemon’s 13 marked tournament career highs for both of them.
• Notre Dame shot 64% from the field today which marked their best shooting effort in more than two years.
• The Toreros 61 points is their highest output in an NCAA tournament game.
• Notre Dame extends its first round tournament win streak to five games and improves to 5-2 overall in opening round contests.
• The Irish are the ninth straight Mideast number two seed to win their first round game. Only one Mideast second seed has lost in the opening round in the 19 years of tournament play. No number two seed has lost in the first round since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1994.
• The Irish improve to 2-1 on St. Patrick’s Day. In 1996 Texas Tech beat Notre Dame in the second round of the tournament, only to have the Irish get revenge exactly one year later in the second round of the ’97 tournament.
• Notre Dame improves to 3-1 in green jerseys this season. The Irish wore green for victories over North Carolina and Liberty in the Wachovia Women’s Invitational Tournament in Richmond this past December. In the next game, Notre Dame dropped a road contest to Purdue in the green jerseys.
• The Irish win their 22nd straight game in the Joyce Center, which extends the school record. The last time Notre Dame lost at home was a 106-81 loss to Connecticut in December of 1998.
• West Coast Conference schools drop to 3-14 in NCAA tournament play. The last WCC team to win an NCAA tournament game was San Francisco, who upset fifth-seeded Florida and fourth-seeded Duke in 1996 before losing to top-seeded Connecticut.
• The loss snaps San Diego’s three-game win streak, its third such streak of the season.
• The Toreros finish the season at 17-13, tying the school record for wins in a season originally set by the 1989-90 team that finished 17-10.
• The Irish improve to 11-0 when turning the ball over fewer times than the opponent and 18-0 when making more free throws than the opponent.
• Tonight’s game is the first meeting between Notre Dame and San Diego.
• The Irish enter tonight with a 4-1 record in contests against West Coast Conference teams with the only loss coming to Santa Clara in the 1991 WNIT. The Toreros are 1-1 in games against BIG EAST teams.
• Notre Dame is making its fifth straight trip to the tournament and seventh overall. San Diego is making its second appearance in the NCAA tournament and first in seven years. In 1993, the Toreros lost to Nebraska 81-58 in the first round.
• The second-seeded Irish received an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing second in the BIG EAST with a 15-1 mark and losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Rutgers. The 15th-seeded Toreros secured one of the 30 automatic bids to the tournament by beating Pepperdine (68-51) in the final of the West Coast Conference tournament after putting up a 7-7 regular season conference mark.
• For the second year in a row, the Irish enter the tournament with their best ever seeding. A season ago the Irish were a number five seed and lost in the second round. This is the first time San Diego has been seeded in the tournament, as they were unseeded in 1993 when only four teams were seeded in each region of the 48-team field.
• This marks the second time in school history that the Joyce Center has been the host of a first round NCAA contest. In 1994, Notre Dame lost to Minnesota, 81-76.
• Tonight’s attendance of 5,195 is the second largest of the year and seventh-largest crowd ever for a women’s basketball game at the Joyce Center.
• The Irish started strong, jumping out to a 10-1 lead. The Toreros did not make a field goal until a Robyn Fortney three-point goal 4:15 into the first half.
• Jessica Gray’s four rebound effort ups her season total to 281, which sets a San Diego school record for rebounds in a season, breaking the previous mark of 278, set by Chris Enger in 1992-93.
• Maria Perez-Barris’ 16 point output is a new season high and also matches her career high, which she originally set against Portland in February 1999.
• Ivey’s three steals today makes her season total now 84, moving her into fourth place on the all-time list for steals in a season. Also, her three three-pointers today move her career total to 129, which puts her third on the Irish list for career threes.
• Melissa Glazebrook’s four assists ups her career total to 211, putting the sophomore in sixth on the all-time San Diego assist list.
• Niele Ivey’s 14 points and Kelly Siemon’s 13 marked tournament career highs for both of them.
• Notre Dame shot 64% from the field today which marked their best shooting effort in more than two years.
• The Toreros 61 points is their highest output in an NCAA tournament game.
• Notre Dame extends its first round tournament win streak to five games and improves to 5-2 overall in opening round contests.
• The Irish are the ninth straight Mideast number two seed to win their first round game. Only one Mideast second seed has lost in the opening round in the 19 years of tournament play. No number two seed has lost in the first round since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1994.
• The Irish improve to 2-1 on St. Patrick’s Day. In 1996 Texas Tech beat Notre Dame in the second round of the tournament, only to have the Irish get revenge exactly one year later in the second round of the ’97 tournament.
• Notre Dame improves to 3-1 in green jerseys this season. The Irish wore green for victories over North Carolina and Liberty in the Wachovia Women’s Invitational Tournament in Richmond this past December. In the next game, Notre Dame dropped a road contest to Purdue in the green jerseys.
• The Irish win their 22nd straight game in the Joyce Center, which extends the school record. The last time Notre Dame lost at home was a 106-81 loss to Connecticut in December of 1998.
• West Coast Conference schools drop to 3-14 in NCAA tournament play. The last WCC team to win an NCAA tournament game was San Francisco, who upset fifth-seeded Florida and fourth-seeded Duke in 1996 before losing to top-seeded Connecticut.
• The loss snaps San Diego’s three-game win streak, its third such streak of the season.
• The Toreros finish the season at 17-13, tying the school record for wins in a season originally set by the 1989-90 team that finished 17-10.
• The Irish improve to 11-0 when turning the ball over fewer times than the opponent and 18-0 when making more free throws than the opponent.