Senior All-America guard Megan Duffy had a strong all-around night with 24 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals in Thursday night's 96-45 exhibition win over Ferris State at the Joyce Center.

Single-Game Tickets For 2005-06 Irish Women's Basketball Go On Sale Monday

Oct. 20, 2005

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Single-game tickets for the 2005-06 Notre Dame women’s basketball season will go on sale to the general public Monday, Oct. 24, the Notre Dame Athletics Ticket Office announced Thursday. Game tickets will be available at a cost of $8 for adults and $5 for youths (18-and-under) or seniors (55-and-older), while Notre Dame/Saint Mary’s/Holy Cross students are admitted free with their student ID. Season tickets currently are being sold for Notre Dame’s 15-game home schedule (13 regular season games, two exhibitions) at a cost of $58 each for adults (less than $4 per game) or $162 for Fan Packs (a block of four tickets that averages less than $3 per ticket per game). Purchases can be made in person (second-floor ticket windows at the Joyce Center at the Gate 1 entrance), by phone (574-631-7356), or on-line through the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com; click on the “tickets” link at the top of the main page).

Among the teams slated to play the Irish at the Joyce Center this season are Connecticut, Tennessee, USC and DePaul. Like Notre Dame, all four of those teams reached the NCAA Tournament last year, and like the Irish, all of them are ranked among the top 25 in virtually every preseason poll. Notre Dame posted a 27-6 record last year, rising as high as third in the national polls, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before being upset by Arizona State. The Irish have three starters and eight monogram winners back from that club for this season, and have been ranked as high as 15th in the nation, according to preseason polls released by Athlon Sports and the Women’s Basketball News Service (WBNS).

“We’re very excited about the schedule of home games for this season, and the early response we’ve had from season ticket holders has been especially encouraging,” Notre Dame coordinator of basketball operations Stephanie Menio said. “I understand there are very few seats left in the lower bowl of the arena, so any fans wishing to claim those seats might be wise to consider purchasing season tickets to hold those spots. Our fans have played a major role in the past in making the Joyce Center one of the nation’s toughest home-court venues, and we know they’ll continue to help us wear that distinction with pride here in 2005-06.”

“We’re so grateful for the support our fans have shown us and we know they’ll be right there with us again this season,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “They are a big reason why we have consistently been one of the nation’s top programs, and with their help, we’re going to continue that tradition of success for many years to come.”

In addition to the team’s preseason rankings, senior co-captain Megan Duffy (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade-Julienne) has been tapped as a preseason All-American by three separate media outlets — the WBNS (first team), Street & Smith’s (“Terrific 10”) and Lindy’s College Basketball Annual (third team). Duffy was an Associated Press honorable mention All-America pick in 2004-05, as well as a first-team all-BIG EAST Conference selection after averaging 12.3 points and 5.4 assists per game, ranking second in the league in the latter category. She also led the BIG EAST in steals (2.73 spg.) and free throw percentage (school-record .895), while also ranking fourth in the nation in foul shooting. This past summer, she served as a co-captain on the USA World University Games Team that posted a perfect 7-0 record and won the gold medal in Izmir, Turkey. Duffy started every game at point guard for the Americans, averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 assists per game while guiding the high-powered U.S. offense to 97.4 ppg., four 50-point wins, and a USA World University Games-record +43.1 ppg. victory margin.

— ND —