Niele Ivey Position: Assistant Coach Alma Mater: Notre Dame '00

One of the finest point guards ever to wear the Notre Dame uniform, Niele Ivey (first name pronounced knee-L) has returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach, rejoining the Irish women's basketball program as a member of head coach Muffet McGraw's staff in May 2007. Ivey works closely with the development of the Notre Dame point guards, and also has a hand in the program's nationally-ranked recruiting efforts, as well as game scouting, practice planning and summer camp coordination.

Ivey immediately brought her considerable experience to bear on the Irish floor generals, with Tulyah Gaines enjoying the best season of her career in 2007-08, with personal highs in assists (129, 3.8 apg.), assist/turnover ratio (1.48, an 0.38 increase from her previous season) and field goal percentage (.438). In addition, Gaines directed a Notre Dame offense that ranked eighth in the country in scoring (76.2 ppg.) and 10th in scoring margin (+14.6 ppg.), while also headlining a suffocating Irish defense that led the BIG EAST in steals for the second consecutive year.

Ivey came back to Notre Dame following two seasons (2005-07) as an administrative assistant on the women's basketball staff at Xavier University, where she served under former Notre Dame assistant coach and current XU skipper Kevin McGuff. During Ivey's two seasons at Xavier, she coordinated film exchange and assisted in many of the daily operations of the Musketeers' program, including travel, academics and community outreach. Following her arrival on the XU campus in 2005-06, the Musketeers posted a 47-17 record (including a 26-8 mark this past year), winning the 2007 Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003.

"It's been amazing to watch Niele grow as a coach," McGraw said. "Her experience in the WNBA has really helped her become a great coach. She's been a student of the game for so long and now she has the opportunity to teach it. She does a great job of teaching the game, has great passion for the game, and is someone that we all truly enjoy being around. She also the added benefit of having already walked in the shoes of our current players, and knowing what it takes to succeed at the highest level here at Notre Dame. The sky's really the limit for what she can accomplish in the coaching profession."

Ivey holds the rare distinction of being the only player on the roster for both of Notre Dame's NCAA Final Four appearances (1997, 2001), but she sat out most of the '96-97 campaign after suffering a season-ending knee injury five games into her freshman year. However, she was awarded a fifth year of eligibility in 2000-01 and made the most of it, earning third-team Associated Press All-America honors, the first Irish point guard to be so recognized. She also was the recipient of the 2001 Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, presented annually to the nation's top senior player standing 5-foot-8 or under, and she was one of three finalists for the '01 Nancy Lieberman Award, which goes to the country's top point guard. In addition, Ivey was a member of the 2001 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.5 points and 5.5 steals per game as the Irish defeated Connecticut (90-75) and Purdue (68-66) to win their first national title.

All told, Notre Dame went 109-22 (.832) during Ivey's last four seasons, reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 on three occasions (1998, 2000, 2001) and rolling up a school-record 34 wins in 2000-01. The Irish also won a share of their first BIG EAST regular-season championship in 2000-01 and were ranked in the top 10 of either or both the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls for all but two weeks during her final three campaigns. While at Notre Dame, Ivey was a three-time all-BIG EAST selection (1999-2001), collecting first-team honors in 2001, and was tapped as the BIG EAST Player of the Week five times (tying for the second-most in school history). She also led the Irish in steals in each of her final four seasons (1997-98 to 2000-01) and was the team's assist leader in her last three years, setting school records with 95 steals in 1999-2000 and 247 assists in 2000-01, along with a school-standard 2.67 assist-to-turnover ratio the latter season.

For her career, Ivey has a place on 16 of Notre Dame's all-time top 10 lists, including the Irish records for steals (348), games played (132) and double-doubles by a guard (11). She also is second in school history with 727 assists and a 5.5 assist-per-game average, as well as a 2.6 steals-per-game mark. A potent scorer, Ivey ranks 10th in the Notre Dame record books with 1,430 career points, while her .405 three-point percentage is third-best in school annals and her 190 three-point field goals stand fourth in Irish lore. In addition, she remains on the BIG EAST top 10 lists for career assists (fifth/394) and steals (ninth/167), and she took home the BIG EAST assist title in 1999-2000 by averaging 6.6 apg. (all conference records limited to BIG EAST regular-season games).

Ivey was a five-year WNBA veteran, beginning with her selection by the Indiana Fever in the second round (17th overall pick) of the 2001 WNBA Draft. She spent four seasons with the Fever, helping them to the first playoff berth in franchise history in 2002. Ivey signed with the Detroit Shock as a restricted free agent in 2005, and subsequently was acquired by the Phoenix Mercury later that season.

Born Sept. 24, 1977, in St. Louis, Mo., Ivey graduated from Notre Dame's College of Arts and Letters in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in history. She and her son, Jaden (6), now make their home in South Bend.