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Women's Basketball
Irish Open BIG EAST Play At Louisville Tuesday Night
Jan. 7, 2008
Game Notes Package in PDF Format
#14/14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-2 / 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Louisville Cardinals (11-3 / 0-0 BIG EAST) DATE: January 8, 2008 Storylines Irish Open BIG EAST Play At Louisville Tuesday Night Notre Dame (12-2) had its 10-game winning streak snapped over the weekend with an 87-63 loss to third-ranked Tennessee at the Joyce Center. The Irish fell behind by 20 points in the first half, rallied back to within 32-20, but could get no closer as the defending national champions flexed their muscle from the three-point line by hitting 11-of-20 shots from distance. Senior guard Charel Allen scored a team-high 17 points and freshman forward Devereaux Peters came off the bench to add 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds for Notre Dame. Rankings A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish Last year, the Irish learned quickly that respect is something that isn't handed to you, but rather earned on the court. It's also a quality that takes time to develop and doesn't come from trophy cases or record books. So although Notre Dame was tabbed fifth in the preseason BIG EAST Conference balloting, it's not a great concern to McGraw and her charges. Instead, they focus on the things they can control and prefer to let the outside world judge them when the season is over. This year could prove to be unlike any in recent memory for Notre Dame. For one, the Irish will roll out some impressive depth, going virtually two-deep at every floor position. In addition, Notre Dame's new offensive system (a Princeton-based set with four guards and a post) continues to evolve, building upon last year's 70.1 point-per-game average that was its highest since the 2000-01 NCAA national championship season. Senior guard Charel Allen is the top returning scorer and rebounder for the Irish, leading the team in both categories last year (17.0 ppg., 6.2 rpg.). She also was a first-team all-BIG EAST and WBCA honorable mention All-America selection, and was a finalist for the 2007 USA U21 World Championship Team that struck gold this past summer in Moscow. Allen's backcourt partner and classmate is point guard Tulyah Gaines. Now in her second full season at the helm of the Notre Dame offense, the speedy Gaines averaged 9.6 points per game along with team highs of 3.9 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. She also is a two-year team captain who commands instant respect from teammates, coaches and opponents. The Irish will benefit from the return of junior guard Lindsay Schrader, who missed the entire 2006-07 season with a torn ACL in her right knee. Schrader, who retains three years of athletic eligibility, was Notre Dame's second-leading scorer (10.5 ppg.) and top rebounder (5.4 rpg.) as a rookie in 2005-06 and will look to regain that form this season. Last year saw Notre Dame break new ground by becoming the first school ever to put three players on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Guards Ashley Barlow (10.3 ppg., 5.4 rpg.) and Melissa Lechlitner (6.3 ppg., 2.7 apg.) will provide a superb complement to the veteran Allen-Gaines tandem, while center Erica Williamson (6.1 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.3 bpg.) showed flashes of potential throughout her rookie season and is poised for increased development this year. Headlining a three-player freshman class (ranked 11th nationally by Blue Star Basketball) is Devereaux Peters, a smooth 6-2 forward who was a consensus All-American as a senior last year at national powerhouse Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill. Fellow post Becca Bruszewski (Valparaiso, Ind.) finished third in last season's Indiana Miss Basketball voting and was a perennial all-state pick. And, guard Brittany Mallory (Baltimore, Md.) offers a perimeter shooting threat, as well as a cerebral player who will mesh well in the Irish offensive system. A Quick Look At Louisville UofL is coming off a 79-56 loss at Syracuse in its BIG EAST opener last Saturday night. Junior forward Candyce Bingham had a team-high 19 points for the Cardinals, who struggled to find their shooting touch inside the Carrier Dome (.333 FG%). Senior All-America forward and BIG EAST Player of the Year Angel McCoughtry scored only 10 points (3-15 FG). Despite her off night last weekend, McCoughtry leads the conference (and ranks among the top five nationally) in scoring at 23.3 points per game, while also setting the NCAA pace with 4.93 steals per game and chipping in a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game. Bingham averages 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game with a .588 field goal percentage. Jeff Walz is in his first season as a collegiate head coach after a successful run as an assistant at Maryland, where he helped the Terrapins to the 2006 national title. He is 11-3 in his first season at Louisville and will face Notre Dame for the first time Tuesday night. The Notre Dame-Louisville Series With Louisville's arrival in the BIG EAST Conference two seasons ago, the rivalry resumed with each side successfully defending its home court in a pair of conference encounters. The Cardinals won the first BIG EAST contest, 61-51 at Freedom Hall on Jan. 14, 2006, before the Irish responded with a 64-55 victory on Feb. 7, 2007 at the Joyce Center. The Last Time Notre Dame And Louisville Met She couldn't, though. Not even with the help of her Louisville teammates. After making her first seven shots -- including five three-pointers -- the Irish switched from a zone defense in the first half to a box-and-one and McCoughtry went 3-of-8 the rest of the way. The Irish then used a 16-0 run late to beat the No. 17/16 Cardinals, 64-55 on Feb. 7, 2007 at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame (15-8, 6-4 BIG EAST), which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, was down 48-43 after Chauntise Wright scored inside with 9:30 left. But Charel Allen, who led the Irish with 21 points and seven rebounds, hit a shot from 17 feet, then found Tulyah Gaines to trigger a decisive 16-0 run. Allen scored eight points during the burst. McCoughtry scored 19 points in the first half to lead Louisville (21-3, 7-3), but was held to just 10 points in the second half (six from the field) by Breona Gray. Ashley Barlow added 15 points for the Irish, Gaines had 13 and Gray tossed in 12. Patrika Barlow scored 10 points for Louisville. The Last Time Notre Dame And Louisville Met At Freedom Hall Angel McCoughtry added 10 points, 14 rebounds and seven steals for the Cardinals (12-3, 3-1 BIG EAST), who handed the Irish (10-5, 1-3) their fourth loss in five games. Charel Allen had 10 points for Notre Dame, which shot 32 percent from the field. Megan Duffy scored eight points on 2-of-10 shooting, eight below her team-leading average. Louisville took control with a 15-0 run midway through the first half, holding Notre Dame scoreless for almost 10 minutes. The Cardinals held the Irish to just 21 percent shooting in the half while building a 30-15 lead. UL outrebounded the Irish, 55-29 and overcame 22 turnovers to win its first game over a Top 25 opponent in nearly two years. Other Notre Dame-Louisville Series Tidbits Blowing The Lid Off The BIG EAST Tuesday's game will mark the seventh time Notre Dame has opened BIG EAST play on the road, having gone 3-3 its previous six outings. Last year's win at SHU snapped a two-game losing streak for the Irish when they tipped off conference action on the road. Start Me Up More recently, Notre Dame began the 2004-05 season with a 13-1 record, winning its first seven games (including the Preseason WNIT title) before a Dec. 2 overtime loss to 15th-ranked Michigan State. The Irish (who rose as high as third in the national polls that season) then reeled off six more wins and finished the year with a 27-6 record and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Besides this season, Notre Dame has posted a 12-2 start on three other occasions, most recently in the 1999-2000 season en route to a 27-5 record, top-five national ranking and NCAA Sweet 16 berth. We're Going Streaking! Despite last Saturday's loss to No. 3 Tennessee, Notre Dame still has won five consecutive road games since a 75-59 loss at third-ranked Maryland on Nov. 16. That's the longest run for the Irish away from the Joyce Center since they won five in a row on the road from Jan. 19-Feb. 15, 2005 (part of the program's last 10-game winning streak prior to this season). With a victory at Louisville on Tuesday, Notre Dame would fashion its longest road winning streak since a 10-game run from Nov. 17, 2000 to Feb. 14, 2001, a streak that ended with a 54-53 loss at No. 11/14 Rutgers (one of only two defeats for the Irish on their run to the NCAA title). Winning Ten-Dencies Chart Toppers A full recap of Notre Dame's positions on the NCAA statistics charts (and its relation to the national leaders) can be found on page 10 of this notes package. Thirty Deeds It's also the first time since the 2000-01 national championship season that the Irish have logged at least seven 30-point wins in a single season. That year, Notre Dame collected a school-record 10 30-point victories, but only five of those came in the first 14 games. What's more, the Irish had a streak of four consecutive 30-point wins from Nov. 20-Dec. 2. The last time Notre Dame did that was Jan. 20-30, 1999, when the Irish had four straight 30-point victories, all during BIG EAST Conference play -- at Seton Hall (87-47), home vs. St. John's (99-60), at Syracuse (94-61) and at Providence (97-59). Put A Tiger In Your Tank The Irish currently rank third in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring (and sixth in the nation as of Jan. 4) at 80.3 points per game, having tallied at least 77 points in 10 of their 12 wins. What's more, Notre Dame also has the third-highest scoring average after 13 games in program history, topped only by the squads in 1995-96 and 1998-99 (both at 82.9 ppg.), with the latter team going on to post a single-season school record with an 81.0-ppg. scoring average. What's more, Notre Dame has scored at least 90 points four times this season. That's the most 90-point games for the Irish in one year since 2000-01, when they also had four such outings. In fact, during the six seasons between then and now (2001-02 through 2006-07), Notre Dame had a combined total of four 90-point games. Notre Dame also ranks second in the conference (and fifth in the nation) in scoring margin, outpointing its opposition by 23.7 points per night. McGraw's Shock Troops While Irish women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw may not quite be following Rockne's philosophy to the letter, she could easily rotate in much of her second unit and not see much decline in productivity. In fact, Notre Dame's bench is averaging 33.0 points per game (compared to 47.3 ppg. by the starters) and has outscored all 14 opponent benches this season by an average of +18.6 points per night. Leading the way for this year's Irish "shock troops" is freshman forward Devereaux Peters, who is averaging 8.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game with a .525 field goal percentage. Youth Movement All three Irish rookies have done their part to help Notre Dame to its 12-2 record, with each one averaging at least 12 minutes and having scored in double figures at least once. Peters is fourth on the team in scoring (8.9 ppg.) and has scored in double digits in eight of the past nine games, while also leading the BIG EAST Conference in blocked shots (2.29 bpg.). Mallory is averaging 6.8 points per game, is second on the squad with 12 three-pointers and is one of six Notre Dame players with at least 20 steals this season. Bruszewski is logging 4.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game, with impressive outings in the two Irish matchups against top-five opponents, grabbing a season-high seven rebounds vs. Maryland and Tennessee. Spreading The Wealth Double Trouble Notre Dame also has had at least three double-figure scorers in all but two games (Purdue and Tennessee) this season. What's more, the Irish fielded five double-figure scorers in three consecutive games from Nov. 20-27. It's believed to be the first time in school history (and certainly the first time in the Muffet McGraw era) the Irish have pulled off that feat of three straight games with five double-digit scorers, although records are incomplete prior to the 1983-84 season. Protecting The Pill The Irish took ball protection to a new level in their loss at No. 3 Maryland on Nov. 16. Notre Dame set a school record with only three turnovers against the Terrapins, with two of those giveaways coming on offensive fouls. The previous school record for fewest turnovers was six, set on Feb. 12, 2006 at DePaul. With only three turnovers, it probably comes as no surprise that Maryland did not register a steal against Notre Dame. However, what is surprising is that it was the first time in the 31-year history of the Irish program that an opponent did not record a steal against Notre Dame. Several opponents had only one steal vs. the Irish, with the most recent being Boston College on March 19, 2006 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (played at West Lafayette, Ind.). Keeping It On The Plus Side For the year, the Irish rank third in the BIG EAST (and third nationally) with a 1.33 assist-to-turnover ratio, trailing only top-ranked Connecticut (1.52) and Villanova (1.35). Notre Dame also has assisted on 55.1 percent of its field goals this year (245 assists on 445 baskets), ranking fourth in the conference and 14th in the country with 17.5 assists per game. Off And Running Even in the first of its two defeats this season (at third-ranked Maryland on Nov. 16), Notre Dame made a statement early with a 10-0 run in the first five minutes of action and led by as many as five points in the first half before the Terrapins rallied back for the win. Going Into Lockdown That's the fourth-lowest opponent scoring average through 14 games for Notre Dame, third-lowest since elevating to Division I in 1980-81, and second-lowest of the Muffet McGraw era. The only Irish squad in the past 26 seasons that has even gotten off to a better defensive start than this year's club was the 2000-01 national championship team (53.9 ppg.). Allen Climbing Irish Points Ladder What's more, Allen is 184 points away from moving into the top 10 on the Irish career scoring charts. The person currently holding down that position? First-year assistant coach Niele Ivey, who tallied 1,430 points from 1996-2001. Clutch When It Counts Crowded House Polling Station As of last week's poll, Notre Dame now has been ranked in the AP poll for 148 weeks during the program's history, with every one of those appearances coming in the Muffet McGraw era. McGraw currently ranks 14th among all active NCAA Division I head coaches for weeks in the AP poll, and also stands 25th all-time in that category. The Irish also appeared in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll for the eighth consecutive week, checking in at a season-high 14th in the Jan. 2 balloting. It's the highest poll position for Notre Dame in exactly two years, when the Irish were tabbed 12th by the coaches prior to the aforementioned losses to St. John's and Seton Hall. This week's editions of the national polls will be released on Monday (AP) and Tuesday (ESPN/USA Today) afternoons. No Easy Road With the addition of Maryland to the docket in the Preseason WNIT semifinals, the Irish now will face four of the top six teams in the latest Associated Press poll (as of Dec. 31). Also scheduled for Notre Dame this season are No. 1 Connecticut (Jan. 27 at the Joyce Center), No. 3 Tennessee (lost 87-63 on Jan. 5 at the Joyce Center) and No. 6 Rutgers (Feb. 19 in Piscataway, N.J.). Three of the top five teams in the poll have combined to win three of the past four national championships, with Tennessee currently holding the hardware after defeating Rutgers in last year's title game. Irish Debut Dish For The Holidays Food Drive Irish Fans Crave A Big Mac Attack This season's burger watch already is at six, as the Irish have hit the 88-point mark in exhibition wins over Southern Indiana and Hillsdale, as well as regular-season victories over Miami (Ohio), Boston College, Canisius and Valparaiso. It's probably also not a surprise that the Notre Dame player with the most "Big Mac baskets" this season has the same initials as that of the tasty burger -- freshman guard Brittany Mallory, who has sent the crowd home happy (and presumably with full bellies) four times, including each of the past three games that the Irish have scored 88 points at home. Promotional Corner Next Game: West Virginia WVU (11-2, 1-0) has been a fixture in both major national polls this season, peaking at 13th back in December. The high-powered Mountaineers are slated to visit top-ranked Connecticut Wednesday night before returning home to face Notre Dame this weekend.
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