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Women's Basketball
#12/4 Irish Finally Back Home To Take On Georgetown
Jan. 9, 2009
Full Notes Package in PDF Format
#12/4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-1 / 2-0 BIG EAST) vs. Georgetown Hoyas (11-3 / 1-0 BIG EAST) DATE: January 10, 2009 Storylines No. 12/4 Irish Finally Back Home To Take On Georgetown Notre Dame (13-1, 2-0) matched the second-best start in school history and picked up its sixth consecutive victory with an 86-62 win at DePaul on Tuesday night. The Irish used 14-3 runs in each half to take command, and shot 48.6 percent from the field en route to their second consecutive win over the Blue Demons in Chicago. Junior center Erica Williamson became the eighth different Notre Dame player to lead the Irish in scoring this season, tossing in a career-high 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting. She also plucked a game-high nine rebounds. Rankings A Quick Look At The Fighting Irish Notre Dame has three starters and seven monogram winners returning this season from a squad that ranked among the top 10 in the country in scoring offense (8th - 76.2 ppg) and scoring margin (10th - +14.6 ppg) a year ago. The Irish also have many of the pieces back from the '07-08 club that led the BIG EAST in steals for the second consecutive year (school-record 397, 11.68 per game) and forced an opponent-record 737 turnovers. Perhaps it's no surprise that Notre Dame's present upward mobility has coincided with the arrival of its current junior class, including guards and co-captains Ashley Barlow and Melissa Lechlitner. Barlow earned honorable mention all-BIG EAST status last year and is the team's top returning scorer (12.1 ppg), while also setting the defensive tone with a team-high 68 steals last season. Meanwhile, Lechlitner (5.5 ppg, 2.6 apg) assumes the mantle of leadership from the point guard position after two consistent years as a reliable understudy to Tulyah Gaines. The Irish also should benefit from the veteran experience and guidance of senior guard and co-captain Lindsay Schrader, who joined Barlow on last year's BIG EAST honorable mention squad after logging 10.3 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. She earned similar status this fall in preseason voting by the conference coaches and gives Notre Dame a unique blend of toughness and determination that has become the common thread running through the team's recent resurgence. The Irish sophomore class proved to be an exceptional complement to their predecessors last season, led by forward Devereaux Peters (9.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.0 bpg), who was a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team choice despite missing the final 11 games of the year with a knee injury. Guard Brittany Mallory (6.3 ppg, 34 3FG) joined Peters on the conference's all-rookie squad, while forward Becca Bruszewski (5.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg) may be the team's most improved player heading into this season after a scintillating three-game NCAA Tournament performance that included a season-high 16 points against both SMU and Tennessee. Potent Notables About The Irish A Quick Look At Georgetown GU also should arrive at the Joyce Center well-rested, having last played on Jan. 3 when the Hoyas toppled visiting Syracuse, 80-73. Junior guard Shanice Fuller led three Georgetown players in double figures with 25 points, while senior guard Karee Houlette added 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds and freshman guard Morgan Williams tossed in a season-high 10 points. Fuller leads the Hoyas in scoring (8.6 ppg.) and assists (4.5 apg.) this season, while freshman forward Adria Crawford is second in scoring (8.1 ppg.) and tops in rebounds (7.0 rpg.) and steals (1.9 spg.). Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is in her fifth season at Georgetown with a 61-66 (.480) record. She is 0-4 against Notre Dame in her coaching career. The Notre Dame-Georgetown Series Since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96, the Irish have won 18 of 19 games with GU, including a 16-1 record in regular-season conference play. The Last Time ND And Georgetown Met The Irish led the feisty Hoyas, 60-52, early in the second half, but pulled away for their second straight win when Brittany Mallory's three-point play off a fastbreak layup started a 24-10 surge. Mallory, a reserve, scored 15 points and Charel Allen finished with 14 for the Irish, who shot 72 percent from the field in the second half and topped the century mark for the first time since a 107-65 win over Cleveland State on Nov. 26, 2002. Kieraah Marlow, coming off a scoreless outing in her previous start, had a career-high 34 points and also finished with 13 rebounds for the Hoyas. Melissa Lechlitner scored 13 points and Lindsay Schrader added 12 for Notre Dame, which led by as many as 22 points at 91-69. Erica Williamson and Becca Bruszewski each scored 10 points. Kristin Heidloff had 14 points and Meredith Cox finished with 10 for Georgetown. The Last Time ND And Georgetown Met At The Joyce Center Melissa D'Amico led a quartet of Irish players who scored in double figures, with the 6-5 post registering a game-high 15 points (on 6-of-8 shooting) and a team-best seven rebounds. Tulyah Gaines added 14 points, four assists and four steals, while Charel Allen and Melissa Lechlitner each had 11 points. As a team, the Irish turned in one of their best defensive efforts of the `06-07 season, holding Georgetown to an opponent season-low 48 points while forcing 29 turnovers. Kate Carlin was the lone Hoya to score in double figures, finishing with 15 points on five three-pointers. Notre Dame also clamped down on GU's leading scorer, Kieraah Marlow, who came into the contest averaging 16.2 points per game, but ended up with six points and one field goal (which came with 6:44 to play). The Irish wasted little time in taking control of the game, scoring the first 11 points of the night, with Gaines tallying five markers and two steals during the opening spurt. A jumper in the lane by Georgetown's Shanice Fuller got the visitors on the board at the 15:01 mark, but Notre Dame answered with nine more points, taking a 20-2 lead on the first of two Lechlitner free throws with 11:10 remaining in the first half. During that time, the Irish made four of their first six shots, while limiting the Hoyas to one field goal on 11 attempts and causing 11 GU turnovers. Georgetown then clawed its way back into the game with a 16-3 run over the next six minutes. A jumper by Kristin Heidloff trimmed the Notre Dame lead to 23-18 with 4:46 to go, but the Hoyas couldn't draw any closer. The Irish rebuilt a 33-23 edge by halftime when Ashley Barlow canned a jumper with 1:24 left. Notre Dame went on a 7-2 run to start the second half, but Georgetown again battled back and got as close as 10 points on two occasions, the last at 43-33 on Carlin's fourth trey of the night with 13:50 left. However, Allen stepped forward and scored five consecutive points, igniting a 14-0 Irish charge during the ensuing five minutes that staggered the Hoyas for good. Notre Dame maintained a lead of at least 19 points the rest of the game, getting the margin as high as 25 points twice, including the final score. Other ND-Georgetown Series Tidbits Getting Off On The Right Foot At Home Home Sweet Home The Irish are coming off a stretch in which they played six of seven on the road from Dec. 10-Jan. 6, their most demanding stretch away from home since Nov. 17-Dec. 5, 1996, when they played seven consecutive contests outside the Joyce Center (four road, three neutral), with the first three games in that stretch coming in the final three rounds of the Preseason WNIT. Road Warriors The Irish recently completed a four-game road swing, their longest regular-season trip since early in the 2002-03 season, sweeping games at Charlotte (68-61), No. 20/19 Vanderbilt (59-57), Seton Hall (66-60) and DePaul (86-62). It's the first time Notre Dame has won four consecutive games, all on the road (opponent's home floor) since Jan. 7-19, 1991, when the Irish won at Butler (80-64), DePaul (81-66), Loyola-Chicago (66-55) and Marquette (91-73) in succession during Notre Dame's first full week as a ranked team in program history. A Start We Can Believe In The only time a Notre Dame squad started better than this year's club was 2000-01, when the Irish opened the season with a school-record 23 consecutive wins en route to the program's first No. 1 ranking and eventually, its first national championship. Serving Notice What's more, of the 11 teams ranked ahead of Notre Dame in this week's Associated Press poll, none has more wins over ranked opponents than the Irish (through Thursday night's action). In fact, only North Carolina even has as many road Top 25 wins as Notre Dame at this point in the season (Stanford has a pair of neutral-site ranked victories on its resume). Born To Run Furthermore, Notre Dame has manufactured three streaks of at least 16 consecutive points this season, including a 27-0 blitz in the second half of its win over Georgia Southern on Nov. 25. That marked the second-longest run of unanswered points in school history, topped only by a 31-0 run in the first half of a win over Pittsburgh on Jan. 18, 1997, at the Joyce Center. New Kids On The Block With season-ending knee injuries to sophomores Devereaux Peters and Brittany Mallory, the Irish bench now basically consists of the four-player freshman class -- forward Erica Solomon and Kellie Watson and guards Natalie Novosel and Fraderica Miller. Yet, despite their relative lack of experience at the college level, all four players have made solid contributions to Notre Dame's 13-1 start. Three of the four have scored in double figures at least twice (Solomon-5, Novosel-4, Watson-2), with Watson also twice being named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week (Dec. 1 & 8) and Novosel taking home the honor on Dec. 29. What's more, those three aforementioned players each are averaging at least 16 minutes per night, while the speedy Miller has emerged as Notre Dame's go-to defensive stopper, averaging more than one steal per game in her nine appearances this season. Notre Dame's knack for quick player development should come as no surprise -- the Irish have developed five BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selections in the past two seasons alone (including Peters and Mallory last year), the most of any team in the conference. Piping Hot Turnovers Nearly half of those turnovers have come via Irish steals, with Notre Dame registering 145 thefts (10.4 per game) after leading the BIG EAST Conference in that category each of the past two seasons. Long Distance Defense Notre Dame is ninth in the country (and third in the BIG EAST) in three-point percentage defense this season, holding opponents to a .247 percentage (49-of-198) from long range. What's more, in the first 14 games, the best any Irish opponent has managed to connect from outside of the 19-9 arc was the 36.1-percent efficiency posted by Seton Hall (4-of-11) on Jan. 3. Wearing The Collar The last time the Irish blanked the opponent's leading scorer was Dec. 22, 2001, when Notre Dame kept Marquette's Rachel Klug out of the scorebook in a 60-33 win at the Joyce Center (Klug was averaging 13.7 ppg. at tipoff). Spreading The Wealth For the season, 10 of the 12 players on Notre Dame roster have scored in double figures at least once, with freshman guard Fraderica Miller aiming to join that club (along with walk-on junior guard Alena Christiansen, who was added to the Irish roster on Dec. 19). More On The Balance Beam At the same time, only one Irish player is appearing in the top 50 of the 10 NCAA individual statistical rankings -- senior guard Lindsay Schrader stood 50th in the nation in field goal percentage as of Monday (now at .520). Nostradamus In High Heels After the Commodores expanded their lead to 18 points on two occasions (the last at 46-28 with 15:56 to play), Notre Dame went to work, blitzing Vanderbilt with a 22-0 run over the next 8:40 to take the lead. VU tied the game at 50-50, but the Irish then went on top for good on a layup by sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski with 4:06 left, capping the improbable rally. The previous school-record comeback had been 16 points, which took place on March 30, 2001, at the NCAA Women's Final Four in St. Louis, when Notre Dame erased a 47-31 deficit late in the first half and charged past Connecticut, 90-75 on the way to the program's first national championship. Polling Station Notre Dame has been ranked in the AP poll for 168 weeks during the program's 32-year history, with every one of those appearances coming in the Muffet McGraw era (since 1987-88). McGraw ranks 13th among all active NCAA Division I head coaches for weeks in the AP poll, and also stands 25th all-time in that category. In addition, the Irish earned their 29th consecutive ranking in Tuesday's ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches' poll, rising to a season-high fourth after standing sixth the previous two weeks. It's the highest ranking for Notre Dame in the coaches poll since the week of Jan. 5, 2005, when the Irish checked in at No. 3. The Irish have appeared in the coaches' poll for 160 weeks during its history (all coming during McGraw's tenure). More Polling Data Besides her 168 AP poll appearances while coaching at Notre Dame, McGraw was the starting point guard at Saint Joseph's (Pa.) as a senior in 1977, helping the Hawks rise to No. 3 in the nation. Of the 24 people on this list, 13 currently are NCAA Division I head coaches (see accompanying chart). Thirty Deeds Just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, the Irish posted two of the larger winning margins in the program's record books, rolling to a 48-point victory at Boston College (102-54), followed by a 49-point win at home over Georgia Southern (85-36). In fact, the only time Notre Dame logged a larger combined margin of victory in consecutive games than its Thanksgiving Eve 97-point spread was Nov. 24-25, 1989, at the UCF Rotary Classic in Orlando, Fla., when the Irish downed Liberty (113-35) and host Central Florida (81-61) by a combined 98 points. Game #14 Recap: DePaul Freshman guard Natalie Novosel added a season-high-tying 18 points, junior guard Ashley Barlow had 12 and senior guard Lindsay Schrader chipped in 11 for Notre Dame (13-1, 2-0 BIG EAST), which held DePaul's Deirdre Naughton, who averaged about 18 points, scoreless for the first time in her three-year college career on 0-for-8 shooting. Notre Dame never trailed after going ahead 11-10 about six minutes into the game and led 44-30 at the half. DePaul (12-4, 0-2) shot just 36 percent from the field, compared with 49 percent for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame also outmuscled DePaul underneath, with 20 second-chance points compared with 10 for the Blue Demons. The Fighting Irish outrebounded DePaul 50-29. Felicia Chester led DePaul with a career-high 20 points. Keisha Hampton added 19 points for the Blue Devils, who were undefeated at home this season before Tuesday. Noting The DePaul Game Peters, Mallory Out For Season Peters had played in only three games at the time of her injury, while Mallory had seen action in seven games. Thus, both players appear to meet the guidelines for the NCAA's hardship waiver (Rule 14.2.4; sometimes informally referred to as a "medical redshirt") that stipulates a petitioning student-athlete may not have played in more than 30 percent of a team's scheduled number of regular-season games (Notre Dame is slated to play 28 regular-season games in 2008-09). Both players are expected to petition for the NCAA hardship waiver. If granted, both Peters and Mallory will maintain three years of athletic eligibility beginning with the 2009-10 season. Christiansen Joins Irish Roster A supplemental biographical sketch on Christiansen can be found in the players' section of these game notes. Half And Half This season, Notre Dame is 11-1 when it is ahead at the break, only losing in OT at Michigan on Dec. 10 after holding a narrow one-point lead. Last year, the Irish went 22-2 when they led at the break, failing only to do so in their two postseason losses (BIG EAST quarterfinal vs. Pittsburgh, NCAA Oklahoma City Regional semifinal vs. Tennessee), although the UT lead marked the first time Notre Dame was up on the Lady Vols at the half in 20 series games. The Best Offense Is A Good Defense... Notre Dame has added seven more wins to that ledger this year with wins over LSU, Boston College, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Valparaiso, Loyola-Chicago and Vanderbilt. ...But Sometimes You Have To Score If You Want To Win Notre Dame has scored at least 80 points in six games this year, winning each time. Last season, the Irish won 14 of 15 games when reaching the 80-point mark. Now That's A Home Court Advantage The Irish have been particularly strong when it comes to non-conference games at home, winning 76 of their last 82 non-BIG EAST contests (.927) at the Joyce Center, dating back to the 1994-95 season. Four of the losses in that span came at the hands of Big Ten Conference opponents -- Wisconsin in 1996 (81-69), Purdue in 2003 (71-54), Michigan State in 2004 (82-73 OT) and Indiana in 2006 (54-51) -- with the other two defeats coming to Tennessee in 2005 (62-51) and 2008 (87-63). The Purdue loss also snapped a 33-game non-conference home winning streak which began after the UW setback. Since its inaugural season in 1977-78, Notre Dame has played all of its games at the Joyce Center, posting a 317-82 (.794) record at the venerable facility. Three times (1999-2000, 2000-01 and 2003-04), the Irish went a perfect 15-0 at home, setting a school record for home wins in a season. Crowded House Last year, Notre Dame sold out its games against Tennessee and Connecticut, and nearly did the same for the Michigan contest, drawing 10,825 fans for that game. A full rundown of the top crowds in Joyce Center history can be found in the sidebar on page 9 of this notes package. Irish Have New Home On The Dial LeSEA now originates all Notre Dame women's basketball games, with those events carried on Pulse FM (96.9/92.1), marking the first time since the 1998-99 season that the Irish are heard on an FM station. Combined, these two stations blanket the nation's No. 89 media market (South Bend-Elkhart), covering a 21-county area in northern Indiana and southwest Michigan that contains more than 1.35 million listeners (better than 800,000 in the greater South Bend area alone). All told, Notre Dame's new women's basketball network stretches from Kalamazoo, Mich., to the north, North Judson, Ind., to the west, Macy, Ind., (home of former Irish All-America center Ruth Riley) to the south, and LaGrange, Ind., to the east. Women's basketball game broadcasts also continue to be streamed live and free of charge on Notre Dame's official athletics Web site (UND.com) through the Fighting Irish All-Access multimedia package. The new agreement includes extensive Notre Dame athletics promotion aired on a combination of the LeSEA stations. Bob Nagle, the voice of Notre Dame women's basketball from 1996-97 through 1998-99 (including the program's first NCAA Final Four berth in 1997), returns as the play-by-play voice of the Irish this season. Notre Dame On The Small Screen In addition, Notre Dame continues to expand its broadcast reach globally on the Internet. All 11 Irish regular-season home games not selected for commercial TV coverage will air live on the official Notre Dame athletics web site, UND.com, via the site's free multimedia package, Fighting Irish All-Access. This year's TV slate continues a recent trend that has seen the Irish become a regular fixture on television. Beginning with the NCAA championship season of 2000-01 and continuing through this year, Notre Dame has played in 125 televised games, including 75 that were broadcast nationally. Oh Captain, My Captain Irish In The Pink (Zone) All Season Long Throughout the 2008-09 season, the Irish will take part in several activities centered around the Pink Zone initiative, including: Proceeds from all of Notre Dame's Pink Zone events this season will go to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund, as well as three local charities -- Women's Task Force, Young Survivors Group and Secret Sisters Society. For more information on the WBCA's Pink Zone initiative, log on to the WBCA's official web site at www.wbca.org. ND To Host NCAA Tourney Games in 2009 All-session tickets for this year's NCAA Championship games at the Joyce Center are available by contacting the Notre Dame athletics ticket office (574-631-7356). Notre Dame has played in the NCAA Championship on its home floor five times before, most recently defeating Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State) and Middle Tennessee in 2004 to make the program's sixth NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. All told, the Irish are 6-1 in NCAA tourney play at the Joyce Center, winning six in a row since an 81-76 first-round loss to Minnesota in 1994. Irish Fans Crave Another Big Mac Attack It hasn't take long for the burger watch to fire back up again this year, as Notre Dame has topped the 88-point mark three times -- in its lone exhibition game (96-30 over Gannon on Nov. 5), as well as regular season games against Evansville (96-61 on Nov. 19) and Loyola-Chicago (89-45 on Dec. 20). Last year, the Irish reached the magic number eight times, doing so in both exhibition wins, along with regular-season victories over Miami (Ohio), Boston College, Canisius, Valparaiso, Marquette and South Florida. It should come as no surprise that in the short history of the promotion, the Notre Dame player with the most "Big Mac" baskets shares the same initials with the tasty burger -- sophomore guard Brittany Mallory, who was sent the crowd home happy (and presumably with full bellies) four times. This season, it's been the Irish freshmen who have taken on the "Big Mac" mantle of responsibility, with guard Natalie Novosel doing the honors in the Gannon exhibition and Loyola-Chicago game, and forward Erica Solomon putting Notre Dame over the top against Evansville. Joyce Center Arena Renovation Underway The first phase of the project, that began in September 2008, involves construction of a new three-story structure at the south end of the arena. That structure will include a new three-story lobby, the Notre Dame ticket operations (approximately 4,500 square feet) and a varsity shop to sell apparel and souvenirs (approximately 3,000 square feet), in addition to a new club seating and hospitality area. Replacement of the existing Joyce Center arena seating, including installation of chair-back seating throughout the arena, is expected to take place after the University's Commencement Exercises in May 2009. The entire project is scheduled for completion in January 2010. The arena is expected to re-open by mid-October 2009, in time for the start of the basketball season and the end of the volleyball season. The University announced in October 2007 that this $26.3 million project had received a $12.5 million leadership gift from Notre Dame alumnus and Trustee Philip J. Purcell III, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley. Exterior changes to the Joyce Center that began taking shape in September include a new, three-story addition on the south end of the current structure. The third floor area will include the stadium club/hospitality area. The first-floor addition will include almost 4,500 square feet for ticket offices (including four exterior and 10 interior tickets windows), 3,000 square feet for the varsity shop, as well as a completely new main entrance and lobby situated between Gates 8 and 10. The new entrance will feature graphics and theming that highlight Notre Dame's competing athletic programs. Changes to the interior of the Joyce Center arena include: Next Game: Marquette The Golden Eagles (10-5, 1-0) are winding up their bye week after tipping off BIG EAST play on Jan. 3 with a 68-60 home win over South Florida. Marquette will visit Seton Hall Saturday before returning home to face the Irish next week.
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