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Women's Basketball
Former Conference Foes Collide As #15 Irish Visit Boston College
Nov. 22, 2008
Full Notes Package in PDF Format
#15/15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0 / 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Boston College Eagles (3-0 / 0-0 ACC) DATE: November 23, 2008 Storylines Former Conference Foes Collide As No. 15 Irish Visit Boston College The Irish (2-0) picked up their second win in as many outings this year, leading almost all the way in a 96-61 victory over Evansville on Wednesday night at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame used a 22-6 run midway through the first half to put the game on ice, with the frenetic Irish defense once again leading the way with 31 turnovers (cashed in for 41 points on the offensive end). Junior guard Ashley Barlow tossed in a game-high 19 points, while sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski chalked up her third career-high scoring effort in five games with 18 points. 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 Boston College BC is off to a 3-0 start in the Crawley era, having posted comfortable double-digits wins over Saint Francis (Pa.) (99-68), Holy Cross (82-69) and Hofstra (71-60) during the first week of the season. In those three victories, the Eagles have done a good part of their damage in the paint, outrebounding their opponents by more than 13 boards per game (45.3-32.0) and shooting .466 from the field. However, Boston College is far from a one-trick pony, as Thursday's win over Hofstra proved. Junior guard Mickel Picco and Ayla Brown tallied a game-high 16 points apiece, with Picco hitting 4-of-6 three-point tries and Brown adding seven rebounds. Swords complemented the backcourt pair with 14 points and nine rebounds, coming on the heels of a dominating 33-point, 15-rebound effort in the win at Holy Cross. Swords is averaging a double-double through those first three games, registering 21.7 points and 10.0 rebounds a night on .750 shooting (30-of-40). Picco is second on the team in scoring (15.3 ppg.) with a team-best .467 three-point percentage (7-of-15), while Murphy is logging 11.0 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Crawley was hired at Boston College during the offseason after a successful two-year run at the helm of Ohio University. While in Athens, Ohio, she led the Bobcats to a 38-25 (.603) record, including a berth in the '08 Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game, the first for OU in 22 years. Crawley will face Notre Dame for the first time as a head coach on Sunday afternoon. The Notre Dame-Boston College Series This year's game is the third in four years for the Irish and Eagles since Boston College joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. The teams split the previous two encounters, with BC winning 78-61 in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament (at West Lafayette, Ind.), and Notre Dame prevailing by an 88-58 score last year at the Joyce Center. Sunday's game is the back half of a regular-season home-and-home series between the two most prominent Catholic Division I institutions in the country. The Last Time Notre Dame And Boston College Met The No. 23/24 Fighting Irish (4-1) got 41 points off the turnovers en route to an 88-58 victory on Nov. 24, 2007, at the Joyce Center. The Irish opened a 10-point lead in less than five minutes and the Eagles never got any closer. Five Irish players scored in double figures, led by Lindsay Schrader with 16 points, Charel Allen with 15 and Ashley Barlow and Brittany Mallory with 13 each. Becca Bruszewski added 10 points. Stefanie Murphy led the Eagles (2-2) with 18 points and Carolyn Swords added 11 points and nine rebounds. Allen scored six points to help Notre Dame take a 14-4 lead as Boston College struggled against full-court pressure, turning the ball over four times in the first five minutes. The Irish went ahead 38-20 when Mallory hit a three-pointer with 4:13 left in the second half and led 46-30 at the half. The Eagles scored two quick baskets by Murphy and Mickel Picco to start the second half and cut Notre Dame's lead to 46-34. However, the Irish defense quickly forced four turnovers, sparking a 9-0 run to regain control. Other ND-Boston College Series Tidbits Notre Dame vs. The Atlantic Coast Conference Not surprisingly, the three most common ACC opponents are th three schools that migrated from the BIG EAST to the ACC in the past few years -- Boston College (11-5), Miami-Fla. (14-3) and Virginia Tech (5-1). Take that trio out of the mix and Notre Dame is 9-8 all-time against the other longer-tenured ACC schools. The Irish faced a pair of ACC squads last season, falling 75-59 at Maryland in the semifinals of the Preseason WNIT (Nov. 16, 2007), but coming back eight days later to defeat Boston College, 88-58 at the Joyce Center. The last time Notre Dame visited an ACC school other than one of the three recent transplants was almost 11 years ago to the day on Nov. 22, 1997, when the Irish fell at Duke, 80-62. Piping Hot Turnovers The Upper Hand On Wednesday night, Evansville scored the opening points of the game on an old-fashioned three-point play, but sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski erased that deficit 45 seconds later with a three-pointer. Becca's A Bruiser That improvement has carried over into this season, as the Valparaiso, Ind., native has earned her way into the Irish starting lineup and has not disappointed. On Wednesday against Evansville, she poured in a career-best 18 points, knocking down 7-of-9 shots from the field, including both of her three-point attempts. The latter statistic was particularly noteworthy, considering she was just 1-of-2 from beyond the arc during her entire freshman season. Game #2 Recap: Evansville Sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski added a career-high 18 points in the home opener for the Irish (2-0). Ashley Austin, Anaris Sickles and Ashlee Barrett each scored 10 points to lead the Purple Aces (1-1). UE had eight turnovers in the first eight minutes, and Notre Dame used a 15-3 run early in the first half to jump out to a 27-10 lead. The Irish increased their lead to 22 points with 7:20 left in the half following an 11-0 run. The Purple Aces had 16 turnovers in the first half, and Notre Dame increased its 49-31 halftime lead to 30 points with 6:55 to play after a 13-2 run. Noting The Evansville Game Polling Station Notre Dame also has been ranked in the AP poll for 161 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 22nd consecutive ranking in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches' poll, placing 15th this week (down one spot from the preseason balloting). Notre Dame ended last year at No. 13, its highest ranking of the 2007-08 season, and has appeared in the coaches' poll for 153 weeks during its history (all coming during McGraw's tenure). More Polling Data Besides her 161 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 23 people on this list, 11 currently are NCAA Division I head coaches (see accompanying chart). Irish Fourth In BIG EAST Preseason Poll The Irish collected 182 points, with Connecticut (14 first-place votes, 224 points), Rutgers (one first-place vote, 201 points) and Louisville (one first-place vote, 200 points) joining Notre Dame in the top four. In addition, senior guard Lindsay Schrader was chosen as a Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention selection, one of 14 players to garner preseason all-conference status. Schrader averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game last season while scoring in double figures 21 times. A 2008 honorable mention all-BIG EAST selection, Schrader is one of three starters and seven monogram winners back for the Irish from last year's 25-9 club that finished fourth in the BIG EAST and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the past 12 seasons. Half And Half This season, Notre Dame is 1-0 when up at the break, doing so in Wednesday's home opener against Evansville. 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 added its first tally of the season to this ledger with its seaso-opening 62-53 win at LSU in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic on Nov. 16. ...But Sometimes You Have To Score If You Want To Win Notre Dame notched its first 80-point game of the season in Wednesday's 96-61 win over Evansville. 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 72 of their last 78 non-BIG EAST contests (.923) 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 313-82 (.792) 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. 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 that have not been 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 117 televised games, including 67 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 topped the 88-point mark in both its lone exhibition game (96-30 win over Gannon on Nov. 5) and its regular-season opener (96-61 win over Evansville on Wednesday night). 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 win and forward Erica Solomon putting Notre Dame over the top against Evansville. The Final Countdown 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. 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: Georgia Southern GSU (2-1) opened this season with wins at home over Brewton-Parker (93-44) and on the road at Florida Atlantic (83-67) before falling at home to 20th-ranked Auburn, 71-45, on Wednesday night. The Eagles were slated to host to UNC-Asheville Saturday afternoon.
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