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Women's Basketball
#12/6 Irish Open Four-Game Road Trip At Charlotte
Dec. 26, 2008
Full Notes Package in PDF Format
#12/6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1 / 0-0 BIG EAST) vs. Charlotte 49ers (8-3 / 0-0 Atlantic 10) DATE: December 28, 2008 Storylines No. 12/6 Irish Open Four-Game Road Trip At Charlotte The Irish (9-1) matched the second-best 10-game start in school history and headed into the Christmas break on a high note, defeating Loyola-Chicago, 89-45 on Dec. 20 at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame used a pair of 15-0 runs, one in each half, and a frenetic defense that forced a season-high-tying 31 turnovers, to post the victory. A trio of Irish guards -- senior Lindsay Schrader, junior Melissa Lechlitner and freshman Natalie Novosel -- shared game-high scoring honors with 13 points apiece, while sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski added 10 points for Notre Dame. 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 Charlotte In its last outing on Dec. 21, Charlotte (8-3) had a five-game winning streak snapped with a narrow 78-76 loss at South Carolina. The 49ers led by as many as eight points in the first half, but ran into a sharpshooting Gamecock squad that pulled away after halftime and held off a late Charlotte rally in the closing minutes. Junior guard Aysha Jones and sophomore guard Shannon McCallum scored 16 points apiece to lead the 49ers. Jones is Charlotte's top scorer (15.2 ppg.) and three-point shooter (.457), while McCallum is third in scoring (11.4 ppg.) and second in rebounding (5.8 rpg.) despite not having started a game this season. Junior forward Erin Floyd is second in scoring (12.6 ppg.) and tops in field goal percentage (.573). Head coach Karen Aston is in her second season at Charlotte with a 26-17 (.605) record. A former longtime assistant coach at Baylor (1994-96, 2006-07), North Texas (1996-98) and Texas (1998-2006), Aston will face Notre Dame for the first time as a head coach this weekend. The Notre Dame-Charlotte Series Other Notre Dame-Charlotte Series Tidbits Notre Dame vs. The Atlantic 10 Conference The Irish also have an active 11-game winning streak against that league's present alignment, including victories in four of the past five seasons (Dayton in 2003-04 and 2004-05; Richmond in 2006-07 and 2007-08). The last time Notre Dame lost to a current A-10 school was on Feb. 18, 1995, when La Salle defeated Notre Dame, 84-68, in Philadelphia, when both schools were then part of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now known as the Horizon League). For the second consecutive season, Notre Dame is visiting an A-10 campus with Sunday's game at Charlotte. Almost exactly a year ago on Jan. 2, 2008, the Irish earned an 84-59 win at Richmond, following an 87-66 victory over the Spiders one season earlier (Nov. 28, 2006) at the Joyce Center. Another Present Under The Tree The Irish also have won their last five games coming off the Christmas break, including an 82-39 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) last season (Dec. 29, 2007 at the Joyce Center). Sunday will mark the first time Notre Dame has played on the road right after Christmas since the 2004-05 season, when the Irish posted a 73-49 win at Northern Illinois (Dec. 30, 2004). Calling Our Travel Agent This year's stretch includes four consecutive road games beginning Sunday and continuing through Jan. 6. The last time Notre Dame played four consecutive road games in the regular season was Nov. 29-Dec. 11, 2002, when the Irish went 3-1 at USC (69-57 win), Valparaiso (74-68 win), Arizona State (81-52 win) and DePaul (75-59 loss). Notre Dame's current two-game trip to Charlotte and Vanderbilt also represents a rare two-city swing for the Irish (unusual since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST Conference, which primarily focuses on a Wednesday-Saturday league scheduling format). In fact, the Irish haven't made a two-city road trip since Nov. 21 & 24, 2001, when they dropped games at Colorado State (72-66) and Arizona (72-70) in the opening week of the season following Notre Dame's 2001 national title. Piping Hot Turnovers The majority of those turnovers have come via Irish steals, with Notre Dame registering 119 thefts (11.9 per game) after leading the BIG EAST Conference in that category each of the past two seasons. Long Distance Defense Notre Dame is ranked eighth in the country (and first in the BIG EAST) in three-point percentage defense this season, holding opponents to a .230 percentage (31-of-135) from long range. What's more, in the first 10 games, the best any Irish opponent has managed to connect from outside of the 19-9 arc was the 33.3-percent efficiency posted by Evansville (6-of-18) and Boston College (2-of-6). In fact, in the seven games since that BC contest on Nov. 23, Notre Dame has posted a .215 three-point percentage defense (23-of-107), with nearly half of those 23 treys coming in two games (five each by Eastern Michigan and Valparaiso). Deep Thoughts Notre Dame was particularly prolific from the arc in a four-game stretch from Nov. 19-29, making a combined 29 treys in that span (seven each in wins over Evansville and Boston College, six against Georgia Southern and nine vs. Michigan State). One has to go back seven years to find the last time Notre Dame made more than 29 combined three-pointers in a four-game span. From Nov. 21-Dec. 2, 2001, Notre Dame was lights-out from the arc at Colorado State (7), at Arizona (7), home vs. Army (10) and at a neutral site vs. Michigan (8). In addition, the nine three-pointers and 25 attempts against Michigan State on Nov. 29 were the most for Notre Dame in a single game since March 3, 2002, when the Irish went 10-for-26 from beyond the arc in an 84-79 loss to Syracuse in the BIG EAST Championship quarterfinals at Piscataway, N.J. 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 -- junior guard Ashley Barlow presently stands 22nd in the nation in steals with 3.13 per game. Thirty Deeds Late in November, 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 this past week's 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. Opening Ten-dencies 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. Three of Notre Dame's wins this season have come against ranked opponents, marking just the second time in school history the Irish notched three Top 25 victories in their opening seven contests. In 1998-99, Notre Dame knocked off No. 6 UCLA (99-82), No. 6/4 Duke (84-57) and No. 25/23 Illinois (101-93) in its first four games on the way to a 26-5 record. Polling Station Notre Dame also has been ranked in the AP poll for 166 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 27th consecutive ranking in Tuesday's ESPN/USA Today/WBCA coaches' poll, moving up one spot to a season-high sixth. It's the highest ranking for Notre Dame in the coaches poll since the week of Jan. 12, 2005, when the Irish also checked in at No. 6. The Irish now have appeared in the coaches' poll for 158 weeks during its history (all coming during McGraw's tenure). More Polling Data Besides her 166 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). Game #10 Recap: Loyola-Chicago Coming off a week of exams with just one mandatory practice, the Fighting Irish showed no signs of rust, taking control early en route to an 89-45 victory over Loyola of Chicago on Dec. 20 at the Joyce Center. Junior guard Melissa Lechlitner, senior guard Lindsay Schrader and freshman guard Natalie Novosel scored 13 points each and the Irish forced 31 turnovers. Notre Dame (9-1) was in control from the start, using an early 29-7 run to pull away. The Irish forced 12 turnovers during the stretch, including seven turnovers on eight Loyola possessions. On the other possession, Maggie McCloskey threw up a desperation shot just before the shot clock buzzer. The Irish led 47-21 at halftime, then opened the second half with a 15-0 run. Notre Dame led 86-36 when Novosel drove for a layup with 4:25 left. Keisha Collins led Loyola (5-4) with 11 points. McCloskey, Loyola's leading scorer at 15.6 points a game, was 1-of-6 shooting, finishing with three points. Sophomore forward Becca Bruszewski added 10 points and all 10 Irish players scored, including junior walk-on guard Alena Christiansen, who was officially added to the team the night before. McGraw initially didn't think the Irish needed a walk-on with 11 players on the roster. But with sophomores Brittany Mallory and Devereaux Peters out for the season with knee injuries, McGraw called Christiansen, who had practiced against the Irish as a freshman and sophomore, and asked her to join the team. The home crowd of 6,323 began chanting for Christiansen with seven minutes to go, and McGraw put her in with 4:37 left. Christiansen missed her first two free throws, but later made a free throw and the crowd erupted. Noting The Loyola-Chicago 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 the PDF version of these game notes. Half And Half This season, Notre Dame is 8-1 when up at the break, doing so in its last nine games (losing only in OT at Michigan on Dec. 10). 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 six more wins to that ledger this year with wins over LSU, Boston College, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Valparaiso and Loyola-Chicago. ...But Sometimes You Have To Score If You Want To Win Notre Dame has scored at least 80 points in five 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 the PDF version 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 123 televised games, including 73 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: Vanderbilt Vanderbilt (11-2) will be taking the hardwood for the first time after the Christmas holiday, a break the Commodores entered with wins over Tennessee State (98-82), Tennessee-Martin (86-29) and Liberty (67-50) in a four-day span.
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