NOTRE2006-07 SEASON DAME PREVIEW After spending her first two seasons mainly as Notre Dame’s top reserve, junior guard Charel Allen will be called upon to take a larger role in the Irish offense this season. 2006-07 Season Preview I Irish Hope Lessons Learned will Bear Fruit in 2006-07 Eight veterans return from last year’s 18-12 squad to lead Notre Dame into its 30th anniversary season Anniversaries are a time for cele- points in Notre Dame’s NCAA R bration and recognition of past Tournament first-round loss to Boston accomplishments. As the Notre Dame College. women’s basketball team enters its The 6-0 native of Bartlett, Ill., also 30th season in 2006-07, the Irish take proved to be strong on the boards as I time to recall the proud tradition of well, leading the Irish in rebounding success they have developed. It’s one with 5.4 caroms per night, including that includes a national championship three double-digit rebounding games. in 2001 and two NCAA Final Four trips In addition to those scoring and (1997 and 2001), not to mention six rebounding abilities, she posed numer- S NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, 13 NCAA ous match-up problems for opponents Tournament bids and top-10 rankings with her size and versatility, whether in seven of the past 10 years. Notre firing from the perimeter or toiling on Dame also has collected 20-or-more the blocks. Following a strong off-sea- H wins in 20 of their 29 seasons (includ- son development program that ing 12 of the past 13 years) and has included a stint at the 2006 USA averaged nearly 25 wins per year in Basketball Under-20 National Team the past decade (1996-97 through Trials, Schrader should provide a sig- 2005-06). nificant piece of the puzzle for Notre So it comes as no surprise that not Dame’s fortunes during the upcoming one single member of the Irish was year. pleased with the results of the 2005-06 Meanwhile, Allen showed continued season. To be sure, there were high- progress throughout last season, lights during the 18-12 campaign, despite missing much of the preceding including an 11th consecutive NCAA summer while recovering from surgery Tournament berth, three wins over to repair a torn anterior cruciate liga- ranked opponents, a 9-2 regular-sea- ment in her left knee, an injury she suf- son non-conference record and a late- fered in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. season four-game winning streak that The 5-11 Monessen, Pa., product has fit helped boosted Notre Dame’s post- nicely into the role of “sixth man” for season resume. But when looking the Irish during her first two collegiate back on last year, one word consis- seasons, averaging more than eight tently comes from the lips of the Irish points and four rebounds per game players and coaches — unacceptable. while coming off the bench in all but College is sometimes referred to as one of 63 games to date. She also has “higher education.” This season, scored in double figures 23 times thus Notre Dame will look to take the les- Sophomore guard Lindsay Schrader was Notre Dame’s second-leading far, including a career-high 14 times sons it learned from last season and scorer last year and was the squad’s top rebounder, averaging 10.5 points during her sophomore campaign. turn them into a successful future, and 5.4 rebounds per game in 2005-06. A lithe wing player who has no hesi- adding to a legacy that is now three tation about driving the lane and bat- decades in the making. return, including two of the team’s top four tling with larger opposition, Allen also has a • • • scorers in sophomore guard Lindsay strong perimeter game in her arsenal, a fea- The Irish certainly have the foundation in Schrader (10.5 points per game) and jun- ture that was honed even more during the place for great things in 2006-07. Eight ior guard Charel Allen (8.5 ppg.). summer months. What’s more, she has monogram winners are back in the fold for Schrader proved to be an immediate asset earned her stripes on the defensive end, Notre Dame, with five of those eight having for the Irish at the offensive end of the floor, using her long frame to not only hit the started more than half of the team’s 30 starting 27 times in her rookie season and glass, but come up with nearly 1.3 steals per games a season ago. Add to that another tra- scoring in double figures 14 times, including game during her career to date, including 41 ditionally-strong incoming freshman class three 20-point outings. She got her college thefts last season that are tops among this (ranked 21st nationally by All-Star Girls career off to a flying start with a double-dou- year’s returnees. Put it all together and you Report, the 10th consecutive top-25 rookie ble (10 points, 14 rebounds) on opening can bet Allen will be an important contribu- group for the Irish), and 20th-year head night vs. Michigan, becoming only the sec- tor for Notre Dame in 2006-07. coach Muffet McGraw will have numer- ond freshman in school history (and first in Each team needs a utility player, the kind ous options at her disposal for the upcom- the program’s Division I era) to post a dou- of athlete you can plug into just about any ing season. ble-double in her first-ever contest. situation, a jack-of-all-trades that comes Notre Dame’s strength this year may lie in Schrader then capped off her initial season through with flying colors no matter the cir- its backcourt, where five of six players with the Irish by pouring in a career-best 29 cumstance. For the Irish, their “Swiss army 22 UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME® knife” for the past three seasons has been Junior Amanda senior guard Breona Gray. A hardworking Tsipis rounds out defender and rapidly-improving offensive the core of returnees threat, Gray has been a reliable force for in the backcourt for Notre Dame with 55 starts in the past two Notre Dame. The 5-9 years, including 22 starting assignments a native of Perry, Ohio, season ago when she averaged 4.5 points has been a vital con- and 2.3 rebounds per game. The 5-9 veteran tributor to Irish for- from Las Vegas also is the top returning tunes behind the three-point threat for the Irish this season, scenes, primarily in having connected at a 33-percent clip (21-of- practice situations. 63) as a junior. Her strong work Gray originally made her mark at Notre ethic and fundamen- Dame as a solid defender, often drawing the tals, coupled with a tough assignment of guarding the opposi- solid outside game, tion’s primary backcourt threat. She has give Notre Dame been more than up to the challenge, with much-desired depth some of her most impressive lockdown per- at the guard position formances coming in the past year, when she and will allow stifled Tennessee’s Shanna Zolman (five McGraw some of the points on 1-7 FG), the nation’s second-lead- flexibility she seeks. ing scorer in South Florida’s Jessica Dickson While the handful (12-37 FG, .324 FG% in two games) and the of veterans in this eventual NCAA three-point champion, Julie year’s backcourt pro- B Larsen of Utah (two points, 0-5 FG). As one of vide a stable founda- just two seniors on this year’s youthful Notre tion upon which to Dame roster, Gray will be called upon to build, it’s the two show leadership and maturity, not to men- incoming Irish fresh- A tion impart the wisdom of lessons learned men, both of whom during her first three years with the Irish. were ranked among Every coach will tell you a vital key to a the top 30 in the team’s success lies with its point guard pro- nation, that offer the duction. While Notre Dame bid farewell to greatest degree of S one of the program’s great floor generals in anticipation for the All-American and two-time all-BIG EAST coming season. Conference pick Megan Duffy (15.6 ppg., 4.1 Indianapolis native Senior guard Breona Gray has been a strong utility player for the Irish the past three apg.), the Irish offense should be in very Ashley Barlow was seasons and now will add leadership to the qualities she brings to the Notre Dame K good hands, as 5-7 junior Tulyah Gaines a Women’s Basketball lineup on a nightly basis. takes over the everyday duties. Gaines Coaches Association started 20 of 29 games last season, some- (WBCA) All-America selection and was third 16.4 points, 6.0 assists and 3.4 steals per times playing alongside Duffy (who shifted in the voting for Indiana Miss Basketball as a game, garnering Street & Smith’s honorable to shooting guard), which allowed the North senior, having averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 mention All-America accolades as a senior. A E Las Vegas resident to sharpen her craft and rebounds and 3.6 assists per game during four-time all-state selection and two-time be prepared for the mantle of leadership her prep career. A two-time all-state shoot- adidas Top Ten Camp All-Star, Lechlitner fin- this season. Gaines averaged 4.9 points and ing guard, the 5-foot-9 Barlow was an espe- ished her career as the 2006 Indiana Miss 1.7 assists per game last year, more than cially potent scorer in her final two high Basketball runner-up and was ranked 27th in T doubling the scoring production from her school seasons, averaging better than 24 the nation by All-Star Girls Report.