NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The No. 2 University of Notre Dame women's basketball teams embarks on its first road trip of the conference season this weekend, when the Irish (13-1, 1-0) head to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech (11-3, 1-0). Tip-off is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 6, at 3 p.m. ET, inside McCamish Pavilion. The game will air live across Regional Sports Networks, with the full listing found here.
http://www.raycomsports.com/theacc/grids/printRSNMatch/1171
Notre Dame leads the all-time series against the Yellow Jackets, 10-0, with a 4-0 record inside McCamish Pavilion. Last year in Atlanta, the Irish walked away with a 77-54 victory.
SETTING THE TONE FOR ACC PLAY
In Notre Dame's ACC opener vs Pittsburgh, the Irish routed the Panthers, 100-44. The Irish allowed just 14 first half points, marking the second fewest scored by an ACC opponent since joining the league at the start of the 2013-14 season (the fewest was 11 first half points by Virginia Tech in 2016). In addition, the Irish defense posted new season lows in points allowed and opponent shooting percentage (.266).
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK
Speaking of the win over Pitt, it marked the fifth time in which the Irish reached triple digits this season:
100-44 win vs Pitt on Jan. 3
103-53 win vs Binghamton on Dec. 16
105-71 win
vs No. 14 Iowa on Nov. 29
101-77 win
vs No. 15 DePaul on Nov. 17
103-58 win vs Harvard on Nov. 9
MABREY HEATING UP
After leading the team in scoring with her 20-point, seven-assist performance vs Pitt on Jan. 3, Marina Mabrey continues to heat up for the Irish.
Over the last five games, Mabrey has averaged 16.6 points on 59.6 percent, including a 13-for-26 mark from three-point range.
Mabrey has also dished out 32 assists over the last five games, averaging 6.4 assists in that span. She now averages 4.6 assists/game, which ranks second on the team.
Lastly,
Mabrey has recorded all three of her 20-point scoring games over the last five games.
YOUNG AMONG NATION'S BEST FOR GUARD SHOOTING PERCENTAGE
Junior guard
Jackie Young has been highly efficient from the field this season, raising her
shooting percentage to 56.3 percent. That number ranks 35th nationally, but more impressively,
fourth among guards:
1. Villanova's Mary Gedaka - 67.0
2. Ohio's Cierra Hooks - 57.5
3. Oregon State's Mikayla Pivec - 56.4
4. Notre Dame's Jackie Young - 56.3
GAME OF RUNS
Basketball is a game of runs, and the Irish have achieved success by not allowing a single 10-0 run by any opponent yet this season. In fact, Notre Dame leads its opposition, 16-0, in that category. Notre Dame first posted its longest run of the season vs Binghamton on Dec. 16 with 21 straight.
Then the Irish matched it twice vs Pitt on Jan. 3, recording 21-0 runs in both the first and second quarters.
THE 40TH MEMBER OF THE 1,000 POINT CLUB
On Jan. 3, Young became the 40th member of the program's 1,000 career point club, scoring 16 points against Pitt. Now that Young has reached the milestone, Notre Dame and Marquette are the only two schools in the country with five starters over 1,000 career points.
IRISH HOT SHOOTING STREAK
Before Thursday's ACC opener vs Pitt on Jan. 3, the Irish had recorded four straight games in which they shot over 55 percent from the field: 55.7 percent vs Binghamton, 69.8 percent vs WKU, 59.7 percent vs Marquette and 61.4 percent vs Lehigh. Though the streak came to an end vs Pitt, the Irish still shot 52.3 percent in the game and continue to raise their shooting average on the season along with its associated national ranking.
Over the last five games, Notre Dame has raised its shooting percentage from .489 to .524, which ranks second in the country.
-- ND --
