Unbeaten Notre Dame having fun, exceeding expectations heading into Big East play

Unbeaten Irish having fun heading into Big East

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame guard Melissa Lechlitner had a fat lip last week, just another sign of the Fighting Irish having fun in their undefeated season.

The 5-foot-7 point guard was hit in the face by teammate Ashley Barlow as the team celebrated Lechlitner’s 3-point buzzer-beater at halftime en route to a 74-69 victory over No. 17 Vanderbilt.

“It was fun. We might have had a little too much excitement,” Lechlitner said.

The third-ranked Irish (13-0) have reason to cheer this season as they head into Big East play undefeated for the first time since winning the national championship in 2001.

The Irish, the only Big East team yet to play a league game, open conference play Saturday against Villanova (10-3, 0-1).

Although the record shows Notre Dame one victory better than last season heading into Big East play, coach Muffet McGraw sees a much bigger improvement.

“I think we’re in a much better place,” she said. “I think we have great balance. I’m really pretty pleased overall with just about everything.”

The Irish have five players averaging double figures in scoring and have had six different players lead them in scoring in games. They are third in the nation in steals and assists per game, sixth in turnover margin, and eighth in scoring offense and margin of victory.

The Irish expected to be good with everyone returning from a team that went 22-9 last season. They’ve added highly touted freshman Skylar Diggins, who leads the team at 13.1 points per game and plays solid defense.

The Irish also are getting a boost from two players who missed most of last season with knee injuries. Brittany Mallory, the team’s sixth player, is averaging 10.1 points and Devereaux Peters, a standout defender, has contributed the past three games. She blocked a 3-pointer late in a 79-75 win over Purdue on Monday.

With 11 players averaging nearly 10 minutes playing time, McGraw believes the key to the Irish success is everyone knowing their roles.

“Everybody understands what we need from them,” she said.

Fifth-year senior Lindsay Schrader believes the biggest difference is the team’s confidence and attitude.

“We don’t even look at the papers any more of where we’re ranked,” she said. “I don’t think we care about what the rankings say, what the media say, and stuff like that. That’s why I think this year’s team is completely different from last year’s team. We don’t care what they think. We believe in us. We believe in what we’re doing and what we’re seeing in our family.”

Since the national championship season, the Irish are 4-7 against Villanova, including two loses last season. The uptempo Irish struggle with the methodical Wildcats.

“It’s going to be a battle of who’s going to control the tempo,” McGraw said. “But it’s hard to play at that pace when you really want to go and score a lot of points and have a lot of fun.”

That’s what McGraw wants, for the Irish to keep having fun and not pay attention to the talk surrounding the team or the upcoming game against top-ranked Connecticut on Jan. 16.

“We’re not looking ahead to anybody. We’re having fun. We’re playing hard. We can get a lot better,” she said. “I’m enjoying this team.”