Game #4: Notre Dame (WNIT)

Finally two days off in between games. Maybe the extra day will heal Crystal's foot and we will be a somewhat full squad again (not that we have needed her yet). For the second time in four games we face a ranked opponent, but the hype is less for this game and it's not even on National TV.

Notre Dame enters the game 2-0 and won the preseason WNIT in 2004 so they are on a 6-game WNIT winning streak. This is the first time we have played them in 20 years. ND is also part of the "1 and done" crowd as far as other fans are concerned (Purdue, Baylor and Maryland as also on that list) thanks to their 2001 National Championship Run.

They have been known to be stellar on defense and like to play more of a 2-3 zone than man-to-man. They are outrebounding opponents by 5 per game, but when looking at their stats, it shows that Jade grabbed more rebounds in the last game than all but one of their players have in two games and only four players have more rebounds than Kat's output in the last game. A lot of their scoring comes from guard play so this will be a big test for Kristi, Marah and Marissa. Judging from the stats ND likes to take the ball to the hoop as of their 144 shots only 29 have come from outside the arc. (compared to us through two games where we shot 28 three-pointers out of 117 shots).

One familiar name on the Irish roster may be Devereaux Peters, who was a recruit last year but after Mingo signed on opted to go to ND instead.

One person who wishes he could watch the game is former coach Jeff Walz as it's his first chance to scout a future opponent.

If we control the glass and take care of the ball we should be able to run ND out of the gym and get ready for LSU or Michigan State on Sunday.

Be there tomorrow night to see which Toliver streak continues: last bucket of the half AND/OR Double-double.