Mark Allen
Irish Blue And Gold
ND Women’s Basketball
Junior Charel Allen scored a career high 22 points as Notre Dame (4-2) defeated Richmond (2-6), 87-66, on Tuesday night at the Joyce
Center. The Irish placed five players in double figures in points.
The game, in the first half, was close. The Spiders gave the Irish all they could handle. Notre Dame led at the half by a score of 34-31.
The second half was different for the Irish in many ways. The most obvious difference came at the free throw line. In the first half, Notre Dame did not attempt a free throw. As a matter of fact, they did not attempt one for almost three quarters of the way through the game. Then, came the barrage from the charity stripe. In the second half, the Irish connected on 18-of-22 free throws to put the game away.
Junior Charel Allen, who was seen by this writer, hours before the game in the Joyce Center shooting, came out on fire. She scored 10 points in the first ten minutes and also hit on two three pointers. She finished 10-of-18 from the floor. She scored every way possible. She hit the trey. She drove the lane. She also hit the medium range jumpers.
The Irish had some good production from their two centers. Melissa D’Amico scored 15 points and was 6-of-7 from the floor. Freshman Erica Williamson, perhaps the surprise of the team, contributed 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting. She also pulled down 7 boards.
Hometown favorite Melissa Lechlitner played a fine game. She scored 10 points. She also hit on a pair of three point shots.
Freshman Daniel Ben-Tsvulun scored the first points of her Irish career. She hit on 3-of-4 free throw attempts to finish with 3 points.
Also in double figures were Crystal Erwin (10) and Ashley Barlow (11). Erwin, after not hitting on any threes in her first three years, hit on a couple in this one to give her four for the season. Barlow hit on all six of her free throw attempts.
Notre Dame will travel to Michigan on Friday for a matchup against the Michigan Wolverines. They return home next on Sunday, December 3 versus Indiana. The game is a big one and is on the way to being sold out.
Irish Blue And Gold Items
*Chandrica Smith was on the sidelines in street clothes. She was injured and is listed day to day.
*Melissa Lechlitner looked more in control and comfortable in this game. Look for her to show marked improvement as the season progresses.
*Muffet McGraw was more animated on the sidelines.
*Around 9,000 tickets have been sold for the IU game on Sunday. If sold out, it would be the fourth sellout in Notre Dame women’s basketball history.
Box Score
Richmond (2-6)
Powell 1-2 1-3 4, Hawkins 3-13 0-2 6, McKnight 6-10 0-0 14, Thomas 1-2 0-0 2, Campion 5-8 1-3 13, Holzer 4-6 1-1 9, Williams 3-8 2-4 10, Hendrix 1-5 0-0 2, Bell 1-4 3-4 5, Morrow 0-0 0-0 0, Zygaite 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 25-58 9-19 66
Notre Dame (4-2)
Erwin 4-6 0-0 10, D’Amico 6-7 3-4 15, Allen 10-18 0-0 22, Gray 0-4 0-0 0, Gaines 2-2 3-4 7, Barlow 2-7 6-6 11, Lechlitner 3-7 2-2 10, Williamson 4-6 1-2 9, Tsipis 0-0 0-0 0, Ben-Tsvulun 0-0 3-4 3, Totals 31-57 18-22 87
Half: Notre Dame 34, Richmond 31. Shooting: Notre Dame: 31-57 (54.4 percent), Richmond: 25-58 (43.1 percent). 3-point shooting: Notre Dame: 7-17 (41.2 percent; Lechlitner 2-5, Allen 2-4, Erwin 2-3, Barlow 1-2, Gray 0-3), Richmond: 7-15 (46.7 percent; Campion 2-4, Williams 2-4, McKnight 2-2, Powell 0-1, Bell 0-2, Hendrix 0-1, Hawkins 0-1). Rebounds: Notre Dame: 35 (Williamson 7, Barlow 6), Richmond 31 (Campion 5). Assists: Notre Dame: 17 (Gaines 4), Richmond 18 (Hawkins 4). Total Fouls: Notre Dame 18, Richmond 22, Attendance: 5, 629.
Irish Blue and Gold 