When Marquette jumped to a 6-3 lead on an all-senior lineup that Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw penciled in for senior night, McGraw said it looked like the Fighting Irish feet were in mud defensively. Enter Skylar Diggins, and exit Marquette’s lead. Notre Dame ran off a 15-0 lead, and the Irish were never threatened after that. “It started with Skylar,” said Notre Dame guard Melissa Lechlitner. “She penetrated. Three people would collapse on her. She was the first one who got me my wide open 3.” Lechlitner scored a career-high 23 points Tuesday in the 82-67 victory against Marquette and said that Diggins played a huge role in the effort. Diggins ended up with a career-high nine assists to go with eight points and six rebounds. Lindsay Schrader, who returned after missing two games with an ankle injury, scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds against Marquette as the Irish snapped a two-game losing streak. Schrader also credited Diggins with helping set her up. “Skylar is an unbelievable passer,” Schrader said. “She’s great off the dribble and kicking it out. She has this way of making people collapse on her and then kicking it out. And she pushes the ball. She’s great passing in transition.”
Special moment
Walk-on Alena Christiansen earned an ovation when she was introduced as a starter on senior night and earned an ovation when she nailed a jumper for Notre Dame’s final points. “It was unbelievable,” Christiansen said. “It was special to get that start and be a part with the four seniors. It came full circle for me. It’s something that I’ll never forget. “I’ve made some great friends along the way and I’ve learned a lot. I cherish everything. I’ll never forget what I’ve learned here at Notre Dame.”Secret plan
After the victory against Marquette, Schrader said that the Irish had hoped to get senior Erica Williamson an attempt at a 3-pointer. “We had this planned out that we were going to come down in transition and do a drag screen and (center Erica Williamson) was going to pop back for 3,” Schrader said. “She so wanted to hit a 3, even just attempt one. She didn’t get it. She’s a little upset, but Alena got one.” McGraw shook her head in disbelief when Schrader revealed the secret plan. “I was not a part of the plan,” McGraw said. “They actually talked about letting Lindsay shoot a 3, too. I said, hey, it’s senior night, as long as we’re up 30, you can shoot whenever you want to.”Achonwa banned
Notre Dame recruit Natalie Achonwa wasn’t allowed to play high school basketball this season. Achonwa played for the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA) in Canada and was the only high school player who was selected to play on the Canadian national team. But NEDA closed due to lack of funding, and the Canadian high school federation ruled that it would be a disadvantage to opponents to allow Achonwa to play high school basketball. “Basically, some of the other high schools that were going to play against St. Mary’s, Natalie’s school, pitched a giant fit that it would be a disadvantage for her to play for her high school team,” said Notre Dame associate head coach Jonathan Tsipis. “The federation made a quick decision, and unfortunately she wasn’t able to play.” Tsipis said that Achonwa is playing AAU ball every other weekend to make up for the lack of a high school season. “For some reason, they thought it would hurt the welfare of the rest of the high school players to have the one member of the senior national team who is in high school play,” Tsipis said. “She’s done a good job of still training and playing in the tournaments, where she can still get that good mix of individual work, practice and game situations. It just happens that she doesn’t get a high school season in Canada. “When the funding ran out for NEDA, there wasn’t a backup plan to keep these kids playing,” Tsipis said. “It hurt Natalie, that she didn’t have a regular schedule to play. Hopefully, Canada’s national team and the high school federation will look together and say this won’t help anybody in this situation.”Staff writer Curt Rallo: crallo@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6152
