Dein erstes Forum » the net. Lamar Neagle missed a chance to

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame won a national championship the last time coach Muffet McGraw thought she had the nations best player and best point guard.McGraw likes the chances of doing it again 16 years later. Not only does she have Brianna Turner, the returning Atlantic Coast Conference player and defensive player of the year, and Lindsay Allen, who has guided the Irish to a 106-6 record the past three seasons, she also has the deepest team shes had in her 30 years in South Bend. For the first time, the top-ranked Irish will start five former McDonalds All-American high school players, and have three more contributing off the bench.We have the depth at pretty much every position, McGraw said.Before Allen arrived, Notre Dame had a total of eight McDonalds players on its roster since the first All-America high school team was named in 2002. The Irish have that many on its roster this year alone.McGraw thinks she could use a 10-player rotation, a stark contrast from the six-player rotation she used when Ruth Riley and Niele Ivey, now a Notre Dames assistant, led the Irish to the national championship in April 2001. McGraw said the Irish have so much talent it could be a challenge for her.You have a lot of different people on the floor all the time, McGraw said. I think there are some combinations that will look better together. Thats going to be my challenge to figure out who plays well together, McGraw said.The third returning starter is forward Kathryn Westbeld. Other key returners are guards Arike Ogunbowale, Marina Mabrey and Mychal Johnson. The Irish also add 6-2 freshman forward Erin Boley, the Gatorade National Player of the Year, 6-0 guard Jackie Young, the Naismith National Player of the Year, and 5-10 sophomore guard Ali Patberg, who missed last season with a knee injury.Allen said she doesnt think egos will be a problem.Our offense makes it easier because our offense is a read so were not focusing on going to one player, she said.The Irish are ranked No. 1 for the first time since their national championship season, which leaves McGraw a bit uncomfortable.I would rather be the underdog, she said. Our key is weve got to have fun. Weve got to enjoy this journey. I think thats the toughest thing to do when you see yourself as No. 1. Everything you do, youre holding up to the No. 1.Other things to watch with Notre Dame:THE GLUEWith so many scorers, McGraw wants to know which player is going to do the little things for the Irish.Whos going to be out there and doesnt need to score, just wants to facilitate? McGraw said. Whos going to come into the game and say, `My job is to rebound and get the ball to Bri.? Its great that we have all these scorers but theres only one ball and we really want to make sure the right people are getting the shots.SURPRISE CONTRIBUTORMcGraw is expecting a bigger contribution from 6-4 senior forward Kristina Nelson, who averaged 8.4 minutes last season. Shes made tremendous strides with her mindset, McGraw said.ON THE ROADThe Irish play 10 road games in a 12-game stretch starting at No. 21 DePaul on Dec. 10, three days after facing four-time defending champion Connecticut in South Bend.DUNK TIMENotre Dame fans have been waiting to see Turner dunk since shes arrived on campus. Shes been hampered by an injury to her right shoulder sustained her freshman season and aggravated last season, causing her to miss six games. But shes healthy after undergoing surgery. She said shes not going to try to force a dunk: Im just going to go with the flow and see what happens.McGraw said she hasnt seen one in practice.She only does it when Im not there, McGraw said. I think it would be an awesome way to start the season.NO. 1Notre Dame has spent a lot of time at No. 2, but has been ranked No. 1 for only six weeks in the AP poll, all of it until now coming during the national championship season of 2000-01.---More AP college basketball http://collegebasketball.ap.org Vans Shoes Ireland . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Cheap Vans Shoes Ireland . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. http://www.discountvansireland.com/ . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Vans Shoes Clearance Ireland . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Vans Shoes Clearance Sale Ireland . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed.HOUSTON -- Giles Barnes scored twice in the first half and Will Bruin added a goal in the second half to lead the Houston Dynamo to a 3-1 win over the Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday night. The win was the second in three games for the Dynamo (10-7-6), while Seattle (10-8-4) saw its four-game unbeaten streak end in U.S. national team captain Clint Dempseys his first start for the Sounders. Barnes gave the Dynamo a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute when Bruin kept the ball alive before it reached the end line then fed it back to Barnes, who sent a shot from 14 yards out in the left box that found the upper right corner. Five minutes later, Barnes made it 2-0 with a blast from 30 yards out in the middle of the field that went just inside the far post, giving him his first multi-goal game. Barnes said the Dynamo came out of the blocks flying, and it was important for Houston to get off to a good start at home. "When you get the first goal in any game, you look to get the second goal to try to kill their vibe, knock the wind out of their sails," Barnes said. "We thought that if we did that, it would give them a tough hill to try to climb." Houston coach Dominic Kinnear said the first 30 minutes of the game were probably the best 30 minutes the Dynamo have played all year. "We looked excellent," Kinnear said. "Giles scored a good goal and followed it up with a great goal. We were excellent on both sides of the ball. If we lost it, we hunted it down. I think the two goals we scored, it came from winning the ball and playing it forward. We were very aggressive with our overall play on both sides of the ball. Giles found good little gaps in the midfields." Shalrie Joseph cut the lead in half in the 65th minute, heading Marc Burchs free kick inside the near post from inside the goalkeeperrs box.dddddddddddd. Dempsey took his first shot in the first minute when he sent one wide left from the right box. He had a header saved in the 25th minute and another shot in the 35th minute, a low liner from the middle of the box that goalkeeper Tally Hall easily corralled. Dempsey sent one from the upper box wide in the 81st minute. Dempsey, who is from Nacogdoches, Texas, had family and friends in attendance. He said it was good to play a full 90 minutes. "This was the first 90 minutes Ive had in a long time," Dempsey said. "I thought we created enough chances tonight that we should have scored more goals. I had some good looks, I should have put one away. But we had chances, so Im not frustrated with that aspect." Bruin scored in the 74th minute to extend Houstons lead to 3-1. Warren Creavalles shot from the middle of the box hit off the cross bar and bounced to Brad Davis, who fed Bruin 8 yards out. He turned and sent one into the middle of the net. Lamar Neagle missed a chance to get Seattle within one in the 80th minute when his shot from the right box hit the far post but stayed on the end line and Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall was able to bat it out. Seattle head coach Siegfried Schmid said his team gave up some early goals, but they fought and battled back, and if they would have finished their opportunities, the result could have been different. "I thought our body language early in the game wasnt good," Schmid said. "We handed them opportunities early. The first goal was a little bit of a mistake on our part. Second goal that guy hits a great goal. There was nothing you could do. After that I thought we were in as much of the game as they were. Its easily a game that couldve been 3-3 or 4-4 based on the chances we had if we finish our chances." ' ' '