By Staff
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior guard Charel Allen (Monessen, Pa./Monessen) is one of 25 players who have been named to the 2007-08 State Farm Wade Trophy preseason list, as announced Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
This year marks Allen's first appearance on the preseason candidate list for the State Farm Wade Trophy, which goes to the nation's top collegiate women's basketball player, and it's also the fourth time in five years that an Irish women's basketball player has been placed under consideration for the award.
Prior to the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, All-America forward Jacqueline Batteast appeared on the preseason "Wade Watch" before earning a berth on the elite 10-player Kodak/WBCA All-America Team in '04-05.
Megan Duffy then garnered preseason Wade Trophy candidate status in 2005-06, going on to collect All-America honors (she currently is completing her second season with the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx).
Allen turned in her finest season at Notre Dame in 2006-07, doubling her scoring output from the previous year up to a team-high 17.0 points per game (seventh in the BIG EAST Conference), while also collecting a team-best 6.2 rebounds per contest.
During league play, Allen was especially sharp, ranking second in the loop in scoring (19.3 ppg.). She ended up scoring in double figures 29 times in 32 games (including each of her final 12 outings), and she topped the 20-point mark 11 times, including a career-high 31 points (on 14-of-19 shooting) against St. John's.
Not surprisingly, awards were plentiful for Allen in '06-07. She was a State Farm Coaches' honorable mention All-America selection, the 13th Notre Dame player in the past 12 years to garner that distinction.
She also was a first-team all-BIG EAST honoree, a two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week choice and a four-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll pick, helping lead the Irish to a 20-12 record and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament, where Notre Dame pushed top-seeded North Carolina to the limit before falling, 60-51.