NOTRE DAME, Ind. — University of Notre Dame head women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced Thursday that three of the country’s top high school student-athletes have chosen to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Fighting Irish, each signing a National Letter of Intent to attend Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2011.

Madison Cable, a 5-11 guard from Mount Lebanon, Pa. (Mount Lebanon High School), Whitney Holloway, a 5-4 guard from Plainfield, Ill. (Montini Catholic High School) and Markisha Wright, a 6-2 forward from Des Moines, Iowa (Des Moines East High School) all made their official commitments to the Fighting Irish during the early signing period, which began Wednesday and continues through Nov. 17.

All three student-athletes are rated among the top 60 players in the country by various national recruiting services.

As a group, this trio currently is a consensus top-20 class by all major recruiting outlets (final class rankings will come out following the early signing period), likely giving Notre Dame a Top 25 class for the 15th consecutive year, a streak only two other schools in the country (Connecticut and Tennessee) can match.

“We really like what these three players bring to the table,” McGraw said. “We looked at this class as far as gearing up for the future since we really only lose (senior forward) Becca Bruszewski off this year’s team. So the focus with this group was identifying those players who can take over when our juniors graduate in a couple of years. We expect that this class will be able to step in and contribute from the outset, and we look for them to have a major impact on our future success. All three are exceptional young women, both on and off the court, and we are very excited to have them joining our program and our university next year.”

“This is a good class for Notre Dame with players that are a good fit for them,” said Bret McCormick, an analyst for All-Star Girls Report. “They all play hard and aggressively and have the ability to contribute right away On the other hand, with Notre Dame only losing one player off this year’s team, they can also come in and learn the ropes slowly without having to be rushed right into the lineup. All of them are great players who should have great careers at Notre Dame.”

“The 2011 early signing class for Notre Dame has a blue-collar theme,” added Chris Hansen, national director of prospects for ESPN Hoopgurlz. “That’s not saying the kids aren’t talented, but all three signees are hard-working overachievers on the court that put the team ahead of personal statistics.”