It may be an exhibition game for the Notre Dame women's basketball team, but Tuesday's tune-up against the University of Indianapolis at Purcell Pavilion counts as far as Brittany Mallory is concerned.

Mallory played in only seven games last season after suffering a season-ending knee injury diving to the floor against Michigan. Following surgery for a torn ACL in her left knee and months of rehab and intense workouts to get her game back, the 5-foot-10 junior guard is ready to return her feisty spirit to the Irish lineup.

“I'm pretty excited about it,” Mallory said of the exhibition game. “It's just an exhibition game, but it's going to mark where our team is right now, what we need to do, how far we need to go. I think everybody is pretty excited, especially to play in the new arena. I'm excited to finally get back in a real game.”

Mallory averaged 8.1 points a game before being sidelined. As a freshman, she averaged 6.3 points a game and led the team with 34 3-pointers.

“Slowly but surely, I'm getting back to 100 percent,” Mallory said. “I'm playing and practicing. It's sore, but that comes with the injury. I have to ice it down and get treatment every now and then. I'm feeling confident about it.”

Mallory showed no fear in summer pick-up games or in early practices.

“I've been diving on the floor, going up for passes,” Mallory said. “Early in the preseason, my team would get mad at me, because I was just getting back and I was driving and diving on the floor. But I'm back to doing my hustle plays and I'm excited about it.”

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw looks forward to seeing Mallory contribute.

“Brittany is so smart,” McGraw said. “She's not afraid to be physical and aggressive. She's not afraid to play intense defense. She's someone we're counting on in a lot of areas this season.”

Mallory's offense, her gutty defense and her willingness to pick up floorburns will be needed against an Indianapolis team that surprised Valparaiso, 67-56, on Sunday. The Greyhounds, ranked No. 4 in Division II, will face a Notre Dame team that is ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press preseason poll.

“I think we'll see a little bit of everything,” Mallory said of Notre Dame's attack. “We have so many different people we can put in the game. Our team is really deep. We have a lot of combinations we can do. It's just a matter of who we're playing and how we're going to go about that game.”

The Irish return every player from last season's lineup, and add freshmen in Skylar Diggins and Kaila Turner.

“Some people may get a little frustrated about playing time, but it's all about our team and what's best for our team,” Mallory said. “People are going to realize, that's the bigger picture. It doesn't matter if one game you don't play as much as you did the last game or the next game. it's about what our team needs to accomplish.”