SOUTH BEND - One of the reasons a person's 16th birthday is so memorable is because that is the first day you can drive a car. For Vanessa Jackson, she has another memory of that special day.

“On my 16th birthday my brother surprised me and brought me up to see a Notre Dame women's game and I said, ‘One day I'm going to play there',” said the former Culver Girls Academy basketball star who now is a college sophomore.

That day arrived Tuesday.

Last night Jackson's first game with her new teammates from the University of Indianapolis was an exhibition game against the Irish.

“It was like a dream come true,” Jackson said.

Not the outcome, an 84-59 ND victory, but just the chance to compete against one of the most famous schools in the country and in front of a number of family and friends that made the trip from her hometown of Rochester and beyond.

Last year, the 6-foot-1 forward played sparingly at Division I Morehead State in Kentucky, averaging 4.5 points per game and 3.5 rebounds in 26 games. But she describes the transfer to U of I as, “Coming from something bad to something wonderful.”

Greyhounds head coach Teri Moren did not hesitate to make it a memorable beginning to Jackson's career at U of I either, penciling her into the starting lineup.

“She has a wonderful mentality, a scorer's mentality, and that is what I am most excited about,” said Moren, now in her 6th season at U of I. “There are some great post players in our league (Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference) and I am thrilled at the way Vanessa played.”

Most of the night Jackson was paired against Notre Dame's Melissa D'Amico at both ends of the floor. Although Jackson actually looked short compared to the 6-5 sophomore center from ND, she finished with 11 points (4-10 FGs, 3-3 FTs), three rebounds, one block and one steal in 21 minutes. D'Amico finished with 16 points and seven boards in a team-high 32 minutes.

“It was fine. It was a good experience and a good opportunity to see how I can play against taller people,” Jackson said of the match-up. “When I saw how we played in the first half, our season should be wonderful. We should be top in our conference.”

The Greyhounds did hold an early lead midway through the first half against the Irish, but ND outscored the visitors 40-28 in the second half to pull away.

Regardless of the outcome, Jackson can still think about driving and her 16th birthday - how she envisioned herself driving down the lane of the Joyce Center basketball court and later did just that.