Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 OCT. 29, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI F our of Notre Dame's five starters have earned first-team All-ACC honors from either the coaches or the Blue Ribbon panel. Senior guard Arike Ogunbowale and fifth-year senior Brianna Turner head- line the list, with Turner twice named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Senior guard Marina Mabrey and senior forward Jessica Shepard also have both been on a first team. And then there is junior guard Jackie Young — which provides insight to why Notre Dame is favored to repeat as national champions. The league coaches did give the six- foot Young an "honorable mention" notice last season, but Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw and the rest of the team know that when it comes to versatility, Young has few peers in the nation. She can defend anyone on the floor, possessing the strength to body up inside and the quickness to guard the perimeter, play in the blocks, help at point guard and take you off the dribble. The all-time leading scorer in the state of Indiana (boys or girls) was third on the team last year in scoring (14.5 points per game) while shoot- ing 52.0 percent, but also was the de- fensive stopper who was second in rebounds (6.6 per game), assists (138) and steals (52). Eleven-time national champion head coach Geno Auriemma in last year 's national semifinal concen- trated on taking away Ogunbowale and Mabrey — and Young responded with a 32-point performance that saw her drain 10 of 15 field goals from the floor (2 of 4 beyond the arc) and 10 of 11 foul shots. For good measure, she hauled in 11 rebounds in the triumph against the UConn dynasty. "Jackie Young really has the most complete game of anyone," McGraw said. "She's capable of having a big game offensively, but she's also the one that's going to get the big re- bound, to make the big play, to get the big stop. "She'll be the one who takes a charge. … I really think she could be our best player." If there was one hole in her game it was some tentativeness to take the three-pointer, where she was 11 of 39 (28.2 percent) last year. If that blos- soms next, she might be declared il- legal. "That's a very obvious area to im- prove, and I think it's just being com- fortable with it," Young said of the treys. "I can shoot the ball, but it's just being comfortable and having the con- fidence to shoot it." Young's drives and finishes to the basket open up the court for prolific three-point shooters Ogunbowale and Mabrey. The consummate team player, the soft-spoken, understated Young said her current concentration is on two levels. One is to become more vo- cal on the court. "It's mainly just trying to speak up more and just communicate more and be more of a leader," Young said. "It's not necessarily just things on the bas- ketball court … whatever I thought I wasn't doing well." The second is to become the "glue" figure that the graduated Kathryn Westbeld and Kristina "Koko" Nel- son provided last season. Westbeld fa- cilitated the overall flow on both ends of the court to bring out the best in everyone, while Nelson led the team in charges taken, several of them in crucial moments in the NCAA Tour- nament. "We need someone to step in and do all the little things that Kat and Koko did," Young said. "I like doing every- thing on the court, not just scoring. "To be able to play here, you have to be able to play defense, get rebounds, do all the little things that sometimes people overlook." Even the all-league teams. ✦ College Basketball's Jack(ie)-Of-All-Trades Junior guard Jackie Young was third on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game) last year, and was also second in rebounds (6.6 per game), assists (138) and steals (52) while serving as Notre Dame's defensive stopper. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND Media Day News And Notes The team held its media day Oct.11. Here were some of the top personnel items prior to the exhibition game with Lewis Oct. 30 and the opener against Harvard Nov. 9: • Senior forward Jessica Shepard has an in- jured foot that has not allowed her to practice, although she was in her uniform. She was scheduled for an MRI. • Freshman guard Kaitlyn Gilbert has a shoulder injury that also will get an MRI. Freshman guard Abby Prohaska had an ankle injury that sidelined her a few days. Walk-on Kaitlin Cole underwent knee surgery. • Fifth-year senior forward Brianna Turner has bounced back from April 2017 knee sur- gery, is no longer wearing a brace and looks "fantastic," per head coach Muffet McGraw. • Sophomore forward Mikayla Vaughn, com- ing back from November 2017 knee surgery, had her first five-on-five session in practice Oct. 10. She is moving well but has to shake off some of the rust. • According to McGraw, freshman point guard Jordan Nixon would be the fifth starter in place of Shepard in a four-guard look. • Sophomore forward Danielle Patterson is the most improved player from last season, per McGraw. • Freshman forward Danielle Cosgrove might be the second-best three-point shooter on the team, per McGraw. • The team will move into the new practice facility Nov. 1. — Lou Somogyi