Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 FEBRUARY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Jack Casey — Soccer The junior from Morristown, N.J., was a sec- ond-team selection for the College Sports Information Directors of America's 2018 Academic All-America squad for the second straight season. During his Irish career, Casey has seen action in 58 games while tallying one goal and 11 assists. He has a GPA of 3.96 while double majoring in economics and political sci- ence, and is a three-time Dean's List recipient. Marina Mabrey — Basketball The senior from Manasquan, N.J., recorded a double-double in Notre Dame's 103-53 home win over Binghamton Dec. 16, scoring a season-high 21 points while also dishing out a career-high-tying 11 assists. The double-double was the first of the season for Mabrey and the third of her career. She re- turned to action in late November after missing the first five games with a quadriceps injury. Dylan Malmquist — Hockey The senior from Edina, Minn., tied his career high for assists in a game with three in Notre Dame's 5-4 win at No. 9 Penn State Dec. 7. He has now posted 14 multi-point games during his Irish career, including three this season. The three assists helped Malmquist extend his point scoring streak to five consecutive games. Through 17 contests, he had 16 points on five goals and 11 assists. Charley Niego — Volleyball The freshman outside hitter from Chicago was named an honorable mention All-Amer- ican by the American Vol- leyball Coaches Association. During her freshman season, she led the Fighting Irish with 339 kills and finished second to fellow honorable mention All-American Ryann DeJarld with 307 digs. Niego recorded double-doubles in 12 of Notre Dame's 18 conference contests. Along with the All-American honors, she was named second-team All-ACC. TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE During the 103-53 romp against Bingham- ton Dec. 16, senior guard Arike Ogunbowale became only the fifth player in Notre Dame's 42-year women's basketball history to reach the milestone of 2,000 career points. The men's side has had seven, led by the incomparable Austin Carr's 2,560 from 1968-71 while playing only three varsity seasons. Ogunbowale is well on pace to eclipse the women's standard of 2,357 set by Skylar Dig- gins (2009-13), and there is a chance to make a run at Carr's overall mark as well, although no one will ever come close to his single-season scoring averages of 38.1 in 1969-70 and 37.9 in 1970-71. "She is so exciting to watch, I think the most exciting player in college basketball," Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said of Ogun- bowale, whose game-winning shots in the Final Four have immortalized her in Notre Dame and NCAA lore. "She is one of the very special play- ers we've had here." Entering January, here is where Ogunbowale was on the Notre Dame career scoring chart among the women: Player (Years) Points 1. Skylar Diggins (2009-13) 2,357 2. Beth Morgan (1993-97) 2,322 3. Katryna Gaither (1993-97) 2,126 4. Arike Ogunbowale (2015-) 2,077 5. Ruth Riley (1997-2001) 2,072 Getting To Know … WIDE RECEIVERS COACH DELVAUGHN ALEXANDER Hometown: "Los Angeles." Alma Mater: "Southern Cal." Favorite Food: "Soul food or Mexican food." Favorite Place To Eat In South Bend: "Ruth's Chris." Favorite Professional Sports Team: "Oakland Raiders." Favorite Movie: "' The Equalizer.'" Favorite Music: "R&B." Favorite Musician: "Cur- rently, I'm listening to a lot of J. Cole." Favorite TV Show: "TV is out because we work so much." Favorite Part About Coaching For Notre Dame: "It's the players. These are unique players and it's a unique place here at Notre Dame. These players are as smart or smarter than any other players I've coached before. They get it and I'm not just talking about foot- ball. I'm talking about their perspective on what's happening now and what they're work- ing toward in the future." Who Is The Best Player You've Ever Coached?: " There's several because each player is unique. You look at the three starters we have here and each of them are different. When you put a bunch of guys together in a group, they're still unique individually." CHARTING THE IRISH NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL IN ACC PLAY After almost two decades in the Big East (1995-2013), Notre Dame joined the ACC during the 2013-14 season as a full-time member for men's basket- ball and other sports. Although the first year was rocky with a 6-12 regular- season conference mark, head coach Mike Brey's program has been able to find success in what is regarded as the toughest league in college basketball. Notre Dame won the ACC champi- onship in 2015, defeating Duke (74-64) and North Carolina (90-82) en route to claiming the crown. The Irish returned to the title game two years later, fall- ing to the Blue Devils. Over the five seasons of affiliation with the league, Notre Dame is tied for the fourth-high- est winning percentage with Miami among the programs that participated in each of those campaigns. Virginia (2014 and 2018), North Carolina (2016) and Duke (2017) have also won the conference tournament. Here is how each of the current 14 ACC members have fared in league play since the Irish joined in 2013: Team ACC Record (Win Pct.) Virginia 73-17 (.818) Duke 63-27 (.700) North Carolina 63-27 (.700) Miami 51-39 (.567) Notre Dame 51-39 (.567) Syracuse 50-40 (.556) Florida State 46-44 (.511) Clemson 45-45 (.500) NC State 39-51 (.433) Virginia Tech 34-56 (.378) Pittsburgh 32-58 (.356) Georgia Tech 31-59 (.344) Wake Forest 26-64 (.289) Boston College 17-73 (.189) Note: Louisville is not listed because it didn't join the ACC until the 2014-15 and its wins from that season have been vacated by the NCAA due to the scandal under for- mer head coach Rick Pitino.