Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 MAY 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY THE NUMBERS 2 Players in Notre Dame history who tallied at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during their careers: The legendary Ruth Riley, the National Player of the Year while propelling the Fighting Irish to the 2001 national title, and Turner, who finished with 2,017 points and a school-record 1,048 rebounds, moving past Riley's 1,007. In the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Turner snared 75 re- bounds, which tied for second all time. 3 Fighting Irish athletes who received Asso- ciated Press All-America recognition this season, with Ogunbowale on the second team and Shepard and Young on the third unit. Meanwhile, Turner had been a second-team AP All-American in both 2016 and 2017 before sitting out 2018 with a torn ACL. This year, she was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the third time. 12 Assists recorded by Mabrey in the 81-76 victory versus archrival UConn in the Final Four — a new NCAA Tournament record in a national semifinal outing. That also helped her reach 500 career assists with the Fighting Irish. A Farewell To Arms The departing starting lineup left an incomparable legacy at Notre Dame and on NCAA basketball BY LOU SOMOGYI U sing the words "never" and "always" can be foolhardy. Regardless, it would not be a stretch to say no college basketball starting team, men or women, will likely ever have as much firepower plus overall production in data that the 2018-19 Notre Dame women had with fifth-year senior Brianna Turner, seniors Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard and Marina Mabrey, and junior Jackie Young, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft April 10. In NCAA men's basketball, there won't be such scoring prowess stretch- ing out over four years because most of the game's top players will turn pro prior to their senior seasons, if not earlier. In women's basketball, it's difficult to assemble more than three or four prominent scorers in one class who stay together. For decades to come and through our lifetimes, the names of the aforemen- tioned quintet who propelled Notre Dame to the 2018 national title and 2019 runner-up status by one point will be etched into the school's record books and immortalized in program history in virtually every category possible. Ten, 20, 30 and even 40 years from now, they will be viewed with reverence the way the 1988-89 Notre Dame football teams are today when they recorded a school-record 23-game winning streak, surprisingly captured the national title in 1988 despite numerous obstacles (just like the 2018 women's basketball national champs) and came so close to repeating in 1989 despite playing the nation's No. 1 schedule, which the 2019 women did likewise.