Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1143622
48 AUGUST 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI T he massive makeover that is the 2019-20 Notre Dame women's basketball program continued through the spring and sum- mer months. First, in mid-May Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw and her staff signed Stanford graduate trans- fer point guard Marta Sniezek, who is immediately available to play her fi- nal season at Notre Dame in 2019-20. Then in June, part two of the equa- tion saw 2018-19 Notre Dame fresh- man reserve point guard Jordan Nixon transfer to Texas A&M. In the spring, the Irish landed North Carolina graduate transfer guard Destinee Walker, who Mc- Graw said will have more of a shoot- ing role, whereas Sniezek is a natural, classic point guard. After Walker had signed, McGraw added that she and her staff were seek- ing a veteran point guard as well from the graduate transfer ranks to provide much needed leadership on what will be an extremely youth-laden team that lost seven players — all five starters plus two transfers — from last year's national runner-up that a year earlier captured the national championship. BEATING THEM, AND NOW JOINING THEM A two-time District of Columbia Gatorade Player of the Year at Wash- ington (D.C.) National Cathedral, the McLean, Va., native Sniezek was ranked as the No. 38 player in the country in 2015 by ESPN HoopGurlz and was a Parade All-American. While making the Pac-12 All- Freshman Team in 2016, she scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting (1 of 2 from three-point range) and handed out four assists in a Sweet 16 upset of Notre Dame in Lexington, Ky. A year later, Sniezek and the Cardinal toppled the Irish again, this time in the Elite Eight, where she dished out eight assists and had zero turnovers. Changing Of The guards Stanford graduate transfer Marta Sniezek joins Fighting Irish, while sophomore Jordan Nixon departs Sniezek (right), who helped Stanford oust Notre Dame from the 2016 and 2017 NCAA Tournaments, replaces fellow point guard Nixon (left) on the Irish roster. PHOTOS COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA AND GOSTANFORD.COM 2019-20 ROSTER BREAKDOWN The Fighting Irish will have nine scholarship players for the 2019-20 season — two more than the available number of bodies when they won the 2018 national title. Here is the breakdown by class: Fifth-year Year Seniors: G Marta Sniezek and G Destinee Walker Walker actually has two years of eligibility remaining because of sitting out two years with different injuries. Senior: G Kaitlin Cole The former walk-on, who was sidelined in 2018-19 because of a torn ACL, was awarded a scholarship this spring. Junior: C Mikayla Vaughn At 6-3, Vaughn is the team's main low-post figure and the top overall returning scorer from last year's team with 125 points (3.3 per game). Sophomores: F Danielle Cosgrove, G Katlyn Gilbert and G Abby Prohaska The 6-4 Cosgrove is the team's tallest player, but is primarily a stretch four with 35 of her 48 shot attempts last year coming beyond the three-point line. Gilbert was medically redshirted last season following shoulder surgery. Prohaska played the most minutes (549) among all the returning players. Freshmen: F Sam Brunelle and G Anaya Peoples The 6-2 Brunelle, also a stretch four, was deemed a consensus top-five recruit, while Peoples ranked as high as No. 8 by Prospects Nation and starred in the McDonald's All-American Game with 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots. Because the roster is top heavy in the backcourt, McGraw said she will employ mainly a four-guard look with a Princeton-based motion offense this season. — Lou Somogyi