Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 23, 2019 49 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ally got back to where she was," Mc- Graw said. "When she was back this summer, she was ahead of where she was as a freshman. I thought she was the most improved player coming back. She's always been smart and worked hard, but now she was scor- ing a lot more off the pick and roll, which is a big part of our offense. "We're definitely leaner in the post than we want to be. Four guards probably will have to be the answer all year." Maybe the biggest X-factor could be 5-10 sophomore guard Katlyn Gil- bert, who took a medical redshirt last season following shoulder surgery. Yet in the Vancouver Showcase she provided a glimpse of her abilities against a 29-5 Gonzaga team dur- ing an 81-65 Irish victory when she scored 14 points (5-of-8 shooting from the field) and grabbed five re- bounds in 33 minutes. "I'm expecting big things from her," McGraw said of the former Mc- Donald's All-American. "Just watch- ing us play this summer, she could be somebody we want to give the ball to at the end of the game and is really capable of scoring a lot of dif- ferent ways. "She's going to be hard to guard. I think she might be our best player coming back even after missing all that time." Speaking of McDonald's All-Amer- icans, 6-2 forward Sam Brunelle and 5-10 wing Anaya Peoples both will be called upon for instant impact as freshmen. Brunelle was a top-five recruit and the archetype of a stretch four with her three-point shooting. "She can also play inside, but she shoots it so well I don't want to put her on the block too much," McGraw said. Peoples ideally is a wing and the next option behind Sniezek at point. She also has a knack for rebounding, including eight in the McDonald's All-Star Game in which she tied for team-high scoring honors with 11 points. "And a good defender, too," Mc- Graw pointed out about Peoples. "She and Marta can provide some pressure up top." PROHASKA LEADS BENCH Nobody on the 2019-20 roster played more last season than the 5-10 Prohaska with 549 minutes off the bench (Vaughn was a distant second with 364). To McGraw, Prohaska is the prototypical instant-energy fix- ture entering a game. "Abby is our leader in training," the head coach said. "She will be a good leader for us eventually." North Carolina graduate transfer guard Destinee Walker, yet another former McDonald's All-American, has missed virtually all of the past two seasons with injury setbacks but is expected to be cleared to fully par- ticipate once practice begins around the Oct. 1 target date. At 6-4, sophomore Danielle Cos- grove is the team's tallest player, but she also is far more a stretch four (35 of her 48 shot attempts last year were from three-point range). Simi- lar to Jessica Shepard last year, she shed about 20 unwanted pounds from last season while monitoring her nutrition habits, and is working with assistant Carol Owens on her post game. "It's a mindset," McGraw said. "In- stead of pick and roll, she wants to pick and pop. We're really focusing on her being inside more, but still certainly trailing threes." Former walk-on Kaitlin Cole has been placed on scholarship as a se- nior, while another walk-on, Nicole Benz, enters her junior season. Mc- Graw hopes to add two more walk- ons this fall. The 2018 national champs finished the season with only seven available scholarship players after beginning the year with 10, so McGraw is used to walking on eggshells in terms of roster management and dealing with injuries. "Until that first person sprains an ankle or something happens, I think we'll be full speed ahead," she said. ✦ Natalie Achonwa To Join Ring Of Honor On Nov. 8, Fighting Irish forward Natalie Achonwa (2010-14) will become the sixth Notre Dame women's basketball player to be inducted into Notre Dame's prestigious Ring of Honor. "Natalie was instrumental in taking our program from a Sweet 16 team to a perennial Final Four team. She took great pride in representing Notre Dame and continues to make us proud," head coach Muffet McGraw stated. "She was a great leader on and off the court, and one of the smartest players I've ever coached." The Guelph, Ontario, native and two-time All-American helped Notre Dame to four consecutive Final Four appearances, and three title game advancements while posting a 138-15 overall record with five combined regular-season and conference tournament championships. "My commitment to go to Notre Dame was the best decision that I've made," Achonwa stated. "When I'm looking back at my career, I hope people can say I took advantage of every opportunity given. That I wore the jersey I had on with pride. I hope people can look back and say she was a great teammate, she did what she was supposed to and she worked hard." Achonwa, along with Jessica Shepard, still holds the record for most double-doubles in a single season with 19 (achieved during her junior year in 2012-13). As a senior she posted career highs in both scoring (14.9 points per game), assists (2.8 per contest) and field goal percentage (61.1). In the 2014 WNBA Draft, Achonwa was se- lected ninth overall by the Indiana Fever, with whom she still plays today. In 2009, Achonwa made history as the youngest player selected to the Canadian Senior National Team when she was just 16 years old. She has since represented Canada in both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, reaching the quarterfinal round in each. In the process, she became the first Fighting Irish player ever to appear in two Olympics. — Lou Somogyi Former Irish star Natalie Achonwa (2010-14) will become the sixth women's basketball player inducted into the school's Ring of Honor at the home game against Loyola Maryland Nov. 8. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND