Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1183432
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 16, 2019 49 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL "I've been practicing that posi- tion a little," Brunelle said. "It's not something I'm familiar with, but something that I'm going to have to really work on and get better at." Her debut in the 60-55 win at Fordham saw her tie for team-high scoring honors with 14, to go with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and five of the team's 21 turn- overs. "It was awesome," the perky Brunelle said of her college debut. "I thought I was going to be a little more nervous than I actually was … We learned a lot." "The whole team was jittery," Mc- Graw said. "We were just so fortu- nate to win the game." WIN NO. 1,000 The Notre Dame women's basket- ball program recorded its 1,000th all- time win since debuting in 1977-78, and it took just about every second to get there with a 60-55 victory at Fordham Nov. 5. Brunelle and sophomore guard Katlyn Gilbert, who was medically redshirted last season (shoulder sur- gery), paced the Irish in scoring with 14 points apiece, with Gilbert coming off the bench because of preseason injuries that held her back. Peoples picked up two early fouls and sat the final 16:40 of the first half, but responded well in the second, finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds. Walker recorded a dou- ble-double with 10 points and 10 re- bounds. The Fighting Irish went on a 17-0 run to take a 29-14 lead when the Rams missed their first 15 field goal attempts of the second quarter. Fordham closed the deficit to 36-24 at halftime and then sliced it to 39-33 at the start of the third quarter be- fore a Brunelle to Peoples backdoor basket-and-one provided the Irish a lift. However, at 5:40 of the third quarter, Vaughn went down with her knee injury. In the fourth quarter, Fordham kept chipping away, coming within 47-43 before shooting an air-ball three, fol- lowed by baskets from Brunelle and two more by Gilbert inside to extend the cushion back to 53-43. Kendell Heremaia converted her fourth three in seven tries to pull the Rams within 56-53 with 26.8 sec- onds left, and a Fordham offensive rebound and put-back made it 57-55. However, Notre Dame survived 4-of-8 free throw shooting in the final 27 seconds with a couple of offensive rebounds by Peoples and Gilbert that forced the Rams to continue to foul. "For a season opener, I thought that was awesome and that the fresh- men stepped up," McGraw said. "The rebound from Peoples won the game for us. We learned a lot about ourselves. "We didn't quit. We didn't put our heads down. We worked hard and we worked together." ✦ Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 5 at Fordham W, 60-55 Nov. 8 Loyola Maryland W, 84-60 Nov. 11 Tennessee (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Nov. 14 Michigan State (ACCN) 8 p.m. Nov. 20 Toledo (ACCN) 7 p.m. Nov. 23 at Michigan (BTN) 1 p.m. Nov. 28 vs. Florida Gulf Coast^ 1:30 p.m. Nov. 29 vs. South Dakota State^ 11 a.m. Nov. 30 vs. South Florida^ 11 a.m. Dec. 4 Minnesota (ACCN) 8 p.m. Dec. 8 at Connecticut (ESPN) 4 p.m. Dec. 11 DePaul (ACCN) 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21 Guelph& 1 p.m. Dec. 29 Clemson* (RSN) 4 p.m. Jan. 2 at Pittsburgh* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Jan. 5 at Syracuse* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET) Jan. 9 Boston College* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Jan. 12 NC State* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Jan. 16 at Duke* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Jan. 19 Miami* (ESPN2/ACCN) 1 p.m. Jan. 26 at Virginia* (ACCNE) 12:30 p.m. Jan. 30 Louisville* (ESPN/2) 7 p.m. Feb. 2 at Georgia Tech* (ACCN) 2 p.m. Feb. 6 at Wake Forest* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Feb. 9 Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 13 at Boston College* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at Louisville* (ACCN) 3 p.m. Feb. 20 Virginia Tech* (RSN) 8 p.m. Feb. 23 Syracuse* (ACCN) 12 p.m. Feb. 27 North Carolina* (ACCNE) 7 p.m. Mar. 1 at Florida State* (ESPN2/ACCN) 2 p.m. Mar. 4-8 ACC Tournament$ (ACCN) TBA 2019-20 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE ^ Cancun Challenge at Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico; & Exhibition; % ACC/Big Ten Challenge; * ACC game; $ at Greensboro, N.C; ACCN — ACC Network; BTN — Big Ten Network; RSN — Regional Sports Net- works; ACCNE — ACC Network Extra Three-Point Play 1. No Margin Of Error Already With sophomore guard Abby Prohaska and junior forward Mikayla Vaughn sidelined dur- ing what will be an arduous non-conference stretch the next month against five ranked teams — plus always talented Tennessee — all bets are off for now to make a 25th straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. There is not nearly enough experience to compensate this season like there was in 2018. Returning to the Big Dance would be quite a successful feat in itself. 2. Scoring Balance Head coach Muffet McGraw left no doubt that she expected the two freshmen to be among the top three scorers. The expecta- tion was that sophomore guard Katlyn Gilbert would be the third once she bounced back from numerous leg ailments. That trio along with fifth-year senior guard Destinee Walker — who debuted with a 10-point and 10-rebound double-double — is capable of averaging double-digit scoring. All four were McDonald's All-Americans, but staying healthy will be paramount. Other than Brunelle, the three-point options are a concern, and defenses eventually could play to that. 3. Defensive Intensity The team will have to hang its collective hat much more on defense this year, and there was at least signs of commitment there versus Fordham, especially with the activity along the perimeter. More than half of Fordham's shots came beyond the arc, where it was only 8 of 38. Without Vaughn, though, upcoming oppo- nents likely will not fire away so liberally from that far while patiently trying to work it in more. — Lou Somogyi Fighting Irish Top Loyola (Md.), 84-60 Leaning on a guard-centered attack, Notre Dame moved to 2-0 with an 84-60 victory versus Loyola (Md.) Nov. 8 on a night when 2010-14 Irish center Natalie Achonwa was entered into the Ring of Honor. Sophomore Katlyn Gilbert poured in 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and a 6-of-7 effort from the foul line, while fifth-year senior guard Destinee Walker and freshman guard Anaya Peoples added 19 points apiece. Freshman forward Sam Brunelle contributed 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds to go with two blocked shots. Transition defense, depth and communica- tion on offense remain primary concerns. — Lou Somogyi