Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/123805
No Sky, But Still Plenty Of Stars The end of the Skylar Diggins era at Notre Dame doesn't signal the conclusion of the Fighting Irish maintaining an elite status in women's college basketball. Since the 1996-97 season, Notre Dame's 444 victories are the fourth most in the country, behind only Connecticut (577), Tennessee (529) and Duke (493). A significant drop-off is not anticipated during the 2013-14 season thanks to the upgrade Diggins' presence provided on the recruiting circuit. That's not to say Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw is anticipating a transition without some bumps. "She leaves a gigantic hole in the lineup," McGraw said shortly after this year's Final Four loss to Connecticut. "I don't think any one person can replace her. It's a lot of pressure on our incoming point guard to be good right away." The Irish return four starters from this year's 35-2 team, and that nucleus will be augmented by a fourperson freshman class that is ranked No. 3 nationally by multiple recruiting outlets. It is headlined by two McDonald's All-Americans: 6-2 forward Taya Reimer and 5-8 point guard Lindsay Allen, who is Diggins' likely replacement at the point. Last year, Notre Dame graduated three starters from back-to-back national runner-ups, notably No. 3 WNBA pick Devereaux Peters in the post and No. 8 selection Natalie Novosel at guard. Yet the Irish still possessed the star power and team cohesion to return to the Final Four in 2013. It will be replete with many stars again in 2013-14: • Guard Kayla McBride (15.9 points per game) was named to the 10-member Coaches' All-America Basketball Team in 2013, and at 5-11 she has the skills and quickness to handle the ball or the strength to post up. • Center Natalie Achonwa (13.8 points, 9.5 rebounds per game) used her 6-3 frame to notch a singleseason school-record 19 double-doubles in points and rebounds en route to Associated Press honorable mention All-America notice. • The No. 1-rated shooting guard coming out of high school last year, Jewell Loyd (12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game) earned National Freshman of the Year honors. She is the team's best athlete and might be the face of the program in the years to come. In five NCAA Tournament games, she averaged 16.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. That "Big Three" will spearhead the transition to the Atlantic Coast Conference, where Duke and North Carolina have been the perennial powers and also boast top-three recruiting classes. Connecticut will be the overwhelming favorite to repeat as the national champion, but Notre Dame no longer will have to play them as a Big East member. Leading the complementary/role players will be 6-1 junior forward Ariel Braker, who started 32 games this past year. Juniors Markisha Wright (6-2) and Madison Cable (5-11) both averaged about 15 minutes per contest, while 5-10 sophomore Michaela Mabrey also had her moments, including drilling three treys in four attempts during a Jan. 5 upset of No. 1 UConn. It would not be a surprise, though, if freshmen Reimer and Allen become major figures right away the way Loyd did this past season. — Lou Somogyi