Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1305649
58 NOV. 7, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI A phenomenal 2010-19 decade that featured eight conference regular- season or tournament titles (Big East or ACC), seven Final Fours, five title appearances and the 2018 national championship endured the ultimate thud to begin the 2020s. The graduation/departure of all five starters from 2019, a couple of transfers and a litany of injuries rav- aged the 2019-20 lineup, resulting in a 13-18 finish and eventually the retirement of Naismith Hall of Fame head coach Muffet McGraw. After a year of work in the NBA, former 2007-19 Fighting Irish assis- tant Niele Ivey, also the point guard for the 2001 national champs, was handed the reins and eagerly antici- pates returning the program into su- perpower status in the coming years. Youth will continue to permeate the 2020-21 edition, although the top returning scorer from last year is a sixth-year senior in 5-10 former North Carolina graduate transfer guard Des- tinee Walker (14.5 points per game). Also returning are three All-ACC freshmen from last season: 6-2 for- ward Sam Brunelle (13.9 points per game), 5-10 guard Anaya Peoples (12.6 points and a team-high 8.1 re- bounds per game before undergo- ing shoulder surgery in late January) and 5-10 guard Katlyn Gilbert (13.6 points per game), who took a medi- cal redshirt the previous year. Six newcomers fortify the lineup, led by junior Virginia Tech transfer guard Dara Mabrey and five incom- ing freshmen, four of whom were top-50-ranked recruits. Practice began Oct. 14, and Ivey met with the media Oct. 26 to pro- vide an initial overview. Here are some of the top questions in 2019-20, with some opinions mixed in: Has the schedule been released yet? It is expected to be announced pos- sibly the first week of November. • Amidst the global COVID-19 pan- demic, the NCAA Division I Council ruled that Division I men's and wom- en's basketball can play games starting on Nov. 25 (two weeks later than nor- mal). No exhibitions or closed scrim- mages will be allowed before that date. • There will be 20 ACC games (18 last year), with the first on Dec. 10. • Four or five non-conference games will be on the docket, and they are projected to be regionalized bus trips. Annual rival Connecticut will not be on this year's non-conference slate. Will fans be allowed to attend games at Notre Dame? That's doubtful other than family, but if fans can go it will be quite lim- ited. Ivey did indicate this is something the university is still evaluating, with volleyball, the lone indoor fall sport, used as a primary reference point. "We're just very fortunate to be able to play," Ivey noted. Have there been any COVID-19 setbacks on the team? There has been no stoppage in prac- tice. Since returning on Aug. 10 for fall semester, phase one included only one coach working with one player, and phase two still required working out in masks. Phase three is being able to partake in five-on-zero work, while phase four (not yet reached) would be engaging in five-on-five action. The football team has served as a strong example of protocol with the pandemic. "They were here early, and they pretty much created the playbook for all sports teams," Ivey said. "… I've used a lot of the examples that they've set. We've had conversations with their director of operations and other coaches just to make sure we were following guidelines." What is the team's overall health? Junior guard Abby Prohaska has been cleared after medically redshirt- ing last season because of pulmonary embolism, and Peoples was cleared in the summer from her shoulder surgery. "She is playing at a very high level, she's in better shape and she's worked on her game," Ivey praised of Peoples. "She's been an extremely bright spot, and I'm super excited for her. She has incredible potential." Brunelle also overcame a battle with tendinitis. The prime unsettling area is with the "bigs." • Junior 6-4 forward Danielle Cos- grove, who has played sparingly, an- nounced earlier this month that she has left for this semester to work on mental health back at her home in New York, and plans to return for the second semester. She visited with the team the weekend of Oct. 24. "She has a great relationship with our team," Ivey said. "As a coach, I just wanted to make sure she has all the resources she needs in order to get better. Mental health is one of the number one problems with college student-athletes. "Having been a student-athlete, I understand the pressures that they have. I'm hoping we can continue to help them and take care of them outside of just development as bas- ketball players." Meditation and even yoga sessions have been added to facilitate those endeavors. • Senior 6-3 center Mikayla Vaughn, who played 20 games last year and averaged 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in 26.6 minutes of action per contest, is recovering from spring knee sur- gery and is projected to be available in "a month and a half," or by the time the ACC slate commences. • Freshman 6-4 center Natalija Mar- shall tore her ACL last Dec. 4 and, like Notre Dame On The Rebound As Niele Ivey Begins First Season Ivey's first Fighting Irish team began practicing on Oct. 14, with a goal of dramatically improving on last year's 13-18 showing. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS