Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1349365
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2021 49 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL cally at times, but it's something we have to grow with as a team. I'm still trying to find that answer." Aiding the Notre Dame collapse were its top two low-post figures, Sam Brunelle — more of a perimeter figure — and Mikki Vaughn, fouling out with 2:53 and 2:31, respectively, remaining in the game. A layup by Clemson freshman Gabby Elliott — who scored a career- high 25 points — with 1:28 remaining put the Tigers ahead 61-60 for the first time since the opening minutes of the first quarter. Later with the shot clock running down, Tigers three-point specialist Kendall Spray banked in a despera- tion three with 18 seconds to provide a four-point cushion. Freshman Maddy Westbeld con- verted a basket-and-one with 14 sec- onds left to cut the deficit to 64-63, but three seconds later Clemson's Amari Robinson, daughter of 1986-90 Notre Dame men's player Keith Robinson, knocked down two free throws. A three-point attempt by Dara Mabrey to tie it hit the back iron, and Spray sealed it with two more free throws for the 68-63 final. THE PATTERN • In the opener at Ohio U. Nov. 27, the Irish built a 77-70 lead with 6:03 left before suffering an 86-85 loss. It would be a harbinger. • At Boston College Jan. 7, the Ea- gles rallied to victory after trailing 60-48 with only 2:41 remaining, and were also down as much as 14 (58-44). • At North Carolina Jan. 24, the Irish built their largest lead at 70-63 with 4:36 left before the Tar Heels closed with a 15-3 run to win 78-73. • On Jan. 31 at Syracuse, Notre Dame led by 15 in the first half (30-15), 44-34 at the half and 65-58 through three quarters — and then were outscored 23-4 in the fourth quarter while converting just 2 of 14 shots (14.3 percent) from the field in those final 10 minutes. The Clemson debacle followed suit. "We think too much, and in the fourth quarter we try not to turn the ball over," said Westbeld, the ACC Rookie of the Year who converted 10 of 11 field goals against the Tigers while grabbing nine rebounds. "In our heads we're thinking, 'Don't turn the ball over,' and I think when that's conscious in our minds — we just overthink. "… I gave up a lot of offensive re- bounds in the fourth quarter, and that was huge. That's definitely what helped them get back." ✦ Freshman Olivia Miles tallied 10 points, eight assists and five rebounds in Notre Dame's 68-63 loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament March 4. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS 2020-21 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 27 at Ohio L, 86-85 Nov. 29 Miami (Ohio) W, 88-68 Dec. 3 Michigan L, 76-66 Dec. 6 IUPUI W, 65-58 Dec. 13 Georgia Tech* L, 82-67 Dec. 17 Virginia Tech* W, 84-78 Dec. 20 at Clemson* L, 78-55 Dec. 31 at Miami* W, 71-60 Jan. 3 Georgia Tech* W, 69-67 Jan. 7 at Boston College* L, 64-61 Jan. 14 Wake Forest* W, 79-72 Jan. 17 Boston College* W, 83-73 Jan. 21 at Virginia Tech* W, 65-60 Jan. 24 at North Carolina* L, 78-73 Jan. 31 at Syracuse* L, 81-69 Feb. 7 at Louisville* L, 71-65 Feb. 15 at NC State* Canceled Feb. 18 Syracuse* Canceled Feb. 22 at Pittsburgh* W, 59-48 Feb. 25 Florida State* W, 72-64 Feb. 28 Louisville* L, 78-61 March 4 vs. Clemson^ L, 68-63 * ACC game; ^ ACC Tournament at Greensboro, N.C. Three-Point Play 1. On-The-Job Training Considering that Notre Dame was 13-18 last year even with a Naismith Hall of Fame head coach in Muffet McGraw, the 10-10 record of her handpicked successor Niele Ivey was at least improvement during a challenging pandemic year and constant lineup shuffling with new faces. Still, the team's proclivity to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory was unsettling while a first-time head coach learned on the job. The learning curve needs to accelerate dramatically next season on a roster that will feature six McDonald's All-Americans, not even including top-10 recruit and early enrollee Olivia Miles. "We have our ups and downs, our highs and lows," Ivey said. "You trust the process. I know I'm growing through this, and I know this is going to make me a better coach in the future. It couldn't have gone any better." 2. Turnovers And Rebounds Notre Dame finished the regular season 236th out of 336 Division I teams in turnovers (17.1 per game) and 191st in rebounding margin at minus-0.7 per game, including 70 more offensive rebounds by the opposition. Those stats spoke to the need of leadership at point guard and a stronger low-post presence. Point guard should be taken care of in years to come with Olivia Miles. Although she was never inserted into a starter's role in her six regular-season games since enrolling early in January, Miles increased her minutes from 10 to 30 over those six games and conspicuously became more aggressive and confident, averaging 9.3 points per game and handing out eight assists in the loss to Clemson. "Every day she's blossoming and doing something a little bit more," Ivey said. "Just having a true point guard on the floor really opens up the offense." 3. Moving On Although former North Carolina graduate transfer Destinee Walker — who led the team in scoring last season and was second this year (11.4) behind freshman forward Maddy Westbeld (15.2) — has a seventh season of eligibility, she indicated she will be moving on with her professional aspirations. Senior center Mikki Vaughn, who averaged 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this year, also has the option to return at least next season, but has been non-committal about it and indicated she probably won't. — Lou Somogyi