Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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56 OCT. 22, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY TYLER HORKA T here's a saying that's popular in American culture lately: "The same, but different." It's used to mean that two things are more or less the same in spite of discernible differences. The 2021-22 Notre Dame women's basketball roster compared to that of 2022-23 might as well be the poster child of the saying. The roster turnover was quite pro- found, once again. Four transfers (guards Anaya Peoples to DePaul, Abby Prohaska to San Diego State and Katlyn Gilbert to Missouri, and forward Sam Brunelle to Virginia) left the program, in addition to starting center Maya Dodson getting se- lected No. 26 overall in the WNBA Draft. Poof, just like that, five important pieces from the prior roster went out the door. But here's the kicker: Dodson was the only starter from last year's Sweet 16 team to leave. Sophomore point guard Olivia Miles is back. So is graduate stu- dent shooting guard Dara Mabrey along with sophomore combo guard Sonia Cit- ron and junior forward Maddy Westbeld. That quartet combined for 47.3 points per game last season. All four will likely be on the court together when Notre Dame opens the season at Purcell Pavil- ion against Northern Illinois Nov. 7. For fans in attendance, that'll look familiar. Almost exactly the same, minus Dod- son. Not so different. Those four know what it was like to be a possession away from the Elite Eight this past March, too. Notre Dame lost to North Carolina State 66-63 in the Sweet 16. "Our phrase is 'hungry for more,'" head coach Niele Ivey said. "We tasted it. I think you can utilize a loss for the next season. It's going to always be in the back of their heads. They're going to have a chip on their shoulder. "They know how good they can be. They know the potential. They showed it last year. Raising that standard, rais- ing that expectation every day is what I know they're going to do." Given the departures, they're going to need some help. Dodson and the four transfers com- bined for 27.2 points per game. That's a healthy chunk of scoring. How will Notre Dame overcome that? Not easily. The three transfers brought in — gradu- ate students Lauren Ebo from Texas and Jenna Brown from Stanford, and junior Kylee Watson from Oregon — combined for 11.8 points per game last year. Brown did not play at all in Palo Alto because of an ACL injury. She's been practicing this fall with a hefty brace on her right knee. Ebo started 30 of 35 games in Aus- tin and scored 8.0 points per game, and Watson scored 3.8 points in 32 games and nine starts in Eugene. The production of true freshman and former McDonald's All-American KK Bransford is to be determined. But say she's able to do what Citron did and average 11.8 points per game as a true freshman. That would match what Ebo and Watson combined for a season ago Notre Dame Marches Forward With A Combination Of New And Old Faces Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey looks to build upon a season in which the Irish went 24-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS "Our phrase is 'hungry for more.' We tasted it. I think you can utilize a loss for the next season. It's going to always be in the back of their heads. They're going to have a chip on their shoulder. "They know how good they can be. They know the potential. They showed it last year. Raising that standard, raising that expectation every day is what I know they're going to do." HEAD COACH NIELE IVEY ON BUILDING ON LAST YEAR'S SWEET 16 APPEARANCE