Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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82 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY TYLER HORKA T he shrieking screams said everything. They were heard throughout Pur- cell Pavilion Jan. 22. It didn't matter where you sat — you heard them. Notre Dame graduate student guard Dara Mabrey is the only person who can say how much of the cries were devoted to sheer pain and how much of them were an ability to process what just trans- pired and what it meant for the future. Mabrey tore her ACL and fractured her tibial plateau in the second minute of the Fighting Irish's 76-54 victory over Virginia. After starting all 135 of the games she played in two years at Virginia Tech and three at Notre Dame, Mabrey's college career ended in audible agony beneath a basket in South Bend. "While it certainly is not the way that I wanted to go out, I'm confident that everything happens for a reason," Mabrey wrote in a social media post. "I know that I will find peace with my situ- ation as I recover in the coming months." In the four games in the immediate aftermath of Mabrey's injury, the Irish faced three ranked opponents. They went 1-2 in those matchups and aver- aged 61 points in the two losses, well under their season-long average of 77 points per game through the first 22 matchups of the season. Making matters worse, graduate stu- dent center Lauren Ebo did not play in either of the losses. She made her first start in a Notre Dame uniform in the only win, a 70-47 triumph over then- No. 24 Florida State in the first game af- ter Mabrey's injury. Ebo scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds. Then she put on a walking boot and was out indefinitely with a sprained ankle. Ebo was expected to be back some- time in February. Meanwhile, Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey is down to eight healthy scholarship players for as long as she's out. The depth in the frontcourt is especially thin. Down the stretch versus then-No. 16 Duke Feb. 5, Ivey employed a lineup with four guards and junior forward Maddy Westbeld, all 6-foot-3 of her, at the center position. Notre Dame proceeded to only make 2 of 13 shot attempts in a six-point fourth quarter. The Irish (18-4 overall, 9-3 ACC) lost 57-52 at home in a battle for first place in the ACC standings. "We just couldn't get the ball to go in the basket," Ivey said. "There were a bunch of plays back to back to back that we were just so close. Just couldn't get over that hump. "Even when it was a one-point game, if we had made a basket in transition or one of our shots, I thought [the arena] was going to explode [taking the lead]. That's what I was waiting on." Mabrey or Ebo would have loved a chance to make their coach wait no longer. In losing Mabrey, the Irish are with- out a permanent floor-stretching three-point threat. Even when Mabrey was struggling as shooter just before her injury — she only made 5 of her last 38 three-point attempts — defenses had to account for her every minute she was Graduate student guard Dara Mabrey is out for the season with a torn ACL. She averaged 9.3 points per game in 18 starts. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS 2022-23 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 7 Northern Illinois W, 88-48 Nov. 12 vs. California+ W, 90-79 Nov. 16 at Northwestern W, 92-58 Nov. 20 Ball State W, 95-60 Nov. 24 vs. American^ W, 90-65 Nov. 26 vs. Arizona State^ W, 85-65 Dec. 1 Maryland% L, 74-72 Nov. 4 Connecticut! W, 74-60 Dec. 8 Lafayette Ppd. Dec. 10 Merrimack W, 108-44 Dec. 18 at Virginia Tech* W, 63-52 Dec. 21 Western Michigan W, 85-57 Dec. 29 at Miami* W, 66-63 Jan. 1 Boston College* W, 85-48 Jan. 8 at North Carolina* L, 60-50 Jan. 12 Wake Forest* W, 86-47 Jan. 15 at Syracuse* W, 72-56 Jan. 19 at Clemson* W, 57-54 Jan. 22 Virginia* W, 76-54 Jan. 26 Florida State* W, 70-47 Jan 29 at North Carolina State* L, 69-65 Feb. 2 at Boston College* W, 72-59 Feb. 5 Duke* L, 57-52 Feb. 9 Pittsburgh* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 12 Syracuse* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Feb. 16 Louisville* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Pittsburgh* (ACCNX) 2 p.m. Feb. 23 Georgia Tech* (RSN) 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at Louisville* (ESPN) 12 p.m. Mar. 1-5 ACC Tournament$ TBD + Shamrock Classic in St. Louis; ^ Goombay Splash at Bimini, Bahamas; % ACC/Big Ten Challenge; ! Women's Jimmy V Classic; * ACC game; $ at Greensboro, N.C. (ACCN — ACC Network; ACCNX — ACC Network Extra; RSN — Regional Sports Networks) Injuries Are Affecting The Irish's Ceiling This Season