Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 SEPT. 7, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA U SA Basketball had some golden Notre Dame flair at this summer's Olympic Games in Paris. On a star-studded Team USA roster that won the United States' eighth Olym- pic gold medal in a row dating back to 1996, Notre Dame's own Jackie Young placed third in tournament-long scoring behind A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart. Good company. Wilson, an NCAA cham- pion in 2017 and college player of the year in 2018 at South Carolina, led Team USA to a perfect 6-0 record at the games with an aver- age of 18.7 points per game. Stewart, a four-time national champ and three-time NCAA Player of the Year at UConn, was right behind her at 16.3 points per outing. Nobody else on the elite 12-player roster scored more points per game than Fighting Irish alumnae Young at 9.5 points per contest. Young led USA in scoring for a three- game stretch that started with the fi- nal group phase matchup against Ger- many and spanned through a semifinals meeting with Australia. She scored 16.0 points per game in those three U.S. vic- tories. Young also tied with Wilson for a team lead of 1.5 steals per game. "USA Basketball is about defense," Young told USAB.com. "We're trying to have a defensive mindset, execute being up and apply ball pressure. Knowing ev- erybody can score the ball, I'm just taking care of business on the defensive end." Wilson and Stewart were the stars of the show, but Young once again played a valuable role in the United States earn- ing another gold medal. It's her second at the Olympics; she won one with Team USA's 3x3 squad at the Tokyo Games three years ago. "I don't think she gets the love she deserves," Team USA's Kelsey Plum told USAB.com in 2023. "She works her butt off every year. She plays the one-through-three and guards the best player on the opposing team every night. I see her in Vegas, and she works every day, whether it's lifting or shoot- ing after practice. Players like that are what make winning teams." Winning teams are also comprised of lesser role players, and former Notre Dame guard Jewell Loyd was just that for the Americans in Paris. Loyd played 11.3 minutes per game in five appearances and finished the games with 3.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Her best moments were in the sec- ond group phase game against Belgium when she scored 8 points, grabbed 3 re- bounds and dished out 3 assists. Young helped Notre Dame win the national championship in 2018 and was the ACC Tour- nament MVP in 2019. Before her, Loyd was the ACC Player of the Year and a first-team Associated Press All-Amer- ican in 2015 and a two-time ACC Tournament MVP in 2014 and 2015. THREE OTHER IRISH COMPETE IN PARIS Current Notre Dame guard Cassandre Prosper and former Irish guard Natalie Achonwa were contributors for Canada at the Paris Olympics, while former Notre Dame center Lauren Ebo was a vital piece of the Nigerian team. Canada lost all three of its pool play games but not be- fore Achonwa, the Canadian basketball team's first-ever fo u r- t i m e O ly m p i a n , b e - came the country's all-time leader in Olympic assists when she notched her 37th. She had 12 in Canada's three games, more than any of her teammates. Achonwa scored 4.3 points, secured 5.7 rebounds and dished out 4.0 assists in 20.3 minutes per game. She also came away with 1.3 steals per contest. Prosper, a junior who's back in South Bend with the Irish preparing for the 2024-25 season, only played 5.5 minutes per game and finished with av- erages of 1.3 points, 1.0 assist and 0.7 rebounds in her three appearances. Ebo, who only played one season at Notre Dame in 2022-23 as a graduate transfer from Penn State and Texas, was not much of a factor for a Nigerian team that went 2-2 in France, losing to Team USA, 88-74, in the quarterfinals. She made an appearance in all four games, including a high of five minutes against the U.S., and made 1 of 4 attempts from the field to come away with 2 total points for the tournament. She also registered 3 rebounds and 2 assists across her four games played. ✦ Former Fighting Irish Players Shine In Olympic Spotlight Former Notre Dame guards Jackie Young and Jewell Loyd were instrumental in helping Team USA win a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. IMAGE COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS WOMEN'S B A S K E T B A L L