Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 OCT. 19, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame women's basketball has been far from immune to the injury bug in recent seasons. It's biting earlier than usual ahead of the 2024-25 slate. Junior guard KK Bransford announced Oct. 7 that she will sit out the upcom- ing season to rehab an injury that's affected her performance for most of her time in South Bend. "Over the last couple of years, I have been dealing with a lower leg injury that has hindered my play at Notre Dame," Bransford wrote in a social media post. "I want to thank the coaches, the medical staff and the fans who have stuck with me while I've tried to play through it, but I have decided it is in my best interest to redshirt this season to get back to full strength. "While I will be watching from the bench this year, I know that it is best that I take the time to fully heal so I can reach my full potential and help my team in the long run. I can't wait to continue to grow as a player and teammate in the program. Even though I won't be on the floor physically, I will be with my teammates every step of the way!" Bransford briefly entered the NCAA transfer portal this offseason with the intent to find a new place to continue her college career. She ended up deciding Notre Dame was actually still the place to do so, though, a decision that was made only a couple of weeks after her portal entrance. A 5-11 guard from Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, Bransford won multiple Ohio state championships and was named the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year. She was the No. 29 overall player in the class of 2022 according to ESPN. Bransford has primarily been a role player at Notre Dame. She's appeared in 66 games with 19 starts, averaging 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 24.9 minutes of action per game. It's her effort and willingness to do the little things on de- fense that the Irish will miss the most. — Tyler Horka For the second time this season, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman had to announce the season-ending injury of his starting vyper. Sophomore Boubacar Traore injured his left knee against Louisville in Week 5. Just like graduate student Jordan Botelho, the ailment is significant enough to sideline Traore for the season. Botelho and Traore were Notre Dame's one- two punch at the vyper spot for the first two and a half games of the season. The former injured his knee in Week 3 at Purdue. He had to be carted off the field, and two days later Freeman told reporters Botelho was out for the year. Traore wasn't carted off the field, but he sat on the bench with a heavy wrap on his knee after going down versus the Cardinals. It didn't look good for him in the moment, and nine days later the Irish's injury report confirmed what was feared by many. Notre Dame's sack leader through five games won't see the field again until sometime in 2025. Per Pro Football Focus, Traore was tied for sec- ond among all Notre Dame defensive players in quarterback pressures through five games. He has 8 along with defensive tackles Rylie Mills and Jason Onye. Fellow defensive tackle Howard Cross III led the team with 9. Traore always seemed to show up in a positive way for the Irish in the first five games of his second season in South Bend. He returned an interception for a touchdown late in the first half against Purdue to put Notre Dame ahead 35-0 and effectively end the game. He had a tackle for loss to set the Cardinals behind the chains in the first quarter before he suffered his injury. Notre Dame will turn to junior Junior Tuihala- maka as its No. 1 vyper without Botelho and Traore in the mix. Freshman Loghan Thomas all of a sud- den gets a big boost up the depth chart. A special teams staple, Thomas has already burned his red- shirt in his first collegiate season. Now Notre Dame has every reason to give him a significant share of defensive snaps. He played 14 against Louisville. Tuihalamaka, meanwhile, played a career-high 48 defensive snaps against the Cards one week after he posted the highest PFF game grade of his career in Notre Dame's win of Miami (Ohio). He's going to have to keep stepping up in that way for the Irish moving forward at a very depleted position. — Tyler Horka Notre Dame Loses Boubacar Traore For The Rest Of The Season Irish Women's Basketball Guard To Sit Out The 2024-25 Season Traore, who led the Irish in sacks (3) and was tied for second in quarterback pressures (8) through five games, is out for the season after suffering a knee injury versus Louisville Sept. 28. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Junior KK Bransford, who has averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game during her Irish career, will sit out the 2024-25 season to rehab a foot injury. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER