Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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imer (11.4 point and 7.9 rebounds per game) up front and Lindsay Allen at the point (8.6 points per game and a team-high 31 assists and 14 steals) have provided an immediate boost. They give Notre Dame a school-record five McDonald's All-Americans, with McBride and sophomores Jewell Loyd and Michaela Mabrey joining the frosh. That's not even including Canadian Natalie Achonwa, who has played on her country's national team. "They have a lot of great individual pieces, but I think they're even better in their teamwork than they are individually," Close said. From the outside looking in, Close said there can be a blessing and a curse when a team has such a powerful leader as Diggins. "Skylar Diggins was incredibly charismatic, [and] when the game was on the line everybody knew who was going to shoot the ball," Close said. "I think in those pressurized situations those are really, really powerful things and there is no arguing what Skylar brought to this program. "What I saw on film is there is no deferring to anybody else, there is no deferring to one person. And so now you don't have as much ball watching, you're preparing for that next pass, that next cut … I just think they're creating easier shots for themselves this year by the way they're ducking into the post … "I don't think there's anytime where they're looking, 'Okay, what's Skylar going to do, and how I do I react to that?' It's 'What am I going to do and how do I contribute to that next play?' You put five of those decision makers in the mix on a consistent basis, I just think you have the potential to grow into a stronger team." And remain elite as ever. ✦ Balancing Act Back in August, head coach Muffet McGraw declared that this should be her best rebounding team in her 27 years with the program. Entering the weekend of Dec. 14, the 8-0 Irish led the nation in rebound margin (19.2 per game). Notre Dame also was second in field goal percentage (.521), seventh in scoring (89.6 points per game) and seventh in turnover/assists ratio (1.46). The team was well balanced entering the Dec. 14 Michigan game: Scoring: Jewell Loyd (16.9 points per game), Kayla McBride (14.8), Natalie Achonwa (13.0), Taya Reimer (11.4), Michaela Mabrey (10.0), Lindsay Allen (8.8), Madison Cable (6.6) and Ariel Braker (4.1). Rebounding: Achonwa (8.9 rebounds per game), Reimer (7.9), Loyd (7.0), McBride (6.0) and Braker (5.8). Assists: Allen (31), Mabrey (30), McBride (29), Loyd (21), Reimer (17) and Braker (15). • Loyd might be the best pure athlete McGraw has ever coached. • Achonwa returned to action Nov. 23 in game four after suffering a torn meniscus in the preseason. In her four most recent games, she averaged 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per outing. • While the freshman Allen — a pre-med major — is the starting point guard, McBride and Mabrey have also been used there to allay some of the workload off the rookie. "It's a learning process. … it's hard," McBride said of playing point. The team's top three-point shooter with 12 made, Mabrey handed out seven assists and made four steals in the win against UCLA. — Lou Somogyi