Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WOMEN'S BASKEBALL she took only one shot and also sat the final nine minutes because of foul trouble. Turner did respond with a strong second half with 17 points, 10 of them in the opening three minutes, but it was an example of the roller- coaster days even the best of rookies will confront. Fellow rookie and McDonald's All- American Kathryn Westbeld, who at 6-2 can play along the wing or in the post, also had a taste of college life on the road with four fouls in 17 minutes of action. Like Reimer, junior captain Mi- chaela Mabrey was in an ideal niche last season as "instant offense" off the bench. This year as a starter is a differ- ent dynamic, and the team's best pure shooter was 1 of 7 from the floor in East Lansing while having to take on more of a lead role. McGraw warned that it would not be healthy for the team if the dynamic Loyd has to average 20 points per game, although she did acknowledge "there are going to be games where we need her to score a lot." Michigan State was one of them when she tallied 14 points in each half for a game-high 28 points to go with 11 rebounds. However, when Loyd too was in foul trouble and sat for a stretch in the first half, the Irish trailed 30-29 at halftime and were out of sync. Michigan State still was within one at 48-47 before an 8-0 Irish run, capped by a Turner drive and then two free throws by her to give Notre Dame some cushion. It was Notre Dame's Mychal Johnson Latest Freshman To Emerge Notre Dame improved to 3-0 with an 88-53 victory versus Chattanooga Nov. 21. In a three-woman freshman class that features 6-3 Gatorade National Player of the Year Brianna Turner and 6-2 McDonald's All-American Kathryn Westbeld, 5-9 guard Mychal Johnson had her own coming out party with 17 points on her 19th birthday. Johnson supplied instant offense to complement All-American junior guard Jewell Loyd, who finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. In 22 minutes, Johnson was 6 of 9 from the field — highlighted by converting 5 of 6 beyond the arc — for 17 points to go with three rebounds, two assists and a block. "We are always looking for that spark off the bench and wonder who it's going to be," Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said. "Today it was Mychal. We have so many options and she really took her opportunity today." Known for her tenacious defense, Johnson also has a smooth shooting stroke and a scorer's mentality. "Whenever I come in the game they tell me I have the green light," Johnson said. "I hear that from my teammates, too." Turner converted 6 of 7 shots for 12 points to go with five rebounds, while sophomore forward Taya Reimer had 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Sophomore point guard Lindsay Allen — who committed her first turnover of the season — made all five of her shots, handed out a game-high six assists and made three steals. "She knows what to run, what to call, who to get the ball to, and she's able to find opportunities for herself," McGraw said of Allen. "It's important for us to have that third scorer." — Lou Somogyi