Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ond-chance opportunities. Although her scoring average of 14.0 points per game is second on the team to junior guard and National Player of the Year candidate Loyd (21.8 points per game), Turner sees her first role as a defensive presence. Along with 6-2 sophomore Taya Reimer and Loyd, Turner can help the Irish control the boards and allow their transition game to thrive, especially when it has been in four-guard sets. "That's a big part of our team's game — transition," Turner said. "Getting a block, getting a quick rebound and the outlet to our guards so they can run the floor really helps out offense." The absence of Turner for four games had both its pros and cons in team development and finding an identity before entering league play. "They had to relearn weak-side help and how the rotation works defen- sively, different ways to guard the ball Breathing Easier Social or political statements in an athletic arena can have polarizing repercussions. The Notre Dame women's basketball team discovered that after donning "I Can't Breathe" warm‑up T‑shirts prior to the tip‑off Dec. 13 versus Michigan. It was a protest of the Eric Garner case in New York City this summer that became racially charged and prompted much debate throughout the country about police brutality. Although the Irish players emphasized it was not anti‑law enforcement, the backlash from their political statements created some discontent locally and among the fan base. A local police officer even began sales of "Breathe Easy: Don't Break The Law" shirts in response. Representatives of the women's basketball program met later that week with South Bend, Mishawaka and St. Joseph County Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) organizations, and with representatives from the Indiana State Police and Notre Dame Security Police departments. The positive dialogue that ensued resulted in the team and law enforcement officials standing together for the national anthem at the Dec. 21 home game versus Saint Joseph's. It also served to honor the policemen killed in action recently. "We have a number of people who have ties to law enforcement and we wanted to make that clear," Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. "I thought we said it last week, but we wanted to really make it clear this week we're still supportive of them." The Irish head coach described the ensuing week after the "I Can't Breathe" T‑shirts as a "teachable moment" for her student‑athletes. "It was really good for us," she said. "When you take a stand about something, you have to expect that everybody is not going to agree with you. So it was good for them to have to go through that and un‑ derstand that if you want to stand up for yourself, there's going to be people who are not in agreement. "You can't expect just because you stand up for something — everybody has a right to stand up for what they believe in, too. That's what so great about America. Everybody has freedom of speech, so today we wanted to let our fans have an appreciation for the local law enforcement, and I thought that went over really well. "It was a long week emotionally for everyone, and so we're glad it's behind us and we're moving for‑ ward in a positive way." — Lou Somogyi