Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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the year, but in turn it masked some deficiencies on defense for the young squad. McGraw tore into her squad for a lackadaisical effort on defense during an 89-76 win at home against Georgia Tech Jan. 22. In the five games since then, the Irish held their opponents to only 51.8 points per contest, although it was the weaker part of the schedule. Still, more wrinkles have been added to the defense as the younger players get more comfortable. Senior Madison Cable and freshman Mychal Johnson both provide consistent hustle and ball pressure off the bench, and the athletic talents of the rangy Turner are being used more at the front of the full-court press, similar to Devereaux Peters several years ago. "She's really hard to get around at the top of it, and I think she's getting a lot more comfortable getting up on the ball," McGraw said of Turner in the press. There is no mistaking that it is still Connecticut's world in women's col- lege basketball, almost similar to UCLA men's basketball from 1964-75 with John Wooden. Yet with contin- ued improvement, Notre Dame might have another opportunity in April to challenge for the ultimate upset in tourney action. ✦ In a five-game stretch from Jan. 24-Feb. 8, the Irish heeded head coach Muffet McGraw's call for better defense and limited opponents to only 51.8 points per contest. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND The Stat Lines Entering its Feb. 16 nationally televised contest versus Duke, here were the numbers for Notre Dame: Top Scorers: Jewell Loyd (20.7 points per game), Brianna Turner (15.0), Lindsay Allen (10.6), Taya Re- imer (9.9), Kathryn Westbeld (7.9), Michaela Mabrey (7.5) and Madison Cable (6.0). Top Rebounders: Turner (7.5 per game), Reimer (6.4), Loyd (5.1), Westbeld (4.3) and Cable (4.1). Most Assists: Allen (123), Loyd (82), Mabrey (71), Westbeld (46) and Reimer (43). Loyd and Cable shared the team lead in steals with 41 apiece, while Allen had 37. Turner's 55 blocked shots were easily the most, with Reimer next at 20. Loyd averaged 30.1 minutes per game and Allen 29.1. Five others averaged anywhere from 18.0 to 24.2 in the rotation. Notre Dame's .510 field goal percentage was second nationally to UConn's .534, and the Irish also were fourth in scoring average (84.9 points per game) and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.386).