Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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until the final week of the regular sea- son, beginning with an 8-of-8 shooting performance from the floor during a 68-52 victory versus No. 8 Louisville Feb. 23. Six of the buckets came in the 10- to 15-foot range. It was what she practiced the most in February while trying to emulate the mid-range excel- lence of 2014 Notre Dame All-Ameri- can Kayla McBride, the No. 3 pick in last spring's WNBA Draft. Once Reimer began drilling the jumpers, it opened up the floor more and created better spacing, and it has also allowed her to beat defenders off the dribble when they come out to challenge her more consistent mid- range skills. In high school, the Fishers, Ind., na- tive could roam freely along the pe- rimeter, jack up three-pointers with regularity and dominate however she wanted. She has since adjusted as a high-post player who can also plant herself in the blocks on occasion. "Just the way we run our offense, we have so much room for that high-post, mid-range action with the Princeton offense and doing so much high-low," Reimer said. "That's where Coach em- phasized getting the open looks for me. "K-Mac really made a living from the mid-range her entire career here. I've been trying to get some of the shots she used to get from that mid- range area. In our offense there is a lot of opportunity and my game kind of allows that. That's one of my strengths and I'm glad it's finally coming out. That just adds more dimensions to our offense and gives me more options personally." At the ACC Tournament, Reimer came full circle while helping avenge the loss to Miami. In the quarterfinal 77-61 victory versus the Hurricanes March 6, she recorded 13 points, five rebounds and all three of the team's blocked shots. Then in the champion- ship conquest of Florida State (71-58), Reimer tallied 16 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Being in the middle of the action again never felt so good. ✦ Back Home Again With Indiana Sophomore Taya Reimer is the lone Indiana native (Fishers) on the 2014-15 Irish roster, but no state has been kinder to the Notre Dame program. Four of the six all-time leading scorers for the Irish are from the Hoosier state: Skylar Diggins, current associate head coach Beth Morgan Cun- ningham, Ruth Riley and Jacqueline Batteast. Reimer next year will be joined by guard Ali Patberg, a McDonald's All-American, and two years from now by Jackie Young, another guard who became Indiana's first female to score 1,000 points in a season. Patberg led Columbus North to Indiana's Class 4A state title March 7 by scoring 31 points, grab- bing nine rebounds and handing out five assists while helping overcome a nine-point second-half deficit. Young entered the 3A championship game av- eraging 32.2 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.8 as- sists while shooting an amazing 69 percent from the floor. In the title game victory, she tallied 36 points to go with 12 rebounds and six assists. Look for more on Notre Dame's incoming re- cruits in the next edition. — Lou Somogyi