Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ideal balance, if you will. Loyd led the ACC in scoring with 20.5 points per game, and on occasion she put the scor- ing load on her back. This included a school-record-tying 41 points in an overtime win at DePaul in December, 34 in a conquest of Tennessee in Janu- ary and 31 in a hard-fought 71-61 win at Georgia Tech Feb. 19. Yet on other nights, she could tally in the teens while having three, four or five other teammates share the wealth. The ACC Tournament reflected that balance. In the quarterfinals against Mi- ami, Loyd let the game come to her with 16 points in the 77-61 Irish win. Yet a day later against No. 16 Duke when she needed to take over, she tallied 14 of Notre Dame's last 17 points. Then in the championship game, Loyd didn't force the issue but still tal- lied a game-high 18 points while three other teammates also scored in double figures. Collectively, the balance on the inte- rior was supplied with sophomore Taya Reimer and freshmen Brianna Turner and Kathryn Westbeld, who among them averaged 31.1 points and 17.2 re- bounds per game. None averaged more than 24.4 minutes per contest, but the rotation worked well in player develop- ment and conditioning without putting too much on them too soon. The same occurred with Loyd's three complementary figures at guard or along the wing, with sophomore point guard Lindsay Allen, junior guard Mi- chaela Mabrey and senior wing Madi- son Cable. Mabrey and Cable were virtually in- terchangeable, and it showed with each posting a 6.7 scoring average. When Ca- ble was off her shooting game against Duke in the ACC Tournament semi- finals, Mabrey's three treys early on opened up the Irish lead. The next day versus FSU, Mabrey was 0 of 5 from the floor, but Cable responded with 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc while tal- lying 13 points. Starting can sometimes be overrated. Cable averaged 21.2 minutes per game while Mabrey was at 22.9. Overall team effectiveness can be enhanced by not having to play either one 30 to 35 min- utes. It's about knowing who is in a The Stat Lines Notre Dame's final individual stats during its 31-2 regular season before entering NCAA Tour- nament action: Scoring: Jewell Loyd (20.5 points per game), Brianna Turner (13.8), Taya Reimer (10.1), Lind- say Allen (9.9), Kathryn Westbeld (7.2), Madison Cable (6.7) and Michaela Mabrey (6.7). Loyd's scoring average so far is the most ever in a season at Notre Dame, just ahead of Katryna Gaither's 20.4 during the Final Four campaign in 1996-97. Rebounds: Turner (7.5 per game), Reimer (6.0), Loyd (5.4), Westbeld and Cable (4.3). Assists: Allen (170), Loyd (102), Mabrey (85), Westbeld (59) and Reimer (57). Cable led the team in steals with 52, while Loyd had 50 and Allen 43. Turner's 77 blocked shots were well ahead of No. 2 Reimer's 33. Loyd and Allen started all 33 games, with Loyd averaging 31.4 minutes per game and Allen 30.4. Five others averaged 18.0 to 24.4. Notre Dame finished second nationally in field goal percentage (49.8) and fourth in scoring (81.2 points per game). The one area that wasn't as strong as expected was rebounding, which still was 17th with a plus-8.7 margin per contest.