Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/50205
if not capture the brass ring for the second time. So when the No. 2 Irish were toppled 94-81 by No. 1 Baylor on Nov. 20, its mettle was tested — and the response has been encouraging during a 9-1 start and a No. 3 na- tional ranking heading into final ex- ams the week of Dec. 12-16: • During Thanksgiving week- end (Nov. 25-26) in the Junkanoo Jam Freeport Division in Freeport, Bahamas, Notre Dame thumped USC (80-58) before rallying from an 18-point deficit against No. 7 Duke for a 56-54 triumph. • Following romps against Penn (69-38) and Creighton (76-48), Notre Dame opened its Big East campaign on Dec. 7 with a 95-42 demolition of Marquette, the most lopsided league victory by the Irish since they de- feated Georgetown by 56 points on March 4, 2001 en route to the national title. • Three days later in a showdown Junior guard Skylar Diggins served as Notre Dame's offensive catalyst during its 9-1 start, leading the Irish in both scoring (16.7 points per game) and assists (5.7 per game). STAYING HUNGRY D Complacency is not an option for the No. 3 Irish BY LOU SOMOGYI ealing with the burden of ex- pectations has exacted a toll on some of Notre Dame's greatest programs and coaches in recent years. Just this fall it might have been taken for granted that Irish head coach Randy Waldrum's women's soccer team — which had an as- tounding run to the NCAA title in 2010 — would be in the hunt for an- other championship in 2011. Instead, Notre Dame sputtered to a 10-8-3 finish after combining for a 68-7-3 record and three Final Fours the pre- vious three seasons. Hockey coach Jeff Jackson created a "Miracle On Ice" at Notre Dame that led to the construction of the 54 JANUARY 2012 sparkling new Compton Family Cen- ter. Yet even after a couple of CCHA titles, a first ever Frozen Four berth (2008) and a No. 1 seed (2009), he said a sense of entitlement briefly in- filtrated the program in 2009-10 with a 13-17-8 finish. So far this year, newly inducted Women's Basketball Hall of Fame basketball coach Muffet McGraw has not seen evidence of a letdown or signs of complacency despite receiv- ing unprecedented preseason adula- tion in her 25th season as the Irish boss. On the heels of McGraw's third Final Four in 14 years and the re- turn of four starters plus proven depth, Notre Dame was a popular preseason pick, along with Baylor, to return to such heights this season, PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS at No. 12 Purdue, Notre Dame domi- nated from start to finish with a 66-38 thrashing of the Boilermakers. It was only the ninth time in school his- tory that the proud Purdue program — the 1999 national champion and the runner-up to the Irish in 2001 — scored fewer than 40 points in a game. Notre Dame forced 24 turn- overs and held Purdue to 24.1-per- cent shooting from the field — the fifth-worst mark in the program's history. Prior to 2007, the Irish had been 0-8 at Purdue's Mackey Arena. McGraw's response was typical of a coach whose aspirations go far be- yond just trying to be competitive. "We can be a lot better," she said. "We missed some easy shots. We put them on the line way too much." Nevertheless, she was willing to acknowledge: "Defensively, I thought we're about we're where we need to be." NATALIE NOVOSEL: LADY ICE In the 56-54 conquest of Duke on Nov. 26, Notre Dame tied a program record by rallying from an 18-point second-half deficit to post a victory. The Irish trailed 36-20 at halftime and fell behind by 18 in the first min- ute of the second half. With senior re- serve guard Fraderica Miller serving as Notre Dame's defensive catalyst, Duke then missed its next 14 field goal attempts (it shot 19 percent in the second half), and Notre Dame BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED