Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FTHE VALUED IFTH WHEELS Sophomore duo aids veteran Final Four-caliber lineup Kayla McBride — who joins Diggins and Peters as one of three McDonald's All-Americans in the starting lineup — has become the program's most versatile player while starting all 13 games for the 12-1 and No. 3-ranked Irish. Meanwhile, 6-3 center Natalie "Ace" Achonwa (see sidebar), a 2011 All-Big East Freshman selection, has overcome an early-season knee in- jury to provide an inside presence to complement Peters. In the 92-83 victory versus No. 7 Kentucky on Dec. 18, the duo flour- ished. McBride had 17 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Achonwa was 5 of 6 from both the floor and foul line for 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 19 minutes off the bench. Fifth wheels? More like added horsepower to an already humming engine. "We have six starters," McGraw said. "One of [those two] is going to start, and when Ace went down with a knee injury, it made it easier to decide." The tandem keeps the near future as bright as the present. McBride easily could have joined Achonwa on last year's All-Big East Freshman Team, but missed the sec- ond half of the season while attending to an unspecified off-the-court issue. However, she was still allowed to practice with the team, and always took the role of the opposing team's top player. "She was hard to guard," McGraw Through 13 games, guard/forward Kayla McBride ranked third on the team in scoring (12.0 points per contest), third in rebounds (4.5) and third in assists (1.9). PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BY LOU SOMOGYI E verything seems to be coming up fours for the Notre Dame women's basketball program. Junior point guard Skylar Diggins wears No. 4 and is the face of the program. Meanwhile, the Irish are gunning for their fourth trip to the Final Four — in large part because of the return of four starters from last year's edition that advanced to the national title game. The quartet of fifth-year seniors De- vereaux Peters and Brittany Mallory, senior Natalie Novosel and Diggins is well known in women's collegiate 46 FEBRUARY 2012 basketball circles and even amongst cursory Irish followers. Peters, Novosel and Diggins were teammates on Team USA when it won the gold medal at the World Univer- sity Games this summer, while Mal- lory has been a fourth cornerstone and a glue figure in the Notre Dame lineup. Replacing the graduated Becca Bruszewski in the starting five was the primary personnel move for 25th- year Irish head coach Muffet McGraw this season, and a pair of dynamic sophomores have been anything but "fifth wheels" in the Irish attack. Dynamic 5-11 guard/forward said of McBride, who can play point guard or power forward in a pinch, but is usually on the wing with her handling skills. "She's really crafty with the ball." More pronounced than her versatil- ity is her hunger. "It allowed me to come back with a little bit of vengeance and a little bit of fire under me," McBride said of her 2011 winter/spring purgatory. "Just being in there and seeing how hard they worked and watching them play in the national championship game and knowing that I couldn't do any- thing, it gives me a lot more sense of urgency. "It makes me want to get out there and give every ounce I can to the team just because I felt I let them down so much not being able to play. It's like starting over, yet I feel I have the BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED