Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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greatest support system in the world with my teammates and coaches. That gave me a lot of confidence when I did come back that I can pick up where I left off." Through 13 games, McBride was third in scoring (12.0 points per con- test), third in rebounds (4.5 per game) and third in assists (1.9 per game) while converting a stellar 54.2 percent of her field goal attempts. Against the supremely quick Ken- tucky Wildcats, McBride brought the ball up court on occasions to allay some pressure of both Diggins and Mallory. "They had a bigger post player on me since we had four guards out there, so we felt I could just take them off dribble and I felt comfortable get- ting to the basket." McBride played a lot at the point in high school, and competing against Date Opponent Result/Time (ET)/TV Nov. 11 Akron# B 2011-12 WOMEN'S Nov. 13 Indiana State# Nov. 17 Hartford# Nov. 20 at Baylor# Nov. 25 vs. USC^ Nov. 26 vs. Duke^ Dec. 2 Pennsylvania Dec. 4 at Creighton Dec. 7 Marquette* Dec. 10 at Purdue Dec. 18 Kentucky Dec. 20 Central Florida Dec. 28 Longwood Dec. 30 at Mercer Jan. 4 Jan. 7 at Seton Hall* Connecticut* Jan. 10 at Georgetown* Jan. 14 at Cincinnati* Jan. 17 Pittsburgh* Jan. 21 Villanova* Jan. 23 Tennessee Jan. 28 at St. John's* Jan. 31 at Rutgers* Feb. 5 DePaul* Feb. 7 at Syracuse* Feb. 12 West Virginia* Feb. 14 Providence* Feb. 20 at Louisville* Feb. 25 South Florida* Feb. 27 at Connecticut* ASKETBALL SCHEDULE W, 81-61 W, 99-34 W, 98-43 L, 94-81 W, 80-58 W, 56-54 W, 69-38 W, 76-48 W, 95-42 W, 66-38 W, 92-83 W, 90-38 W, 92-26 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 4 p.m./CBS 7 p.m./CBSSN 3 p.m. 7 p.m. 1 p.m. 7 p.m./ESPN2 12 p.m./BEN 7 p.m.CBSSN 1 p.m./ESPNU 7 p.m. 3:30 p.m./ESPNU 7 p.m. 2 p.m./ESPN 2 p.m. Mar. 2-6 Big East Championship! 9 p.m./ESPN2 TBD # Preseason WNIT (Akron, Baylor, Chattanooga, Detroit, Drexel, East Tennessee State, Hartford, Howard, Indiana State, Long Island, Manhattan, McNeese State, Notre Dame, Tennessee Tech, UAB, UCLA); ^ Junkanoo Jam at Freeport, Bahamas; * Big East game; ! at XL Center in Hartford, Conn.; CBSNN — CBS Sports Network, BTN — Big Ten Network, BEN — Big East Network www.BLUEANDGOLD.com Forward Natalie Achonwa tallied 15 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots in just 19 minutes in Notre Dame's 92-83 win over No. 7 Kentucky Dec. 19. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND National Player of the Year candidate Diggins last year in daily practices honed her skills even more. "As we get to play more guard-ori- ented teams, I think I'm going to have to take advantage of the post a little bit more," McBride said. McGraw predicted in the preseason that McBride could win the Big East's Most Improved Award. "I think it was another way of her challenging me to be the best player I can be," McBride said. "It makes it easier to player harder for her and play all these different roles because she has so much confidence in my ability." Also inspiring is playing with such a veteran starting lineup. "They've been in all these big- time games — it gave me something to work for because they are so far ahead," McBride said. "But it makes me a better player because it makes me more aware of what I need to work on." "She's going to be a really good de- fender for us, she can rebound, she can play so many positions," Mc- Graw said. "She's also got that edge, that little chip on the shoulder of, 'I missed some time last year and I want to make up for it.' " It is a "Fifth Dimension" in a lineup that has the Irish in harmony again. ✦ An Ace In The Hole In a starting lineup that features four guards — with fifth-year senior Devereaux Peters the exception — Notre Dame still has an Ace up its collective sleeve when it can turn to 6-3 sophomore Natalie "Ace" Achonwa. At age 16 in September 2009, the Guelph, Ont., native was the youngest player ever se- lected to the Canadian Senior National Team, so Big East action was not as daunting for her last season as it might be for most freshmen. While playing 18.3 minutes per game last season, she averaged 6.9 points and 5.3 re- bounds to earn Big East All-Freshman Team honors for the national runner-up. However, her path to succeed the graduated Becca Bruszewski (8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game) in the post took a detour in late Octo- ber when knee surgery was required to repair a torn meniscus. After missing the first three contests, Achonwa gradually has eased back into the lineup and thrived with 15 points, five re- bounds, two assists and two blocked shots in 19 minutes versus No. 7 Kentucky in a 92-83 Irish victory Dec. 19. "She's just so smart," praised Irish head coach Muffet McGraw of Achonwa's ability to maximize her production. " She's really aware of where the ball is." Her 75-inch wingspan is believed to be the longest in McGraw's 25 seasons at Notre Dame, but Achonwa also is comfortable run- ning the floor. "We're a fast-breaking team," Achonwa said. "With [senior Devereaux] Peters as fast and agile as she is … I just focus on re- bounding and getting the outlet quickly to get it up the floor. I think there were 267 possessions for both teams against Kentucky, and we had a lot of fun do- ing it." A combination of Peters and a now healthier Achonwa on the inside might be able to help the No. 3 Irish challenge No. 1 Baylor team for the brass ring this spring. National Player of the Year can- didate and 6-8 Brittney Griner leads the Bears. "My teammates have done a great job of challenging me to get back in shape and get ready for game-like situations," said Achonwa, who was just beginning to recuperate from surgery when the Irish lost 94-81 at Baylor on Nov. 20. Bruszewski's leadership wasn't going to be replaced by one person, but Achon- wa's skills can help compensate for it. "We distribute it amongst the team," Achonwa said of the veteran's taking on Bruszewski's vocal presence. "I'm just trying to get that physicality we lost with her and trying to guard the post like she did — just trying to fill the little gaps she left." — Lou Somogyi FEBRUARY 2012 47