Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/601719
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL nior Hannah Huffman were the first players off the Irish bench a little more than four minutes into the game. Ogun- bowale's 29 minutes of action were five more than any of the other 10 players who were healthy enough to compete. A physically compact but powerful player whom head coach Muffet Mc- Graw predicted will get to the foul line the most often this year, Ogunbowale finished with 14 points, but forced some shots while converting 5 of 14 — including 1 of 5 beyond the arc — and knocking down 3 of 4 from the charity stripe. "My strength is getting to the bas- ket," she admitted. "I could have driven more; I had a couple of poor shots. I know in the future I need to keep driving to the basket. It'll be harder for them to stop me, especially if they have smaller guards. I can take advantage of that." McGraw said playing time for the two McDonald's All-Americans is bound to increase if their defense com- plements their offense. "They each played well and got a lot of scoring, which is what we are expecting from both of them," McGraw said. "They can help us on the boards, they can both pass, and they can both score." Although strong guard play in Mc- Graw's Princeton offense is essential, the Irish are not necessarily perimeter oriented, especially if the two freshmen can continue to show their ability to beat teams off the dribble to the basket. In other notes from the game: • Three Fighting Irish players were sidelined. Freshman guard Ali Patberg is out for the year with a torn ACL. Junior forward Taya Reimer (Achilles) and sophomore guard Mychal Johnson (knee) were projected to be ready for the Nov. 15 opener. • The starting unit featured 6-3 sophomore preseason ACC Player of the Year Brianna Turner in the post (18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor in 19 minutes), 6-2 sophomore forward Kathryn Westbeld, and a back- court with fifth-year senior Madison Cable, senior Michaela Mabrey and ju- nior point guard Lindsay Allen. "We struggled a bit on offense when Lindsay went out of the game," Mc- Graw said. "That's something we have to work on." • Cable had a team-high nine turn- overs, but played 24 minutes, contrib- uted five steals and was the team's top three-point shooter (2 of 3) while tally- ing 12 points. ✦ Erin Boley Signs With Irish The early signing period (Nov. 11‑18) for the 2016 recruiting class saw Notre Dame receive a signature from 6‑2 Elizabethtown, Ky., forward Erin Boley, the nation's No. 5 overall prospect per ESPNHoopgurlz and the state's two‑time Gatorade Player of the Year. However, Notre Dame held off any signing day publicity and interviews until Nov. 16 when 5‑11 Princeton, Ind., guard Jackie Young, ESPNHoop‑ gurlz's No. 11 prospect overall, had scheduled to ink her letter of intent, following her season opener from the weekend. Look for news on both 2016 Fighting Irish signees in the next edition. — Lou Somogyi