Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/605097
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL when two of them are freshmen." Rookie guard Marina Mabrey de- buted with an impressive 16-point performance versus Bucknell … but was held in check by Toledo while committing five turnovers in 15 min- utes. Classmate Arike Ogunbowale had nine points in each contest, dis- playing aggressiveness followed by occasional uncertainty. Sophomore forward Kathryn West- beld paced the balanced attack versus Toledo with 13 points on 6-of-9 shoot- ing from the floor in 23 minutes. A huge boost was provided off the bench by junior forward Taya Reimer, who has recovered from an Achilles injury she has had since the summer while playing in the Pan Am Games. Reimer saw her first action of the year and converted 4 of 6 shots from the floor in her 16 minutes of action. "She just has that big-game experi- ence and the defensive ability, and she's a good communicator," McGraw said of Reimer. "She just makes us all a little bit more confident because she's done it all before. Having that experience in the lineup is really important for us." The story of the game was going to a 1-2-2 zone midway through the second quarter (women's college basketball now has four 10-minute quarters). To- ledo trailed only 19-15 when the Irish closed with a 10-2 flurry to lead 29-17 at halftime. A 17-0 run while not allowing a field goal for a stretch of 12:40 built a 46-21 cushion. The defensive performance allayed the early woes on offense by the Irish. "I was really happy at halftime," Mc- Graw said. "They only had 17 points. … That's all we can control. We can't control the ball going into the basket. Today the 1-2-2 was great. The next game we might not play any zone. We'll give some different looks in dif- ferent games, depending on the offense and how we're guarding them." For now, McGraw is still taking the temperature of the overall team, be it in South Dakota or Bahamas. ✦ Three-Point Play 1. Making A Point — The season-ending in- jury to freshman Ali Patberg (knee) makes ju- nior Lindsay Allen indispensable at point guard. While others can fill in, in spots, no one rivals her skills, her combination as a passer, scorer and floor general/leader, and her quickness. De- veloping sophomore Mychal Johnson, who has been slowed while overcoming a knee problem, could be essential as the year progresses. 2. Cable Services — Often overshadowed by eight McDonald's All-Americans teammates, fifth-year senior Madison Cable remains a sta- bilizing force. During the 2-0 start she led the team in minutes (56), scoring (15.5 points per game), shooting percentage in both games (63.2 percent), threes (4 of 8, while no else made more than one), steals (five) and, per usual, floor burns and dives after loose balls. You can't ask for a better complementary player. 3. Turner's Turn — Sophomore post Brianna Turner led the nation in field goal percentage last year (65.2), mainly with fast-break layups, put-backs and low-post feeds while defenses concentrated on 2015 WNBA Rookie of the Year Jewell Loyd. This year with defenses more cen- tered on her, Turner's repertoire, especially the mid-range shot, will need to expand to avoid ef- forts like the 2-of-8 night she had versus Toledo. — Lou Somogyi