WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
six scorers and adding two different
National Player of the Year recruits,
provides a promising window of
hope compared to the last four when
there was a tacit "learned helpless‑
ness" in women's college basketball.
BRIANNA TURNER
IS THE CENTERPIECE
Barring an early Jewell Loyd‑like
WNBA defection by current sopho‑
more post and second‑team Asso‑
ciated Press All‑American Brianna
Turner after the 2016‑17 season, Mc‑
Graw might have her two most indi‑
vidually talented and deepest Notre
Dame teams in her three decades of
coaching in the coming two years.
When Loyd suddenly bolted last
spring after her junior campaign, and
starter/captain Taya Reimer left the
program in December, popular opin‑
ion held that the youth‑laden Irish
would be a "year away" from vying
for the national title.
There will be eight McDonald's All‑
Americans on the Irish roster next
year compared to UConn's four (in‑
cluding incoming 5‑6 point guard
Crystal Dangerfield).
All-American sophomore forward Brianna Turner — who paced the team with 14.6 points, 7.3 rebounds
and 3.0 blocks per game — underwent shoulder surgery in April and will rehab for four to six months.
PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND
