Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL right spots," said McGraw, describing what she likes about Patberg. "She really understands the game, and I think she can take some pressure off Lindsay. "This year with the foul trouble Lindsay got into, it would have been great to have had Ali ready. There will be a learning curve … I was hop‑ ing this summer she could be back in working at it." Patberg actually might be just the third best player in her class. Guards Arike Og u nbowale and Mari na Mabrey provided instant offense off the bench, finishing as the third‑ and fourth‑leading scorers on the team with averages of 11.4 and 10.7 points Only one program — Connecticut — has ever advanced to the women's Final Four at least six straight years. It remained so after Stanford's 90‑84 victory versus No. 2 Notre Dame March 25 in Lexington, Ky. The defeat concluded a string of five consecutive Final Four appearances by head coach Muffet Mc‑ Graw's program; ended Notre Dame's 26‑game winning streak for a 33‑2 finish; and snapped the string of 27 consecutive Fighting Irish victories that were decided by single digits and/or in overtime, dating back to a 63‑54 loss to UConn in the 2012 Big East Tournament. Stanford, which also had a streak of five consecutive Final Fours from 2008‑12 and is the most recent team to defeat UConn (in November 2014), used a 10‑0 run in the first quarter to build an 18‑12 lead and never looked back. Led by junior post Erica McCall's 9‑of‑11 shooting from the field, the Cardinal shot 20 of 31 (64.5 percent), including 6 of 9 (66.7 percent) beyond the arc, in the first half while building a 50‑39 cushion at the intermission. Stanford committed only three turnovers in the first half and also consistently beat the Irish on backdoor passes and give‑and‑go buckets against the defense — when Notre Dame opted to try to play some. The second half saw the cushion build to 54‑39, and every time Notre Dame was on the brink of a run — it cut the lead to 67‑61, 78‑74 and even 81‑78 — Stanford answered with a three. The dagger occurred when junior Karlie Samuelson released a desperate 30‑footer just as the shot clock sounded — and saw the ball bank in for a trey with 1:31 left for an 84‑78 lead. Samuelson was 5 of 6 from three‑point range and had open looks far too often prior to coup de grace. Overall, Stanford shot 33 of 59 (55.9 percent) from the field, including 11 of 20 (55.0 percent) from three‑point range. The previous best field goal shooting against the Irish this season was 52.4. "Normally you have to have the other team help you out when you're trying to come back," McGraw said. "They've got to miss some shots, and we just couldn't get them to miss." McCall finished with a career‑high 27 points, while four other Cardinal players tallied double figures. Notre Dame's "Big Three" of Lindsay Allen (20 points), Brianna Turner (16 points, all in the second half) and Madison Cable (12 points) combined for 48. Notre Dame shot a fine 49.3 percent from the field (including 4 of 6 from three), was 12 of 13 from the foul line, had a 34‑28 rebounding advantage (15‑9 on offense) and committed only eight turnovers. Yet Stanford's efficiency, including only seven turnovers, combined with Notre Dame's lack of execution and intensity on defense until near the end, became too much to overcome. — Lou Somogyi Stanford Stuns Notre Dame In Sweet 16