Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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56 NOV. 7, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI F or the fourth straight year, two McDonald's All-American freshmen are projected to make major impacts on Notre Dame's aspiration to win a national title. Forward Erin Boley and guard Jackie Young — named the Gatorade and Naismith National Player of the Year, respectively — continue a tradi- tion that has put the Fighting Irish be- hind only Connecticut as the nation's top women's basketball program since 2010. • In 2013-14, point guard Lindsay Allen started all 36 games for the Final Four team, led the ACC in assist-to- turnover ratio and was named a third- team freshman All-American, while forward Taya Reimer (now at Michi- gan State) was the top player off the bench. • In 2014-15, post Brianna Turner was named national freshman of the year by at least one outlet, while for- ward Kathryn Westbeld's 39 appear- ances as a rookie tied a school record. • Last year as super subs off the bench, freshmen Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey averaged 11.4 and 10.7 points per game, respectively, while making the All-ACC Freshman Team. It was the first time since the 1981-82 season — the infancy stage of the Fight- ing Irish program — two freshmen at Notre Dame averaged double-digit scoring. Yet it wouldn't be a surprise if it occurred with Boley and Young. With Mabrey and Ogunbowale now in the starting lineup, the new freshmen duo that combined for an otherworldly 6,593 career points in high school will take on the "instant offense" role. Young's 3,268 points were the most ever by any Indiana girls or boys player, and she averaged 34.9 points per game as a senior. Boley, mean- while, tallied 3,325 career points while beginning her Kentucky high school playing career in the eighth grade. Most encouraging to 30th-year Fighting Irish head coach Muffet Mc- Graw is neither is measuring her value by scoring output. "They really don't care how many points they score," she said. "I talked to both about their goals, and scoring wasn't even mentioned. … The big- gest challenge to me is who is that glue player going to be? Who is going to be out there that doesn't need to score, but just wants to facilitate? "There are a lot of scorers, but only one ball. Who will bring that ability to make the pass and the little plays? That's something I'm actually a little worried about. … That's going to be my challenge, to figure out who plays well together." How much the two rookies aid the defense and rebounding will better dictate their minutes, because McGraw said both already have the green light to shoot and score. "That's what they do best, and I want them to be comfortable doing it and try not to do anything to discour- age their confidence," McGraw said. "The defense, the rebounding, those kind of things get you on the floor a little quicker than offense, although both of them are so accomplished of- fensively. That's the least of my worries. It's, 'Can you guard at the other end?'" For the 6-0 Young, defense always has been a mandate, but her scoring prowess overshadowed it. "I feel like some people think that because I was the all-time leading scorer, that's all I did, and I didn't have to play defense," Young said. "But during AAU [summer basketball], I would want to take the best player on the other team and show people that I could guard. I think that will be my role here, too." For McGraw, Young's pressure defense and rebounding has been a standout aspect in practices. Even in last spring's McDonald's All-America Game, Young corralled 10 rebounds to go with her 15 points and two steals in 28 minutes. "Jackie's made great strides," Mc- TWO MORE FOR THE SHOW Erin Boley and Jackie Young are projected to be the next freshman making a major impact Although she is the all-time leading scorer in Indiana high school basketball history, Young especially takes pride in her defense. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND According to head coach Muffet McGraw, Boley is the best pure shooter on the team, especially from three-point range. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND