Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2017 93 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL they would go out and execute it. "That's been my problem this year, because I didn't grasp how much more they needed. We need to call more timeouts, we need to go through it more, we need more instruction. I have to be more patient, and I have to do a lot more than I've been doing. That's what I've learned. "This is all new for them. They weren't here for all those Final Fours. They are making the climb. We're back to the beginning where we really have to work to get there." THE ROAD BACK It speaks volumes about the pro- gram's excellence when a 22-3 mark (10-1 in the ACC) is classified as an "off" year. It is a place 99.9 percent of the coaching profession aspires to- ward. Highlighting the resurgence was vic- tories over top-15 ranked Duke (62-58) and Louisville, with the former pro- pelled by superb defense and the latter by efficient offense. Duke was limited to 11, 11 and 12 points the final three quarters while converting 12 of 39 (30.8 percent) field- goal attempts. Meanwhile, Irish All- American forward Brianna Turner as- serted her dominance on both ends of the floor with 25 points and 12 re- bounds, plus a powerful defensive presence. Versus Louisville, the best quarter of the season came in the second. During those 10 minutes, the Fight- ing Irish out-scored the Cardinals 31- 14, assisted on eight of their 12 baskets, had a 13-6 advantage on the boards and committed zero turnovers. In fact, the Irish — led by one of the nation's elite floor generals in senior Lindsay Allen (8.8 points, 7.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game) — had a goose egg in turnovers throughout the first half and finished with three, tying the school record set 10 years earlier. Five Notre Dame players scored in double figures, led by sophomore guard Arike Ogunbowale's 22 on 8-of- 16 shooting (2 of 4 from three-point range). Some earlier injuries/health issues also have had to be overcome: • Freshman guard Jackie Young (7.2 points and 3.8 rebounds), who had to battle thumb and ankle injuries, has begun rounding into form. • Junior starting forward Kathryn Westbeld (8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest), the newly found glue fig- ure on the team, has been unable to practice since Jan. 21 with a right ankle injury. • Junior guard Mychal Johnson is sidelined for at least several weeks with a dislocated shoulder, but sopho- more Ali Patberg is beginning to get into the rotation a little more after com- batting ACL surgery and illness. • Turner (14.7 points, 7.6 rebounds per game) is beginning to flourish and proving herself to be maybe the most athletic post player in the nation. Her 57 blocked shots (and countless alter- ations) are more than the rest of the team combined (53). • The potent sophomore tandem of Arike Ogunbowale (a team-high 15.0 points per game) and Marina Mabrey (13.0 points per game) have combined for 84 converted threes at a 40-percent clip. More significant, both have ratch- eted up their defensive intensity, and Ogunbowale's passing and court vi- sion have improved appreciably, in- cluding a career-high six assists at Vir- gina Tech and a team-high three in the first half versus Louisville one game later. Mabrey is second on the team in assists with 64. • Freshman Erin Boley (6.2 points per game) has made significant strides in rebounding and on defense while starting in place of Westbeld and chal- lenging senior Kristina Nelson for front-line minutes. ✦ 2016-17 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 3 Roberts Wesleyan# W, 129-50 Nov. 11 Central Michigan! W, 107-47 Nov. 14 Fordham! W, 67-36 Nov. 17 Green Bay! W, 71-67 Nov. 20 Washington! W, 71-60 Nov. 22 vs. Louisiana Lafayette& W, 91-51 Nov. 26 TCU W, 92-59 Nov. 30 at Iowa@ W, 73-58 Dec. 4 Valparaiso W, 114-54 Dec. 7 Connecticut L, 61-72 Dec. 10 at DePaul W, 75-61 Dec. 18 at Toledo W, 85-68 Dec. 20 at Michigan State W, 79-61 Dec. 27 at Chattanooga W, 79-58 Dec. 29 at North Carolina State* L, 70-62 Jan. 2 at Georgia Tech* W, 55-38 Jan. 5 Wake Forest* W, 92-72 Jan. 7 at Miami* W, 67-55 Jan. 12 Pittsburgh W, 86-54 Jan. 16 at Tennessee L, 71-69 Jan. 19 at Boston College W, 80-69 Jan. 22 at North Carolina W, 77-55 Jan. 26 Duke W, 62-58 Jan. 29 Virginia W, 82-74 Feb. 2 at Virginia Tech W, 76-59 Feb. 6 Louisville W, 85-66 Feb. 12 Georgia Tech* 1 p.m. Feb. 16 at Clemson* 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Syracuse* (ESPN2) 5 p.m. Feb. 23 Boston College* 7 p.m. Feb. 26 Florida State* (ESPN2) 1 p.m. March 1-5 ACC Tournament^ TBD # Exhibition; ! Preseason WNIT; CBSSN — CBS Sports Net- work; & at the Campbell Center in Houston; @ ACC-Big Ten Challenge; * ACC game; ^ at HTC Center in Conway, S.C. Three-Point Play 1. Practice Makes Perfect? — Junior forward Kathryn Westbeld has not practiced a single day since her Jan. 21 ankle injury in practice that has healed at a slow pace, yet she has been providing a huge spark off the bench. This has McGraw seriously contemplating whether that might be Westbeld's best role moving forward. In victories versus Virginia Tech (Feb. 2) and No. 12 Louisville (Feb. 6), Westbeld went 7 of 8 from the field both times, but she also has been a facilitator in the high post with four assists in each game, making the Irish tougher to guard. "She's probably the one player on the team that is capable of doing that," McGraw said of Westbeld excelling without the practice reps. 2. Young Love — Former Naismith National Player of the Year and freshman Jackie Young has not been able to get into a consistent rhythm this season while battling various in- juries, but her performance against Louisville flashed her immense promise. She attacked the glass, highlighted by six rebounds in the first half (four on offense) and drove the ball much more aggressively to the hoop, finish- ing with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. She still bypassed about four open looks from three-point range, and that's still to come. "I've been waiting for this game, and I think it's going to really fuel her confidence," Mc- Graw said. 3. Assisted Living — Lindsay Allen took an uncharacteristic 13 shots from the field (she averages six) versus Louisville while tallying a season-best 15 points, yet her assist total remains at an all-time high with eight more against the Cardinals to go with four steals. In her last five contests through Feb. 6, she handed out 50 assists compared to 15 turn- overs. With 753 career assists, Allen moved past Skylar Diggins for second place on the all-time Irish chart. — Lou Somogyi