Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/79481
field goals attempted (35.5 percent), but even more telling was Baylor's 46-27 domination on the boards and 40 points scored in the paint. Notre Dame this year included: • In the Sweet 16 at Raleigh, N.C., The extraordinary achievements by FOR THE RECORD on March 25, Notre Dame set an NCAA Tournament record for few- est points allowed in a regional game with its 79-35 victory versus No. 21 St. Bonaventure. • Two days later against No. 5 Maryland, the 80-49 trouncing of the Terps was the program's largest mar- gin of victory ever against a top-10 opponent. • Versus Maryland, Diggins re- Notre Dame made only 22 of 62 Reloading In 2012-13 starters, most notably 6-8 Brittany Griner, return from this past season's 40-0 edition. For Notre Dame, it's about whether it can reach the Final Four a third straight season. The Irish are taking a huge hit with the graduation of three starters: honorable mention All-American On the outside, it's an easy concession that Baylor will repeat as the 2012-13 national champs. All five Natalie Novosel (15.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this past season), two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Devereaux Peters (11.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game) and defensive specialist Brittany Mallory, who also was second this past season in assists (90) and three-pointers made (39). Nevertheless, head coach Muffet McGraw's squad might be deemed top-10 material — SI.com has it No. 9 in its initial preseason rankings — for one reason alone: Skylar Diggins. The consensus All-American won the Nancy Lieberman Award this past season as the nation's top point guard while leading the Irish in scoring (16.8 points per game), assists (222, nearly two and a half times more than anyone else) and steals (102, making her the first Irish player to eclipse the century mark in a season). After the loss to Baylor, the vocal Diggins vowed to ratchet up her already stellar leadership even more as a senior. "I thought I didn't have good leadership out there tonight as far as keeping our fire," said Diggins, who has propelled 29-5, 31-8 and 35-4 campaigns. "But I'll do better — I promise." She will be joined by swingman and fellow former McDonald's All-American Kayla McBride (11.6 against seven-time national champ Connecticut in the Final Four at Den- ver on April 1, Notre Dame became the first school to defeat the Hus- kies three times in one season since Miami in 1992-93. McGraw also is 3-0 versus the Huskies in Final Four action. • For the second year in a row, cut and Stanford as the four No. 1 seeds that made it to the Final Four — the first time that has occurred since 1989. Notre Dame also defeated all four No. 2 seeds this year: Duke (56-54), Kentucky (92-83) and Ten- nessee (72-44) in the regular season, and then Maryland (80-49) in the Elite Eight. • With its 83-75 overtime victory corded 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds to become the first wom- en's college player in seven years to achieve a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament (and 13th overall in 31 years). A Notre Dame women's player hadn't achieved a triple-dou- ble since Feb. 15, 1990, when Sara Liebscher recorded 17 points, 12 re- bounds and 10 assists against Detroit. • The Irish joined Baylor, Connecti- points per game), who is proficient as a handler or in the post, and 6-3 center Natalie Achonwa (7.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game), both of whom had productive sophomore years. "[Achonwa] is really talented, and I think she's got a great future," McGraw said. "The way she played against Maryland [18 points and seven rebounds in the Elite Eight] was a great start for her to move into next year." Although 6-2 forward Markisha Wright saw limited action as a freshman, McGraw expects her to make a significant impact next season. "I wish I would have played her more throughout the year, because she's strong and she's a really good low-block player, which we don't really have," McGraw said. There are no low-post players in the incoming three-woman freshman class, but Chicago-area guard Jewell Loyd would appear to be a logical option to help replace Novosel — and eventually succeed Diggins as the program's mega-star. The 5-9 Loyd is ranked as the nation's No. 1 shooting guard and is a consensus top-five national recruit after averaging 26.9 points and 12.0 rebounds per game as a senior. She earned MVP honors at the WBCA All-America Game that was played in Denver at the Pepsi Center, as part of the Final Four festivities. Baylor will be the overwhelming No. 1 pick again, but the Irish will still look to move "4-ward." — Lou Somogyi Notre Dame defeated Tennessee and UConn, who have combined for 15 of the game's 31 NCAA Tournament titles, in the same season. Only North Carolina can match that claim. • Notre Dame had a sparkling 15-3 record against top-25 opponents this season — 11-3 away from home. Seven of those victories came against top-10 teams. Those 15 wins easily eclipsed the previous single-season school record of 10 set by the 34-2 national champs in 2001. ✦ www.BLUEANDGOLD.com Coming off productive sophomore campaigns, center Natalie Achonwa (left) and forward Kayla McBride (right) will take on more prominent roles for the Irish next season. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND MAY 2012 49