Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 NOV. 13, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY LOU SOMOGYI O n Nov. 1, Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw felt like she had won a basketball doubleheader for the first time in her 31-year career with the Fighting Irish. A few hours prior to a 108-40 ex- hibition game victory versus Indi- ana (Pa.), the Fighting Irish coaching staff was informed by the NCAA that 6-4 junior transfer Jessica Shepard, a two-time All-Big Ten pick at Ne- braska and the nation's No. 3-rated high school player in 2015 by ES- PNW HoopGurlz and No. 4 by Prospects Nation, was approved by the NCAA to be eligible this season rather than sit out a year. It was tremendous news after a six- month period that saw Erin Boley and Ali Patberg transfer to Oregon and Indiana, respectively, 6-3 senior All-America forward Brianna Turner ruled out from action this season while recovering from ACL surgery, backup senior point guard Mychal Johnson tear her ACL in an Oct. 23 practice that will sideline her for the year, and 6-2 senior starter Kathryn Westbeld unable to practice much because of lingering ankle problems. "Great for our team, great for our depth, great for a lot of reasons … We can all kind of breathe a little bit better and easier knowing we have a little more depth," McGraw said regarding the decision on Shepard. Because she had already engaged in a full workout the day of the ex- hibition game, Shepard was inserted for only 15 minutes against Indiana (Pa.), and recorded seven points, four rebounds and four assists. "The thing I love about her the most is she's a great passer, and in our offense a facilitator in the high post who can really pass is a bless- ing," McGraw said. "She's incredibly unselfish and a great teammate. She can rebound, she can score in traffic, and she can score against good defenders a lot of different ways. "She's just going to help us be- cause she has that experience, that maturity, that leadership that we are lacking at times." "Everything's just a lot easier," Shepard said after playing on a 7-22 Nebraska team last year. "Having great passers surrounding you, hav- ing all these scorers and rebounders. For me it's just coming out and doing whatever we need that game. "One game it could be coming out and scoring a lot, one game it could be rebounding and focusing on de- fense. It's just knowing what the coaches want of me that game and making sure that I can play to that." The four-guard lineup with fifth- year senior graduate transfer Lili Thompson, juniors Arike Ogun- bowale and Marina Mabrey, and sophomore Jackie Young should be well complemented with Shepard and 6-3 ambidextrous freshman Mi- kayla Vaughn, who scored 30 points (12 of 13 from the field on mainly put-backs and fast breaks), grabbed eight rebounds and blocked five shots in the exhibition game. "I know that I have to do a lot more than scoring," said the assertive Vaughn, whose energy level has been lauded by McGraw from day one. "I need to do more rebounding, more blocking and make sure my defense is really on par with what our coach- ing staff wants from us." The Irish open the regular sea- son Nov. 11 versus Mt. St. Mary's, with McGraw hoping that Westbeld might be able to play a few minutes by then. ✦ HOCKEY (4-3-1) The No. 10 Fighting Irish split a home series with Nebraska Omaha Oct. 26-27. The Mavericks held off Notre Dame for a 6-4 victory in the opener, but the Irish rebounded for a 5-4 triumph in game two. Senior defenseman Jordan Gross tallied a goal and two assists in the win, bringing his career points total to 100. The Irish open Big Ten play at Ohio State Nov. 3-4, before returning home for a two-game series with Penn State Nov. 10-11. MEN'S SOCCER (10-5-2, 3-3-2 ACC) No. 21 Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 5-0 in the first round of the ACC Tournament Nov. 1 in South Bend. The Irish advanced to face No. 3 North Carolina in the quarterfinals Nov. 5 in Cary, N.C. Should the Irish beat the Tar Heels in the quarterfinals, they would move on to the semifinals Nov. 8. WOMEN'S SOCCER (9-6-4, 5-3-2 ACC) The Irish suffered a 4-1 loss to North Carolina State in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament Oct. 29. For now, Notre Dame is in wait-and-see mode regarding the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will take place Nov. 6. VOLLEYBALL (16-7, 6-6) After winning three straight conference matches, Notre Dame dropped back-to-back home games against Louisville (3-2) Oct. 25 and Pittsburgh (3-0) Oct. 29. The Irish were slated to play at Duke Nov. 3 and at Wake Forest Nov. 5, before returning home to play four straight conference contests. — David McKinney At 6-4, Shepard provides the Notre Dame lineup with some much-needed size and rebounding. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Jessica Shepard Receives NCAA Waiver To Play In 2017-18 Irish Roundup