Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/904117
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 27, 2017 49 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI T hrough the month of October, popular opinion held that the Notre Dame women's basketball program would have to build their 2017-18 identity almost exclu- sively around the perimeter and be primarily a three-point shooting team. With 6-3 senior All-American for- ward Brianna Turner shelved for the year while recovering from an ACL injury and 6-2 senior forward Kathryn Westbeld hobbled by an ankle prob- lem, the four-guard offense would have to carry the freight. Fortunately, two relatively unfore- seen events occurred. First, two-time 6-4 All-Big Ten for- ward Jessica Shepard surprisingly received her waiver Nov. 1 from the NCAA to be eligible this season after transferring from Nebraska. Second, under-the-radar 6-3 fresh- man Mikayla Vaughn — referred to as "The Energizer Bunny" by head coach Muffet McGraw after just a few prac- tices because of her non-stop pace — has emerged as a force off the bench. The identify shift was showcased during the 78-65 victory Nov. 14 at Western Kentucky, which opened the year by defeating No. 16 Missouri. While Notre Dame shot only 4 of 22 from three-point range against the Hill- toppers — including 2 of 17 by star junior guards Marina Mabrey (1 of 9) and Arike Ogunbowale (1 of 8) — Shepard and Vaughn took over in the paint and sparked Notre Dame with "new heights." Shepard posted her second double- double (19 points and 12 rebounds) in as many contests, and tallied 11 points in the first quarter. Then, in only 16 minutes off the bench, Vaughn converted 8 of 9 shots from the floor while finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds. Five of her boards came on offense (seven of Shepard's caroms came on that side, too), resulting in put-backs and second- chance points. Shepard scored 15 of her points in the first half, while Vaughn amassed 15 in the second half. They were in- strumental in Notre Dame tallying 50 points in the paint compared to 32 for the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky's forte, mean- while, was three-point shooting — the Hilltoppers were ranked 12th nation- ally with 11.0 treys per game. Against the Irish they were only 3 of 19 (15.8 percent). The perimeter was still vital to Notre Dame's victory on both ends of the court. Ogunbowale finished with a team-high 21 points, converting 8 of 13 attempts inside the arc. Sophomore Jackie Young provided another strong all-around game with 12 points, nine rebounds (five on offense), two blocks and two assists. Fifth-year senior point guard Lili Thompson made a couple of crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep Western Kentucky at bay and to complement her seven as- sists. Nevertheless, the addition of Shepard and emergence of Vaughn could make Notre Dame a viable Final Four contender again. The best part to McGraw is fully integrating Shepard into the practice mix after being uncer- tain all preseason about her eligibility status. "We didn't take advantage of what we have in her," McGraw said of the preseason drills. "I didn't run a lot of stuff and then not have her be ready [for the season]. "We're just trying to tweak what we have already and add some things as we go along." With Shepard — the nation's No. 3 overall recruit in 2015 according to espnW HoopGurlz — joining the four guards in the starting lineup, McGraw's top guard off the bench is sophomore walk-on and pre-med major Kaitlin Cole, an Associated Press first-team All-Northwest Ohio selection from Toledo. (Senior guard Mychal Johnson suffered an ACL tear in the preseason.) Most of the guards this season might need to play 30-35 minutes per game, but McGraw is working on a rotation where fatigue doesn't take its toll over the long haul. Westbeld was able to play 20 minutes off the bench at Western Kentucky. "We just have to sub one of them out and keep taking turns," McGraw said of keeping three guards on the floor. "Marina is kind of an Iron Man, Jackie and Arike are both in great shape. "We'll play with three guards and two posts for a long stretch." The Western Kentucky game was the first of an arduous seven-game road swing that includes No. 18 Or- egon State Nov. 19, the three-game Gulf Coast Showcase Nov. 24-26, at Michigan Nov. 29 and at No. 1 UConn Dec. 3. ✦ NEW HEIGHTS Notre Dame has been bolstered by its frontcourt early this season Freshman Mikayla Vaughn scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the 78-65 win at Western Kentucky Nov. 14. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS