Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2018 55 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL March 16 versus No. 16-seeded Cal State University Northridge and then the winner of No. 8-seeded South Da- kota State and No. 9-seeded Villanova March 18 for the right to advance to the Spokane Regional on March 23 and 25. The No. 2 seed in the Spokane Re- gional is Pac-12 champion Oregon. At No. 3 is Ohio State — coached by for- mer McGraw assistant Kevin McGuff, who lost in the Sweet 16 to the Irish last year — and No. 4-seeded Texas A&M, which defeated Notre Dame in the 2011 national title game. "This is a great reward for this team for what they've been through play- ing the nation's No. 1 schedule," said McGraw, who was named the Na- tional Coach of the Year by USA To- day. "I'm so proud of this group and what it accomplished." The Irish entered the NCAA Tour- nament coming off a 74-72 loss to fel- low No. 1 seed Louisville in the ACC title game, only their fourth loss in five seasons in the league. "It's been an emotional ride for us, and coming off a loss I feel like this is a new season and new opportunity for us," McGraw said. "It's a different perspective for us, and I think this team is highly motivated." Notre Dame is one of four schools to advance to the Sweet 16 the last eight years, along with UConn, Stan- ford and Baylor. The Irish, UConn and Baylor are the only teams to reach the Elite Eight six times in the last seven years. McGraw's squad advanced to the Final Four five straight seasons from 2011-15, but lost in the Lexington Re- gion each of the last two seasons to Stanford, in the Sweet 16 in 2016 and the Elite Eight last year. EMOTIONAL RIDE An 86-67 victory in the Feb. 25 regular-season finale versus No. 21 North Carolina State — which had defeated the Irish the year before — made Notre Dame co-champions of the ACC regular season with Louis- ville, with each posting 15-1 confer- ence marks. A teary-eyed McGraw said, "This is definitely the most rewarding cham- pionship we've had," citing the inju- ries that had to be overcome and the restructuring of the lineup. "I think this is the first deep breath I've taken since November 1," Mc- Graw stated of the day former All- Big Ten forward Jessica Shepard was declared eligible by the NCAA after transferring from Nebraska. "… We overachieved to get this far. To be reg- ular-season champs again, it's really an emotional moment." Including the postseason confer- ence tournament, Notre Dame is 91-4 overall in the ACC since joining five years ago. That ledger is enhanced by the fact that the ACC is the nation's highest-rated conference in the RPI. MAKING HER POINT If one had to write out a ballot for the team MVP, it likely would be All-American Ogunbowale and her prowess as a scorer — plus she is a vastly improved passer and a little more committed defender. One could also point to Shepard's post presence. Where would the Irish be had the NCAA not given her a waiver this season to be eligible after transferring from Nebraska? However, a strong case can be made for Mabrey, who had to take over at point guard Dec. 31 after the top two at the position, Thompson and John- son, suffered their torn ACLs. Mabrey has remained a po- tent scorer and intense defender (63 steals led the team), but her work at running the offense has gone beyond respectable while pacing the team in assists (137). "We asked a scorer to step out of her role and play point, which is a job where you have to think about everybody else and not yourself, and she was really willing to do that," Mc- Graw said. "She came right in and said, 'Whatever you need me to do I'm going to do.' "We try to give her opportu- nities to score, but for her to run the team like she's done, what a testament to her competitive- ness." ✦ Three-Point Play 1. Working Inside-Out — Notre Dame was perceived perhaps in the preseason to be a team that would need to rely a lot on three-pointers. However, even though the Irish finished first in the ACC in scoring (84.7 points per game), and fifth nationally, they ranked 13th among 15 ACC teams in three- pointers made per game (4.5). The Irish can shoot the trey if needed, but because all five starters can put the ball on the floor and finish off the dribble, and because Jessica Shepard is such an appealing low-post presence, Notre Dame has been more effective with working the ball in low or getting points in the paint off their running game. That created outstanding efficiency on offense again. 2. Facing Confrontation — Probably the most vital strategic element to Louisville's ACC Tournament victory over Notre Dame was its full-court pressure defense, with a particular emphasis on face- guarding converted point guard Marina Mabrey, who was marvelous in the first two tournament games while totaling 51 points and nine threes. She was forced into 2-of-10 shooting against the Cardinals, although to her credit she still had five assists and only two turnovers. However, the Irish had to turn more toward isolation plays while their half-court offense was bogged down by the pressure that can come from not hav- ing a natural point guard. It resulted in a number of quick or forced shots, plus playing Jackie Young more at the point, which was an even bigger adjust- ment. That may be a template for foes to use in the NCAA Tournament. 3. The Limited 20-Point Club — With her 20.2 scoring average entering the NCAA Tournament, junior Arike Ogunbowale is on pace to join Katryna Gaither in 1996-97 (20.4) and current associate head coach Beth Morgan Cunningham in 1995-96 (20.2) as the only Irish players to average at least 20 over a full season. — Lou Somogyi Junior Arike Ogunbowale, who was putting up 20.2 points per game heading into the NCAA Tournament, was on pace to become just the third player in program history to average at least that many for a single season. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND