Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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bounds (seven). ���Rebounding was the first thing we needed her to do, and I thought she���d be able to score,��� McGraw said. ���She���s exceeded my expectations a little bit there ��� and definitely has exceeded them with her assist-toturnover ratio [19 assists and 14 turnovers].��� ��� On Dec. 5 versus defending national champ Baylor, which returned all five starters from last year���s 40���0 unit, Loyd nearly stole the show from National Player of the Year and 6-8 senior Brittney Griner. Notre Dame held a 50-49 lead at the eight-minute mark before falling 73-61. Loyd tied Griner for game-high scoring honors with 24 points, converting 4 of 5 from beyond the threepoint arc, paced the Irish in rebounds (seven) and didn���t have a turnover. ���A tremendous jump shooter,��� Baylor head Irish Seek Answers Beyond Fab Four During No. 5 Notre Dame���s 6-1 start, maybe the greatest encouragement about the team���s progress came Dec. 5 during the 73���61 loss to Baylor, which returned all five starters from last year���s 40-0 team that defeated the Irish 80-61 in the NCAA Tournament title game. Bears guard Odyssey Sims grabbed Notre Dame senior All-American guard Skylar Diggins in the postgame handshake and told her, ���I���ll see you at the Final Four.��� ���I thought, ���Wow, she���s not one that gives compliments,������ said Diggins, who had an uncharacteristic 4-of-19 shooting night from the floor. ���This team has a lot of growing up to do still, and we have time.��� Notre Dame was more competitive this time against Baylor, which might have a touch of early-season complacency, but Irish head coach Muffet McGraw has enjoyed watching her team evolve while replacing graduated starters Devereaux Peters, Natalie Novosel and Brittany Mallory. ���We maybe learned that we���re better than we think we are,��� McGraw said. Junior Natalie Achonwa, who played for Canada in the 2012 Summer Olympics, has put up Peters-like numbers with 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Freshman phenom Jewell Loyd (14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game) has become one of the nation���s top newcomers at Novosel���s spot, while junior wing Kayla McBride (14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game) ��� who is recovering from a sprained ankle suffered during the 109-70 win against Utah State Dec.��8 ��� teams with Diggins (12.9 points and 6.0 assists per game) as a returning mainstay in the backcourt. That quartet can match up with virtually any in America ��� but finding consistency at the fifth through eighth spots will be McGraw���s prime objective prior to opening the Big East season at superpower Connecticut Jan. 5. Junior 6-1 forward Ariel Braker provides some chemistry and a 7.0 scoring average, but McGraw would like to see a fourth guard in the lineup take some of the onus off Diggins. Freshman Michaela Mabrey, sophomore Madison Cable and senior Kaila Turner all are vying for that role, while 6-2 sophomore Markisha Wright is battling for playing time in the frontcourt. ���We need a little more off the bench,��� McGraw said. ���I need to help the bench a little bit more and get them to figure out what their role is.��� Notre Dame will play three games at the World Vision Basketball Classic in Las Vegas Dec. 19-21 and host Purdue (Dec. 29) and St. Francis (Dec. 31) prior to starting Big East play. ��� Lou Somogyi