2 | NOTRE DAME
SCORING OPTIONS ABOUND
Four starters are back from a team that reached the national championship game last April, so if you think coach Muffet McGraw is worried about losing guard Jewell Loyd's 19.8 points, think again. "The easiest things to replace are offensive stats," McGraw says.
That's easy to say when you have a point guard as talented as junior Lindsay Allen, who has more assists through two seasons (355) than any player in school history. She'll be passing to preseason All-America 6'3" sophomore forward Brianna Turner and lightning-quick 6'4" junior forward Taya Reimer, who are reliable scorers both in the paint and on the perimeter. The Irish also have a freshman class stacked with top 20 recruits, including 5'8" Arike (Rico) Ogunbowale, a powerful point guard who will contribute immediately on both ends of the floor, and deadeye shooting guard Marina Mabrey, the younger sister of senior guard Michaela.
The Irish have dominated the ACC, winning 37 of 38 games since joining the conference two seasons ago, and they're gunning for their sixth straight Final Four. They face UConn in Storrs on Dec. 5, a rematch of the last two title games and an interesting test for both teams. Win or lose, McGraw will know what—if anything—she should be worried about.
TEAM STATS
SCORING OFFENSE 79.8 (5th)
SCORING DEFENSE 59.8 (72nd)
ACC RECORD 15--1 (1st)
X-FACTOR
Brianna Turner, a 6'3" forward with guard skills, led the nation in field goal percentage (65.2) last season and had a team-high 89 blocks. She scored 17 points in the national semifinals (a 66--65 win over South Carolina).
LINEUP
With 2014--15 stats
Coach Muffet McGraw (29th season)
[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]
PPG | RPG | APG | FG% | FT% | ||
PG | Lindsay Allen 5'8" Jr. | 10.4 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 52.2 | 85.4 |
G | Michaela Mabrey 5'10" Sr. | 7.2 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 38.3 | 95.0 |
G | Madison Cable 5'10" Sr. | 6.2 | 4.1 | 0.9 | 45.2 | 84.2 |
F | Brianna Turner 6'3" Soph. | 13.8 | 7.9 | 0.7 | 65.2 | 60.5 |
F | Taya Reimer 6'4" Jr. | 10.2 | 6.1 | 1.9 | 51.6 | 63.0 |
F | Kathryn Westbeld 6'2" Soph. | 6.7 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 52.6 | 71.1 |
TOURNAMENT TRACKER
[The following text appears within a chart. Please see hardcopy or PDF for actual chart.]
TITLE GAME
FINAL FOUR
ELITE EIGHT
SWEET 16
ROUND OF 32
ROUND OF 64
'11--12
'12--13
'13--14
'14--15
'15--16
PHOTO
BRIAN BLANCO/GETTY IMAGES (ALLEN)
PHOTO
CHRIS WILLIAMS/ICON SPORTSWIRE (TURNER)
CHART
