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The observer | wednesday, april 4, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
GOOD FRIDAY
Irish top UConn in overtime of semifinal game By DANIEL O’BOYLE Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — It couldn’t be confined to 40 minutes. In fact, it couldn’t be confined to one day. This had to finish in the early hours of Saturday morning. Irish fans may not have liked it, but the stolen inbounds pass to tie the game felt right. There needed to be more. An ending in regulation wasn’t the ending this game deserved. After all, it always takes overtime to beat them anyway. And when it got to overtime, the Irish couldn’t take a solid lead and coast. Save that for the other semifinal. Give the Irish a chance to put the game away from the line, but they have to miss them both. This one’s going down to the final possession. This is No. 1 seeds Notre Dame and UConn in the Final Four. This is a game that saw doubledigit leads erased by both teams. It saw plays that could have been the highlight of the tournament forgotten behind the next one just minutes later. Most importantly, it saw the greatest dynasty this sport has seen defeated by a team with only seven healthy scholarship players. Everyone in Nationwide Arena witnessed a classic. And it had to end like one. Every second had to count. This one — a 91-89 win for the Irish — wouldn’t be decided until the 2,700th. How? Has to be another iconic play, let’s say a deep pullup two that wasn’t part of the play design. And who? The player that missed those two free throws. Though — 44 1/2 minutes of play before that final shot — Connecticut senior forward Gabby Williams was the first to score, Notre Dame (34-3, 15-1 ACC) became the first team to hold a lead over the Huskies
(36-1, 16-0 AAC) this tournament thanks to a layup from junior guard Marina Mabrey with 8:46 left in the first quarter — a lead that junior guard Arike Ogunbowale would extend with a 3 nearly 30 seconds later. The Huskies cut the score to within a point, but again the Irish went on a run, this time an 8-0 advantage highlighted by a sequence in which Mabrey took the ball from Huskies senior guard Kia Nurse under the basket and passed to Ogunbowale, who faked a shot before giving the ball to wide-open sophomore guard Jackie Young. That score made the lead 13-6, the largest deficit for UConn since Geno Auriemma’s team played at Texas on Jan. 15. Soon, the Irish had the largest lead any team had held over the Huskies this season, passing their own mark of 12 points set during Dec. 3’s 80-71 loss, as Young took the game over, scoring seven points without another player on the court scoring to give the Irish a 24-11 lead late in the quarter. But with the first-quarter seconds ticking down and the Huskies having scored only 11 points from their first 19 shots, first-team All-American and junior guard Katie Lou Samuelson came up with a game-changing play. Her 3-pointer slammed off the backboard before going in, cutting the lead back to 10 points. From that moment, the Huskies were unstoppable. Samuelson, Williams and junior forward Azura Stevens combined for 25 points while the Irish scored only six in the first nine minutes of the second quarter, helped by the defensive efforts of Stevens and Williams, who recorded two blocks each. McGraw said she struggled to deal with changes in the Huskies’ defense. “They were changing defenses on us a little bit,” McGraw said. “I think that we didn’t handle
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish senior forward Kathryn Westbeld attempts a contested layup during Notre Dame’s 91-89 overtime win Friday over UConn.
it as well as we could have in the second quarter in particular. We had some openings, and we weren’t able to see them. We talked about it a little bit in the time-outs and at halftime. That bothered us a bit, the way they came out. And they’re just so long.” But Ogunbowale, who started 2-for-8 shooting in the first half, said she was still confident. “I think, sadly, we’ve been in this position a lot when we were down by a big margin,” Ogunbowale said. “I guess it really helped for this game because we were used to it. We’ve had to overcome large deficits before, so we didn’t get down on ourselves.” The Irish eventually ended the onslaught with a layup from senior forward Kathryn Westbeld before Ogunbowale drove toward the basket, pulled up and saw her shot sit precariously on the rim before falling through the hoop. Yet, the Irish faced a new worry in the final minute of the half when junior forward Jessica Shepard turned her ankle going for a rebound and left the game. With Shepard back in the lineup to start the second half, Notre Dame crept back. Four minutes into the half, Ogunbowale made it a one-score game with two free throws. Then Mabrey, in an otherwise quiet scoring night, produced a highlight play, throwing up a desperation 3 under heavy pressure from a Connecticut defender only to find her shot go in, her only 3-pointer of the game to give Notre Dame the lead again with 2:21 left in the third. “I thought it was a foul, but it’s okay,” Mabrey said. “I felt like my team really needed to do something there. I needed to get some shots up.” The Huskies struck back almost immediately, but Ogunbowale gave the Irish another lead with a corner 3 and nearly extended it after stealing the ball from Huskies sophomore guard Crystal Dangerfield but couldn’t finish. Instead, Stevens scored four in the final minute of the period. Then, in the fourth quarter, Huskies seemed to have all but put the game away when Dangerfield, 0-for-7 shooting up until the seven-minute mark of the fourth quarter, drained a 3 to put the Huskies up eight. But the Irish fought their way back into the game again. Again, Young was the player who took over the game, knocking down two free throws to make the game 69-64 before she tossed the ball up from midrange while being fouled and saw it go in for an and-1. A three-point play by Huskies junior forward
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish junior guard Arike Ogunbowale dribbles up the court during Notre Dame’s 91-89 win over UConn in the Final Four on Friday.
Napheesa Collier at the other end restored the UConn lead to five points, but Young scored again before the Irish took advantage of a turnover and took the lead through Ogunbowale. The teams traded leads before Ogunbowale had what would, under ordinary circumstances, be her highlight of the game. After a missed shot from Young went out of bounds off a Huskies player, Mabrey inbounded with one second on the shot clock. Ogunbowale found some space in the midrange, received the ball, released instantly and knocked it down. The Irish had a three-point lead with 46 seconds left. When Williams threw a pass out of bounds with 21 seconds left, the Huskies were in fouling territory. And Ogunbowale made her free throws, giving the Irish a five-point lead. The game looked over. But there needed to be more. Dangerfield drove to the basket for an easy chance at two, but passed up the open layup to give the ball to Collier, who made a 3 to cut the lead to two. But the Irish still had the ball. They just couldn’t get it in bounds. Shepard’s inbounds pass was stolen by Nurse, who stormed to the basket to tie the game at 79 with just nine seconds left. Inbounding again with a late chance to score, the Irish pushed the ball down the court, but Shepard couldn’t hold onto Mabrey’s pass and the Huskies got one last chance to win in regulation. Williams couldn’t convert from the elbow, however. Five more minutes. A Shepard free throw gave the Irish the first lead of the period, and they controlled the momentum and the lead for much of the time. When Young made a free throw with one still to come and 44 seconds left in the overtime
period, the Irish looked comfortable again with a five-point lead. But the sophomore missed the second, and Collier scored on the ensuing UConn possession to make it a one-score game. With 39 seconds left, the Huskies may not have needed to foul Ogunbowale, but the decision paid dividends, as the 80 percent free-throw shooter, who had made 6-of-6 on the night up to that point, missed them both. Dangerfield, 1-for-7 from beyond the arc and 2-for-10 overall from the field up to that point, went for the deep 3 herself this time and knocked it down to tie the game. The Irish had one last chance, calling timeout with 14 seconds left. After deciding on the inbounder — it would be Young — Shepard almost had an open path to the basket, but Williams recovered and Shepard passed the ball back out. Ogunbowale then took it, crossed over Collier and shot from just inside the 3-point line. McGraw said that wasn’t how the play was drawn up. “The plan was to get Arike to go one-on-one and drive to the basket,” she said. “We didn’t think they’d foul. Tie game, they wouldn’t want to put her on the free-throw line.” But that’s how it went. “It felt good,” Ogunbowale said. “I didn’t know it was going in, but it felt good.” It did go in. The game wasn’t quite over yet, but the Huskies couldn’t get a shot off in the final second. In the 2,700th second, the score was set. Notre Dame 91, UConn 89. Editor’s note: A version of this story was published online March 31. Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
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ndsmcobserver.com | wednesday, april 4, 2018 | The Observer
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GREAT WIN
Young’s career night leads team to win over Huskies By ELIZABETH GREASON Assistant Managing Editor
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Against Oregon, it was Kathryn Westbeld. The senior forward went 9-for-12 for 20 points on an extremely efficient night, because in her words, something had to give — there was too much talent on the court for all five players to get equal attention from the Ducks. On Friday, that player was sophomore guard Jackie Young. UConn let up on her early, which proved to be one of its very small yet fatal flaws. While the Notre Dame core squad may be small, it’s also talented, and Young made her presence known to the Huskies (36-1, 16-0 AAC) when they left her open. The Young who played Friday crashed the glass, handled the ball effortlessly, weaved to the basket untouched and, at times, carried her team. Because the Irish (34-3, 15-1 ACC) needed every one of her rebounds and career-high points on their way to toppling the giant. Young really did have the game of her life, coming away with a double-double, including a career-high 32 points. Young scored for the first time on a steal off senior forward Gabby Williams just under four minutes into the game to give the Irish an 11-6 lead in the first quarter. And from there, the Princeton, Indiana, native was rolling. She would score nine more points in the first quarter alone, totaling 11, to lead all players. “From the start, they just left me open,” Young said. “And I
think I hit my first shot, and after that, we came back down, and they just kept leaving me open. I was able to get going.” Young went 5-of-6 from the floor in the first quarter and had an impact on both sides of the floor, coming away with a steal, a block and three defensive rebounds in the period, as well. But Young’s charge didn’t end there. While she, like much of the Notre Dame offense, was unable to generate much in the second quarter, she racked up seven more points in the third, matching the totals of Irish junior guard Arike Ogunbowale and Huskies senior forward Azura Stevens for the period. And Young’s dominance continued. From everywhere. She scored 10 of her points from the free-throw line, only missing one all night. She looked confident from 3-point range, going 2-for-4 and hitting those shots in clutch moments. And she had her way in the paint, rounding out a 10-of-15 effort from the floor. “Jackie Young, I don’t know what to say about her,” Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said. “I knew she had it in her, and to get a career high in the national semifinal against Connecticut, I don’t think you can ask for a better performance than what she gave tonight.” Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma felt it was Young who really did the damage, as she carried the Irish early while his squad was able to keep players like junior guard Marina Mabrey and Ogunbowale in check. “We thought, hey, we do
a great job on Mabrey and Arike. And we did first period,” Auriemma said. “And Jackie Young’s a good player, everybody found out. So, you don’t get to this point because you’re not good enough to win a national championship. Obviously, Notre Dame’s good enough, and they were better than us tonight.” The NCAA tournament has been the mark of a new and improved Young, whose coaches told her they wanted to see her be more aggressive and not yield to anyone after Notre Dame’s loss in the ACC tournament final. Her previous career high had also been set in this year’s tournament, a 24-point performance over Villanova in the second round. And while high scoring totals are nothing new for the sophomore — Friday was her 10th 20-point game of the season — McGraw believes her performance on such a large stage could open new doors for Young. “She showed what she can do,” McGraw said. “She definitely has the ability, and I’m so excited now. Maybe this will be kind of the first step for her to continue to be aggressive offensively.” So, while for much of the world it may have been Good Friday, for Jackie Young and the rest of the Irish, March 30, 2018 was great. Editor’s note: A version of this story was published online March 31. Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish sophomore guard Jackie Young shoots a jump shot during Notre Dame’s 91-89 win over UConn during Friday’s Final Four. Young scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the game.
Why this team? Elizabeth Greason Assistant Managing Editor
COLUMBUS, Ohio — My parents always say you only need to watch the last three minutes of any Notre Dame sporting event. That’s where it’s all decided. On Friday, you could’ve gotten away with watching the final second before the buzzer in overtime of Notre Dame’s 91-89 win over UConn. It would have told you everything you needed to know. Except that it wouldn’t have. Not at all. Friday’s 45 minutes of basketball was one of the most impressive displays I have ever seen, from both teams. And all 45 of those minutes were worth watching because not only were they fantastic for the game of women’s basketball, but they answered a question. A question that many people need to hear the answer to. How this team? Why now? On paper, the Irish (34-3, 15-1 ACC) should have struggled to even make the NCAA tournament this season. And at points — specifically halftime of the Tennessee game when they had just been blown out by Louisville a week earlier — it looked like they might. Realistically, a team missing its best player and its only true point guard should not be a team to make a run in the NCAA tournament. It should not contend for a regular-season conference titles, let alone win it. And it certainly should not beat UConn (36-1, 16-0 AAC) in the national semifinal to skyrocket itself into the national championship game. And yet, here we are. Because of Friday’s 45 minutes. Ask any fan about Notre Dame and they’ll tell you how much they love watching All-American Arike Ogunbowale shoot. So a win in overtime on a buzzerbeater from the junior guard was extremely on-brand for the Irish. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. Junior guard Marina Mabrey’s stat sheet was not all that impressive against the Huskies. She scored seven points, going 3-of-10 from the field, and tallied two rebounds and three assists. She also turned the ball over four times — twice in two minutes to start the second quarter. She was also on the court for 45 minutes. She did not rest for a second. Stepping into the point guard role for Notre Dame once graduate student Lili Thompson went down in the final game of 2017, Mabrey has been forced to step up as one of the true leaders of this squad. She has been forced to be vocal and take on a different role — not that of one who lights up the stat sheet every night, but
that of the player who controls the offense and her teammates. And that is what she did Friday. While the Huskies were able to shut her down for the most part throughout the game — they’ve learned since she put up 21 points in the first half against them her freshman year — she still played her role, a role she has clearly come to embrace for the good of the team. There’s Jessica Shepard who, simply put, does not quit. Notre Dame and Irish head coach Muffet McGraw thank their lucky stars every night that the NCAA decided in their favor and gave Shepard immediate eligibility, because teams do not know what to do with her. The junior forward, a transfer from Nebraska, can shoot, pass and rebound. Over and over and over. There’s senior forward Kathryn Westbeld, who has spent nearly half of her collegiate career playing on an injured ankle. And while she may not practice, you certainly can’t tell. Six rebounds and five assists on a night when her four years playing for Notre Dame could have ended. Westbeld, the only uninjured player on the roster who has tallied meaningful minutes in the Final Four. But had never beaten UConn. So, while sophomore guard Jackie Young may have scored a career-high 32 points Friday and Ogunbowale may be considered the team’s star, those full 45 minutes mattered because each one proved what a team effort this season has been. Because what makes this team special is that, throughout its many trials and tribulations, it never complained. Not once. There was no “woe is me” moment. This is a team that gets knocked down and gets right back up again. Another injury? Oh, her eye’s just swollen shut. She’ll be fine. She can play. A torn ACL? Next woman up. We’re down 11 to the biggest dynasty in NCAA history in the Final Four? We have absolutely nothing to lose. And everything we’ve worked so incredibly hard for could be gone in an instant at the exact same time. This team’s will to win is incredible, especially because it has learned that it cannot take anything for granted. So that’s why this team. That’s how. That’s why now. Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Editor’s note: A version of this column was published online March 31.
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The observer | wednesday, APRIL 4, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
A COMEBACK
Notre Dame clinches title with last-second win By ELIZABETH GREASON Assistant Managing Editor
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kathryn Westbeld sat down and leaned against the back of her locker in the locker room of Nationwide Arena. A soft smile plastered to the senior forward’s face; she gently shook her head at no one in particular before gazing down at her hand, clad with Notre Dame’s signature playoff-green nail polish and a new addition — a purple ring pop — clearly replaying the events of the last hour. *** It all came down the final seconds once again. It all came down to junior guard Arike Ogunbowale again. The same shot. From almost the same spot. With three seconds on the clock and the game tied at 58, the Irish (35-3, 15-1 ACC) had one remaining chance. Three seconds for sophomore guard Jackie Young to inbound the ball and score. “Initially, we were looking for [junior forward Jessica Shepard], but — I mean, whenever I was looking at it, I didn’t like the way it looked,” Young said. “I knew, if I threw it, it would have possibly been a turnover. So, I talked to Arike before, and I was like, ‘If the matchup doesn’t look right or if Jess isn’t in the position that we’re looking for, then come back to the ball.’ And I just made sure that Arike was literally coming to the ball before I passed it to her.” Ogunbowale moved back to Young, who was inbounding from the sideline, and, as the clock ticked down for the second time in just over 48 hours, Ogunbowale beat the buzzer and took down a giant, this time from beyond the 3-point arc. It looked precarious in the air and Nationwide Arena held its breath. The Irish did not. “We had confidence in her. As soon as she put the shot up, I knew it was going in,” Young said. No. 1 seeds Notre Dame and Mississippi State got nearly all the way through their handshake lines before the referees informed the squads that the celebration had been premature and that one-tenth of a second would be added to the clock, giving the Bulldogs (372, 16-0 SEC) one final chance on their end of the court — once three Bulldog players could be retrieved from the locker room, where they had also headed prematurely.
But the shot they got off never had a chance, and confetti rained. Irish by three. 61-58. *** Shepard perched on the bench underneath her nameplate in the locker room. A goofy grin glued to her face, her cheeks still red from playing 35 minutes and a national champion hat sat atop her head. She balanced a basketball on her right thigh, the national championship trophy on her left, with a recycling bin between her legs for no apparent reason, posing for a photo for anyone who would take one. “I keep telling everyone ‘I’m a national champion.’ But it hasn’t really hit me yet,” Shepard said. “I was told to take care of [the trophy]. It’s my baby right now.” *** Ogunbowale spread out in her corner of the locker room, grinning wildly. The piece of the net she had clipped off with orange-handled scissors minutes earlier was tucked into the back of her baseball cap, tag still on. As the star of the moment was bombarded with questions, someone pointed out that she had received yet another shoutout on Twitter from a celebrity. “Oh, J.J. Watt did? I’m gonna have to check that out,” Ogunbowale said excitedly, as she pulled out her phone. “Man, my phone’s blowing up; it’s freezing up.” *** Going into the game, the biggest storyline was how Notre Dame was going to handle Bulldogs junior 6-foot-7 center Teaira McCowan. Because on paper, there is no one who can do it. McCowan scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, adding to her NCAA-tournamentrecord total, which she had broken halfway through the Bulldogs’ previous game. However, the combination of Shepard, Westbeld and graduate student forward Kristina Nelson was also able to force her hand at times, fighting her for jump balls and doubleteaming her to the best of their ability on their way to limiting her to a 7-for-19 shooting performance. However, the real key to slowing McCowan down at the end of the game came by getting her into foul trouble. She went to the bench with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter with her third foul, bringing the Irish faithful to their feet in one of their most raucous
rounds of applause of the night thus far. And McCowan fouled out with three seconds remaining — the play that led to Ogunbowale’s game-winning shot. “I just want to say McCowan is an unbelievable player. She had a fantastic game,” Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said. “She’s so difficult to guard. She is definitely an All-American.” *** Lindsay Allen cozied up next to Nelson in the locker room, looking content. Many had said the Irish had missed their shot last year — that it was the former Irish point guard who would lead them to victory, and without her, they would need to rebuild. Allen had traveled back from playing overseas to come to the game. The New York Liberty guard is spending her offseason playing in Russia. But she’s not the only one who was back. Michaela Mabrey. Ruth Riley. Kayla McBride. Natalie Novosel. All in all, upward of 20 program alumnae had returned for the game. As the team boarded the platform for the trophy presentation, the alums sprinted down onto the court, screaming and cheering from behind the roped off area. Notre Dame women’s basketball special events coordinator Sharla Lewis turned around, grinning, and began tossing the alumnae national championship T-shirts. “It was great to see so many of our alums and how happy they were for us,” McGraw said. “They were just — they couldn’t be happier for this team, for what they’ve accomplished, for the whole program, for the coaching staff. We are a family, and it’s great to have them back.” *** The ending was nearly notso-storybook for the Irish. In fact, at halftime, it appeared as though the Bulldogs might be sending Notre Dame home with its tail between its legs. But the Irish had been there before. A 13-point deficit at halftime, which grew to as large as 15 points in the third quarter, may have seemed like the end to many. But in the locker room, the Irish were just getting started. “I just talked about our composure, how we needed to get back to what we were supposed to be doing in the first half,” McGraw said of her halftime talk. “Getting some backdoor opportunities. We had
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish junior guard Arike Ogunbowale hoists the NCAA Championship Trophy after Notre Dame’s 61-58 win in the finals Sunday.
backdoor opportunities, we were open, [but] we couldn’t get the ball in — the pressure on the guards was too intense. So I thought we put [Young] at the point, and that made the difference for the second half.” Notre Dame had floundered in the second quarter, getting outscored by the Bulldogs 13-3 and turning the ball over seven times — six of which came from junior guard Marina Mabrey, who struggled to move the ball against the Bulldogs’ quick guards and aggressive press. Coming out of halftime, the Irish had not made a basket in 3:08 of game action. But everything changed quickly. *** Mabrey stared straight ahead from her locker — slightly dazed, smiling, her lips slightly blue from sucking on her ring pop. She looked up at a camera. “I’m waiting for the ’30 for 30,’” Mabrey joked. “After the Louisville game, I thought we weren’t even making it past the second round. What is wrong with us? I’m so proud of this team and how we changed our whole mentality.” *** The Irish came out with renewed vigor in the third quarter and outscored Mississippi State 24-11. It began with a layup from Shepard, and then Mabrey stole the ball and took it all the way for another basket. Little by little, the Irish closed the gap, until with 16 seconds left in the quarter, all the momentum in the game swung Notre Dame’s way. The quarter closed as it opened: with Shepard scoring, this time to tie the game at 41. The Irish had successfully closed a 13-point deficit in 10
minutes. But it wasn’t over. In typical Notre Dame fashion, it would come down to the final moments. The Irish found themselves down five with 1:58 to play in the game. But they were unphased. “For us, we’re just relentless. We’ve been down multiple times this year,” Shepard said. “We’ve got 20 minutes left at halftime, and we’re not gonna end it like we were playing in the first half.” *** With the sound of the first confetti cannon, there was a familiar sight for the Irish. A Kelly green sweater and green leprechaun hat with a purple Columbus Final Four brochure tucked into the brim sprinted onto the court to embrace his wife at half court, though he beat her there. Matt McGraw lifted Muffet McGraw’s white and red patterned stilettos off the court and spun her around as confetti and streamers rained. “‘What though the odds,’ part of our fight song,” Muffet McGraw said. “The fighting spirit of Notre Dame is just amazing. Relentless, competitive, they have a swagger, they believe in themselves with the confidence that starts with Arike and Marina and just filters down through the team.” The Irish can play that victory march loud for all to hear. Because while Good Friday may have been great, on Easter Sunday, they were crowned champions. Editor’s note: A version of this story was published online April 2. Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu
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ndsmcobserver.com | wednesday, april 4, 2018 | The Observer
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FOR THE AGES
Second-half adjustments allow for Irish victory By DANIEL O’BOYLE Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — From junior for ward Jessica Shepard’s lay up to make the game 12-6 and her score to make it 24-16, 10 minutes and 36 seconds of basketball were played. Junior guard Marina Mabrey made a lay up. Mabrey missed a lay up. Junior guard Arike Ogunbowale missed a jumper. Mabrey missed a jumper. Ogunbowale missed another two jumpers. Mabrey had a lay up attempt swatted away by the ferocious junior center Teaira McCowan. And those were all the shots Notre Dame took during that stretch, more than a quarter of the game. It wasn’t that the Irish (353, 15-1 ACC) weren’t seeing the ball. They had plenty of possessions, but the second the ball was inbounded, ever y Irish player had maroon and white in her face. During those 10 minutes, the Irish turned the ball over eight times. It was a strateg y that seemed to play to Irish weaknesses, and one used by Louisv ille in the most recent Irish defeat. Only moving to point guard from shooting guard after graduate student Lili Thompson’s injur y, Mabrey is not a prototy pical point guard, and struggled w ith the pressure early on to
the tune of seven first-half turnovers. “I think I just tried to do too much,” Mabrey said. “I had to learn to just take it a little easier, let some of the other guys do their thing, they’re great players and I was just tr ying to do too much myself.” And w ith a deeper bench than the now famously-depleted Irish, the Bulldogs could afford to expend some extra energ y chasing the Irish ball-handlers around. That’s the kind of combination of strateg y and execution that earned Vic Schaefer a reputation as an elite defensive coach, a couple of national coach of the year trophies and a national championship in 2011 against none other than the Irish, who had upset Tennessee and Connecticut before losing 76-70 to a Texas A&M team w ith Shaefer on the staff in the championship game. For a moment in the first half, the Irish seemed frustrated by Mississippi State (37-2, 16-0 SEC). Ogunbowale gave away a foul on a fast break w ith a reck less attempt to w in the ball back. Then Mabrey’s attempt to find contact for a three-point play on the follow ing possession led to a traveling call. Shepard attempted a rare 3 as the Irish tried to inject something new: It didn’t work. But Muffet McGraw adapts. You don’t coach a team to a
23-point comeback against Tennessee, a 16-point Sweet Sixteen comeback against Texas A&M and an 11-point comeback against undefeated UConn, all in the same season — never mind the two double-digit Final Four comebacks to w in that first national championship 17 years prior — w ithout an abilit y to make adjustments. It’s easy to believe this is was a team of destiny, but ever y miracle takes plent y of real work, and McGraw’s adjustments were usually behind the Irish erasing double-digit leads. Sophomore guard Jackie Young took the ball up the court for a few possessions, and the Irish offense still struggled at first. But McGraw kept it up w ith the adjustments, and a combination of Young and Ogunbowale as ball-handler finally led to some offensive progress. “I think Jackie and Arike did a little more ball-handling and running the point, and I think that took Marina off to the w ing a little bit more,” McGraw said. “I think that was the most success that we had against their pressure because it was really great pressure.” And among other things, that adjustment set up Mabrey to make maybe the second-biggest shot of the game, the first Irish 3 of the game to answer one from redshirt-senior guard Roshunda Johnson and make
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish junior guard Arike Ogunbowale celebrates with teammates after making the game-winning shot for the Irish to take home the title.
the score 58-56 w ith 1:35 left. “I was definitely looking to make it,” Mabrey said of the shot. “We weren’t even looking for a 3. We didn’t even get any. We were looking for Jess inside, and my player left. I think she trapped dow n or something. Jess just kicked it to me, and I was like, ‘Okay, Marina, it’s time. You really need to make this.’ So I got luck y.” Shaeffer said the changes in the Irish offense were even simpler than that, however: They just drove to the basket and got to the line. “At the end of the day, they just put their head dow n, went to the rim, and tried to get fouled,” Schaefer said. “They went inside. [Shepard] was 8-for-10, and we had a
hard time dealing w ith her. And, again, you give her credit. We just had a hard time handling her.” McGraw gave credit where it was due, but said her team’s mindset ensured the comeback was always possible. “Mississippi State was a tremendous defensive team,” McGraw said. “They really gave us a lot of problems in the first half. We lost our composure a little bit, but we got it back and we just kept fighting.” Editor’s note: A version of this story was published online April 2. Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish head coach Muffet McGraw, second from right, poses with the Coaches’ Trophy alongside, from left to right, associate head coach Carol Owens, associate head coach Niele Ivey and associate coach Beth Cunningham after Notre Dame defeated Mississippi State 61-58 during the national championship Sunday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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Insider Sports
The observer | WedneSDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 | ndsmcobserver.com
A COMPLETE
Ogunbowale’s confidence is difference-maker By DANIEL O’BOYLE Sports Writer
COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Arike Ogunbowale climbed the ladder to cut dow n the net at Nationw ide Arena, she stopped and looked around confused for a few seconds, miming a pair of scissors to show that she couldn’t find them. They were right at the top of the ladder, the same spot ever y other player on the Irish (35-3, 15-1 ACC) had left them after cutting off their ow n piece. The junior guard realized that soon enough and got to cut dow n her ow n piece of the net. The piece she had secured w ith two gamew inning shots in less than 48 hours. Because w ith the NCA A tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, what she does along the way is never the important part. W hat is important is that
she always gets it done in the end. She did it against UConn on Friday w ith a shot that would have been the highlight of most player’s careers. It wasn’t even the highlight of Ogunbowale’s weekend. With three seconds left, sophomore guard Jackie Young inbounded the ball to Ogunbowale. The play wasn’t designed for her, but she hardly had any problem w ith getting the chance to hit another game-w inner. “Initially, we were looking for [junior for ward Jessica Shepard], but, I mean, whenever I was looking at it, I didn’t like the way it looked,” Young said. “I knew if I threw it, it would have possibly been a turnover. So I talked to Arike before and I was like, ‘If the matchup doesn’t look right or if Jess isn’t in the position that we’re looking for, then come back to the ball.’ And I just
made sure that Arike was literally coming to the ball before I passed it to her.” Ogunbowale took it to the corner, almost the same spot where she hit Friday’s w inner, just at the opposite end of the court. And, while a little off balance, she released. “W hen I saw it travel a little bit, I thought it felt good,” Ogunbowale said. “I was kind of falling to the baseline, but I think when I shot it, I was kind of at a good angle to the basket. Once I got it off, I started falling.” “We had confidence in her,” Young said. “As soon as she put the shot up, I knew it was going in.” “She’s a g y m rat,” associate head coach Carol Owens said of Ogunbowale. “She’s always in the g y m working on her shot, and to see it pay off w ith t wo huge, back-to-back shots in the Final Four is just amazing. It’s unbelievable.” That confidence was not
misplaced. And it’s the kind of attitude from her teammates that Ogunbowale said allowed her to make big shots after missing early ones. Ogunbowale’s 15for-42 shooting mark in the Final Four and 51-for-123 mark for the tournament are not the norms for the Most Outstanding Player. But when it mattered most to her team, Ogunbowale always seemed to come up w ith something. “It’s just my teammates,” Ogunbowale said. “They’re talking to me all the time. No matter if I’m 1-for-20 or whatever, they’re like, ‘Keep going to the basket. We need you.’ So I think they give me the confidence to keep going.” The similarities bet ween the t wo game-w inning shots are hard to miss. Not only did Ogunbowale finish w ith the ultimate statement after starting both games slowly — shooting a combined
3-for-18 in first halves in Columbus — but they were both shots from similar spots on the court to turn a tie game into an Irish w in. Yet, Ogunbowale said she wasn’t thinking of the shot against Connecticut at all. “I definitely wasn’t thinking about the other shot,” Ogunbowale said. “We had to just not think about that game. I was just thinking of making this one.” Because Ogunbowale never thinks about the last shot, make or miss. But plent y of people — no doubt including her hero, Kobe Br yant — w ill be thinking about t wo of the most memorable shots in tournament histor y for a long time. Editor’s note: A version of this story was published online April 2. Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish junior guard Arike Ogunbowale drives to the basket and attempts a layup during Notre Dame’s 61-58 win in the national championship of the NCAA tournament against Mississippi State on Sunday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Ogunbowale scored 18 points in the game, and her only 3 was the game-winner with 0.1 seconds left. Paid Advertisement
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7
TEAM EFFORT
Mabrey, Westbeld excel over tournament run Junior’s timely 3-point shooting shines By DANIEL O’BOYLE Sports Writer
SPOKANE, Wash. — One minute and 45 seconds into Notre Dame’s Sweet 16 clash with Texas A&M, junior guard Marina Mabrey attempted what would have been a spectacular play. She faked a pass to her fellow junior guard Arike Ogunbowale. The Aggies defenders bit on it. Then, without a glance towards the basket, she shot a 3. It dropped short. Way short. And the chants began from the Aggie Yell Leaders. “Air ball, air ball.” When she next got the ball, the chants started up again. They remained for the next couple of possessions. Pretty soon, she had shut them up. The early miss was one of her two air-balled 3s early in the game, if a shot that appeared to take a deflection but was ruled by the referees to have gone out of bounds straight from Mabrey’s hand is included. She’d airball a third, too, all within the first quarter. Albeit that one was a full-court heave in the final second of the period which didn’t count toward her final tally of shots. But of her other nine attempts that made it as far as the basket from beyond the arc, seven went in. Mabrey, who also made six 3-pointers against Cal State Northridge in the tournament’s first round, has an explanation for her hot shooting this tournament. “Um, I practiced for it,” Mabrey said, before giving credit to her teammates. “I think when the shots are open, they’re a little bit easier to make. My teammates are finding me in great positions.” Aggies head coach Gary Blair said Mabrey’s 3s always seemed to come from inbounds plays. “They scored 21 points on inbound plays,” Blair said. “That’s the most in history A&M has ever given up in their life. That was the 3. We were defending the 3 and halfcourt offense the best we could against a great team. But 21 points on inbound plays, that was the difference in the ballgame.” Seven makes is impressive enough on its own: It’s the most 3-pointers of her career and the most for any Notre Dame player since Alicia Ratay against Providence on Feb. 16, 2003. It makes up the vast majority of her 25 points, which was secondhighest total for the Irish on the day. But the timing of the shots she made was just as important as the volume or the efficiency. The first gave the Irish an early
5-0 lead. The second gave the Irish a lead of four after the game had been within one score for nearly five minutes. The third was perhaps the most important of the game, ending an 18-2 run and cutting Texas A&M’s lead down to single-figures. The fourth came with A&M’s lead the largest it was all game, turning a 13-point deficit into a 10-point one. The fifth made it a one-score game late in the first half. And the sixth tied the game. Almost exactly half the game had passed since her early fakepass and miss, and coming off a screen from senior forward Kathryn Westbeld, Mabrey made the score 49-49. If the Yell Leaders had wanted to remind her of that miss again, Mabrey’s release was too fast, but they were long past the chants. After the Aggies tied the score at 51-51, the final 3-pointer gave the Irish a lead they would not relinquish. Mabrey’s work from behind the arc was done. Aggies freshman guard Chennedy Carter, who made the difference in her own team’s victory over DePaul in the second round, had no doubt that Mabrey decided this game. “They had a player that went 7-for-11 for 3,” Carter said. “That’s probably what hurt us the most. She’s one of the best players on the team. We just got to lock down. We let her get open, get in a rhythm. We can’t do that.” Mabrey admitted she may have gotten lucky with some defensive mix-ups, but praised junior forward Jessica Shepard for giving her opportunities to score. “I think a few times in transition, they might have mixed up some players,” she said. “Got some shots there. Also, Jess got some good driving kicks. Also, in transition, finding the open player was working for us.” But Mabrey, as Irish head coach Muffet McGraw would be happy to remind you, has had to do a lot more than just shoot this year. Without a natural point guard on the team, Mabrey has taken over those duties, too. In the final quarter, Mabrey recognized that her teammates Arike Ogunbowale and sophomore guard Jackie Young were making shots of their own and dished out five assists, as the Irish pulled away for the eventual 90-84 victory. Editor’s note: A version of this story was published online March 25. Contact Daniel O’Boyle at doboyle1@nd.edu
Senior captain relies on experience to guide teammates By ELIZABETH GREASON Assistant Managing Editor
Twenty-five minutes. Six rebounds. Four points. Three turnovers. Two games. But she’s been there. She’s played. And just about no one else has. Those 25 minutes then-freshman Kathryn Westbeld played over the course of Notre Dame’s two Final Four games against South Carolina and UConn in the 2015 Final Four are 22 minutes more than anyone else on the Notre Dame roster has played that deep in the NCAA tournament — current graduate student forward Kristina Nelson played just three minutes in the team’s 2014 Final Four run her freshman year, though she did not see the court in the 2015 Final Four. This season, the senior forward has guided her team as it scaled a seemingly-insurmountable peak. And now, Westbeld and the Irish stand on the final ledge, where it all began for Westbeld — a final weekend matchup against Connecticut (36-0, 16-0 AAC), this time in her home state of Ohio, no less — eyeing the summit. “Freshman year, we were on a run. We went to the Final Four the past few years, and it was just kind of me. I didn’t have a huge role on the team, but I was just kind of playing, doing what I can, so enjoying it there,” Westbeld said. “It’s definitely different senior year, me being a leader on this team and a captain, I think, and someone with a lot of experience who’s been there before. I definitely think that that’s going to help in the long run. I’m just really excited to be able to go home and do it.” While Westbeld may not have been the kickstarter the Irish needed in the Final Four her freshman year, that reputation has certainly changed. When she took the court against Villanova after not starting the first half due to a sprained ankle, the Irish (33-3, 15-1 ACC) and the Wildcats (23-9, 12-6 Big East) were tied. Westbeld played through pain for 16 minutes in the second half and the Irish won by 26 points, sending them on what would be an immensely successful trip to Spokane, Washington. “Kat, last year, never practiced, and she was on the stretch for the last month-and-a-half of the season where she played late in the game. But to have her in a boot — she was a in a boot before the game — and to be able to come out, I thought it was a really motivating and inspiring
ZACH YIM | The Observer
Irish senior forward Kathryn Westbeld fends off a defender during Notre Dame’s win in the national championship Sunday.
moment for the team,” Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said March 18 after the win. As a leader of the squad, Westbeld is hoping to pass along the importance of remaining calm and focused on the goal throughout the hype and media attention that will lead up to Friday’s game. “Going to the Final Four is a really exciting thing and not something that everyone gets to do in their lifetime, so I think we’re all going to be really excited,” she said. “But I think if I can keep us all level-headed and keep us calm, that will help a lot.” After making an early exit from the tournament in the regional rounds for the past two years, Westbeld said her desire to cut down the nets in Spokane only grew, especially since this year was her final chance to do so. “I wanted it so badly, there’s no words to describe it,” Westbeld said. “But I’m just really happy that we were able to accomplish that for our teammates, because I know the seven scholarship players we’ve had and our walkons, our injured reserve, everyone has done so much for all of us to get to this point, so I’m just really proud of everyone.” The senior is well-aware of her status as the only active Notre Dame player to have taken to the hardwood in meaningful minutes on such a large stage, and while Nelson and seniors Brianna Turner and Mychal Johnson made the trip to Tampa, Florida, in 2015, Turner is sitting out the year with a torn ACL and Nelson and Johnson did not see any action in either game that year. “Just being a freshman, I was just kind of taking it all in. You just never know if it’s going to happen again, so really just taking it all in, having fun, just doing
what I can to help the team win,” Westbeld said. “ … I’m the only experienced player to play in the Final Four, so just keeping a level head and making sure we’re all doing what we need to do to win.” Westbeld — who, despite playing through yet another injury, will almost certainly see more than the five minutes she saw in the 2015 championship against UConn in this Final Four game against the Huskies on Friday — noted that the game will be particularly special because, no matter the result, the Kettering, Ohio, native will get to finish her collegiate career in front of a wide variety of friendly faces in Columbus, Ohio, something very few players get lucky enough to do. “That never happens, so honestly it means the world to me,” Westbeld said. “My family is just blowing up my phone trying to get tickets, and I’m just trying to figure out all the situations with that, so it definitely means a lot just to be able to go home for that last few games here. It just really means the world to me.” And when she walks off the court for the final time, whether that be Friday or Sunday, Westbeld will finish her career with nearly 3,000 minutes of career playing time, over 1,000 points and roughly 700 rebounds. But, as her coach will tell you, as impressive as her stat sheet may be on a given day, it’s off the court that Westbeld really sets herself apart — as a leader and a role model. And this weekend, she will show that. Because she’s got some unfinished business to take care of. Editor’s note: A version of this story was published March 29. Contact Elizabeth Greason at egreason@nd.edu