Humbled! That's the best word I can find to describe the 2017-2018 Notre Dame Women's Basketball team. You may ask why not use another adjective like extraordinary, magnificent, or outstanding? The answer is very simple. From my perspective, that is how I observed this team all season long. On the court, this team is all of those other words. Off the court, after all the fans had left the Purcell Pavilion, addressing the media in the press conference, the players were truly humble. They were ...
Notre Dame Women's Basketball
A National Title Countdown
Long-time loyal readers of HLS know that I'm a numbers guy. After Notre Dame's national title victory last night, quite a few numbers ran through my head. There was the deficit the Irish came back from (15). The record low number of points that Notre Dame scored in the second quarter that caused said deficit (3). Muffet McGraw's career win total (800). The amount of bullshit seconds added back to the clock to halt the Irish celebration (0.1). However, the numbers that truly stick out, and ...
Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Through Adversity To The “FINAL”
Notre Dame versus UConn, a tale of two foes from the Big East matching up in an unlikely place. Their two worlds collided at the Final Four in Columbus Ohio. The Final Four is the 48th time that Notre Dame and UConn have done battle on a basketball court. Going into Friday evening, UConn led the series 36-11. In NCAA tournament play against each other they are at three wins apiece. There is no other way to get the National Championship than watching the two teams settle the score on a basketball ...
Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: How Sweet “16” It Is
The fall/winter season of sporting activities are all wrapping up. Men's basketball wrapped up Saturday afternoon, and the Men's Hockey won the B1G Championship Saturday night in "Sudden Death" overtime. The last team to play was the Notre Dame Women's Basketball team. The women were matched up against a former Big East foe, the Wildcats of Villanova. Villanova got to Sunday's game by beating the SDSU Jackrabbits in OT 81-74. The win came via the three-pointer. Nova was 16-38 from beyond the ...
Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: NCAA says “Go West, ND!”
The Notre Dame Women's Basketball 2017/2018 season has had its fair share of peaks and valleys. Having three scholarship players on the bench with ACL injuries would be devastating to most teams in the NCAA. But, the women of Notre Dame basketball never let that keep them from focusing on being a team and achieving an amazing season. On Monday evening, the Notre Dame Women's Basketball team hosted a "watch party" at the Purcell Pavilion. The watch party was to celebrate the reveal of seeding ...
Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Young Steps Up To Send Off Seniors
When it comes to a Senior Day, no one does it better than Notre Dame Athletics. This past Sunday was no exception. Fifteen minutes prior to tip-off versus North Carolina St, the coaching staff and fans honored: (Seniors) Mychal Johnson, Brianna Turner, Kathryn Westbeld. They also honored Graduate Students Lili Thompson and Kristina Nelson. On Senior Day, the underclassmen want to send the Seniors off with a win. In order to win, the Irish were going to have beat a 22-6 overall and 11-4 ACC ...
ND Women’s Basketball: 37 Point Swing To Victory
Purcell Pavilion was the scene for yet another historical moment in Notre Dame Women's Basketball history. The Lady Irish took a 23-point deficit and converted it into a win over the Lady Vols in a comeback for the ages. The Lady Irish ended the night with a 37-point swing, defeating Tennessee 84-70. Let's take a glimpse into this storied night to see how this comeback unfolded. First Quarter The first quarter started with a series of uncharacteristic events unfolded ...
Marina Mabrey: The 40 Minute Cardiac Kid
The weather outside was cold and snowy, but, inside the Purcell Pavilion,the Lady Irish looked to warm things up on the court against the Miami Hurricanes. Prior to Thursday night’s contest, the Irish learned they will be without grad student Lili Thompson due to an ACL injury that will keep her sidelined for the remainder of her season. With this injury, the fourth knee-related injury of the season, the Irish will be carrying only seven scholarship players the rest of the season. The ...
Jackie Young: Back In The Mix
Let the ACC Conference season begin! Thursday night, the Lady Irish opened up their 2017-2018 conference play on a night that saw the outside the Purcell Pavilion transform into a snow globe. "While the weather outside was frightful", on the inside, there was excitement to see the Irish take on the Syracuse Orange, coming into conference play with a 11-1 record and Syracuse with a record of 11-0, ranked outside the top 25 in the Women's AP Poll. A question circulating on press row before the ...
Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: Shepard On Fire
How do they do it? That's the question I have about the ND Fighting Irish Women's Basketball team. This is the number two team in the country, behind the UConn Huskies and ahead of the Louisville Cardinals. The team has a short bench with Brianna Turner and Mikayla Vaughn are out with injuries. You could easily add Jackie Young to the list as she wore a face mask to protect her broken nose in Sunday's game against the DePaul Blue Demons. This team has the heart of a champion, but who is the ...