Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL The more intense defensive pressure and performance have come from ne- cessity. At times, this Irish team has looked like a No. 2 or No. 3 seed with its string of Final Fours in jeopardy … but when the defense can help save the game, there is encouragement that the Irish can return to the Final Four as a top seed. "Usually we're up there offensively, but it's a nice change to be there defen- sively — it means we're really work- ing hard," McGraw said. "I think that's where you see your team's chemistry." 2015-16 NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 7 Wayne State* W, 101-52 Nov. 15 Bucknell W, 85-54 Nov. 18 Toledo W, 74-39 Nov. 21 at South Dakota State W, 75-64 Nov. 23 at Valparaiso W, 110-54 Nov. 27 vs. Denver^ W, 94-52 Nov. 28 vs. UCLA^ W, 92-84 (OT) Dec. 2 Ohio State W, 75-72 Dec. 5 at Connecticut L, 91-81 Dec. 9 DePaul W, 95-90 Dec. 12 at TCU W, 88-71 Dec. 21 at Saint Joseph's W, 91-55 Dec. 28 Oregon State W, 62-61 Dec. 30 Georgia Tech W, 85-76 Jan. 3 at Pittsburgh W, 65-55 Jan. 7 at Virginia W, 74-46 Jan. 10 North Carolina W, 88-54 Jan. 14 at Boston College W, 63-50 Jan. 18 Tennessee W, 79-66 Jan. 21 Syracuse W, 90-62 Jan. 24 Virginia Tech W, 80-41 Jan. 28 at Georgia Tech W, 54-42 Feb. 1 at Duke W, 68-61 Feb. 4 North Carolina State W, 82-46 Feb. 7 at Louisville W, 66-61 Feb. 14 Miami (RSN) 1 p.m. Feb. 18 at Wake Forest 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at Florida State (ESPN2) 7 p.m. Feb. 25 Clemson 7 p.m. Feb. 27 Boston College 1 p.m. March 2-6 ACC Tournament$ TBD * Exhibition; ^ Junkanoo Jam at Freeport, Bahamas; FSN — FOX Sports Net; RSN — ACC Regional Sports Network; $ at Greensboro, N.C. Three-Point Play 1. On The Rebound — Perhaps the most pro- nounced difference between Notre Dame and No. 1 UConn and No. 2 South Carolina is size and length under the boards. Louisville out- rebounded Notre Dame 20-9 on the offensive glass, which helped it most of the contest before falling at the end. Guards can take up the slack on occasion, as fifth-year senior Madison Cable did with her 12 caroms, but there might need to be some for- tuitous bounces off the rim if the Irish meet up again with the Huskies or Gamecocks. 2. Rotation Notation — During Notre Dame's 23-1 start, seven players averaged at least 19.7 minutes per game, led by the veteran back- court of Madison Cable (30.7) and Lindsay Allen (30.3). Meanwhile, senior guard Hannah Huff- man, who has also helped in the post with her defense, and sophomore guard Mychal John- son have both averaged about 12 minutes per contest. 3. Pipeline Keeps Pumping — Both incoming recruits, Kentucky's 6-2 Erin Boley and Indiana's 5-11 Jackie Young, were named to the presti- gious 24-person McDonald's All-American Game to be played at Chicago's United Center March 30. In January, Young eclipsed Indiana's all-time career scoring record of 3,134 held by state leg- end and Indiana Hoosiers All-American Damon Bailey set from 1986-90. — Lou Somogyi