Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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90 MARCH 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WOMEN'S BASKETBALL BY LOU SOMOGYI "So many times, it happens too fast You trade your passion for glory Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past. You must fight just to keep them alive." — Survivor, 1982 "The Eye Of The Tiger" N o one questioned whether the 2018-19 Notre Dame women's basketball team had the fire power to repeat as national champions. The issue was going to be whether it would possess the fire. An 18-day stretch from Jan. 24-Feb. 10 reflected this dichotomy. • Sitting pretty at No. 1 on Jan. 24, the Fighting Irish dominated the sec- ond half at once superpower Tennes- see (though still highly talented) to post a 77-62 victory. • Three days later at North Carolina, which was only 3-4 in the league and 11-9 overall, Notre Dame suffered one of its two or three most stunning losses (78-73) this decade. An ankle sprain suffered by junior guard Jackie Young precluded her from playing, but head coach Muffet Mc- Graw wasn't buying that as an excuse. "As the No. 1 team in the coun- try, you should be able to beat an unranked team without one of your starters. I was really disappointed no- body else really stepped up," McGraw reflected."We had four really good players on the floor all the time, and they needed to do more. "… We're really fragile right now. I think we see our weaknesses a little bit more than our strengths, and I think we need to get our confidence back." • Order was restored with a 101- 63 demolition of an improved Clem- son team Jan. 31, followed by a 90-50 crushing of a Georgia Tech squad Feb. 3 that lost only 91-90 to the Tar Heels team that surprised the Irish. Yellow Jackets head coach MaChelle Joseph matter-of-factly declared Notre Dame "the best team in the country." "They have five first-round picks that are starters," she pointed out. "I think they could beat a lot of WNBA teams." It was hyperbole, but an ESPN mock draft for this spring, which has 36 play- ers over three rounds, had Young as the No. 6 overall pick, senior guard Arike Ogunbowale No. 7, fifth-year senior forward Brianna Turner No. 14, senior forward Jessica Shepard No. 16 and senior guard Marina Mabrey No. 27. No other school had more than two draft-eligible players among the 36 se- lections. • Yet just when you thought the North Carolina setback was the neces- sary wake-up call to set Notre Dame straight, a 72-65 defeat at No. 25 Miami Feb. 7 reaffirmed how the Irish lacked the proverbial eye of the tiger that was its hallmark last season. Was Notre Dame going through a letdown after last season while in a "wake us for the NCAA Tournament" mode? "That is exactly what the problem is, and it's completely my fault," Mc- Graw said the day before hosting No. 24 Florida State Feb. 10. "I feel like I'm letting them be average. I'm letting them just kind of be out there playing and not really in high gear. I've got to do a better job subbing. I've got to get more energy into the game. "If you're allowed to go out and play at a certain pace and stay in the game, you're going to continue to play at that pace. I need to pull them out of the game, let them sit down and think about it for a while — maybe not put them back in for a while. I've done a really poor job subbing." While that's easy to say, there is an enormous drop-off between the vet- eran, WNBA-caliber starting lineup and the bench. Against better competi- tion, it shows up even more. "You shouldn't have to do that with a veteran team, but I think that's the only way they're going to learn," Mc- Graw said. "My only recourse is to take them out of the game. "… We had yet another wake-up call, our third one of the season. We Through Feb. 10, senior guard Arike Ogunbowale (21.0 points per game) was dueling with Louisville star Asia Durr (21.1) for the ACC scoring title. PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN You Snooze, You Lose Two conference losses in 11 days have Notre Dame searching for a consistent approach to competition