Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2019 73 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL guards, Ivey was given the recruit- ing coordinator role and consistently helped land premier talent through- out the country that resulted in seven Final Four appearances this past de- cade. "There is no other place that has impacted me more as a player, coach and person than Notre Dame," Ivey said in a news release. "I've gained friendships and relationships that will last a lifetime. But the biggest impact that I've had is from the relationship I have with Coach McGraw. "I'm so grateful for Coach McGraw. She has been so much more than just a coach, mentor and boss. She believed in me and gave me my first opportu- nity at Notre Dame, and I am forever grateful. I stand tall, confident and ready because of the tools she has in- stilled in me." On Aug. 15, McGraw told BGI that two candidates to replace Ivey have interviewed on campus, and another would take place Aug. 16. She antici- pated a decision to be made by Aug. 18, although the news of the new hire probably would not be released until the latter part of August while the uni- versity goes through protocol with the human resources department. Remaining on her staff are associ- ates Carol Owens, who coaches the post players, and Beth Morgan Cun- ningham, who mentors the guards/ wings. Owens completed her second 10-year stint with the Irish this past season (she had her first from 1995- 2005). Cunningham, who starred for Mc- Graw from 1993-97, has been on the staff since 2012 and also is in the Ring of Honor. She is the interim recruiting coordinator, but the new assistant also will take on a major role there. "Recruiting will definitely be in- volved because Niele did so much. We will probably split that up with the new person and Beth," McGraw said. It is not a prerequisite to have played for McGraw to be selected for the position, but the 33rd-year Irish head coach said it is a plus. "We have a lot of them out there," McGraw said. "They understand the system, they understand the place, they know how I work. That's always a bonus." Former Irish point guard Megan Duffy (2003-06) has been a rising star who was hired this year as Mar- quette's head coach. Another former McGraw point guard, Coquese Wash- ington (1989-93), was the head coach at Penn State from 2007-19, but re- cently was hired as the associate head coach at the University of Oklahoma. Guard Michaela Mabrey (2012-16) was the coordinator of program and player development at Miami (Fla.) during the 2016-17 season and then was an assistant coach on Duffy's 2017-18 Miami (Ohio) staff, which fin- ished 21-11, before getting hired by LSU in July 2018 as director of recruit- ing. There was another positive McGraw drew on Ivey's departure. "Hopefully one day she can take all that she's learned and bring it back to our program," she said. ✦ Recruiting Official Visits With only nine scholarship players on the 2019-20 roster, including former walk-on and now senior Kaitlin Coles, who was sidelined last season with a torn ACL, the Notre Dame staff is looking to sign at least four and possibly five prospects in the 2020 recruiting class. Sharp-shooting guard Allison Campbell and post player Natalija Marshall have already given their pledge. Campbell, a 5-10 Pennsylvania native, gave her commitment prior to her junior season and then proceeded to lead Bellwood-Antis High to its sec- ond consecutive Class 2A state championship. She is ranked as the nation's No. 20 prospect by ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 27 by Prospects Nation. Marshall, a 6-4 star for powerful Christ The King in Queens, N.Y., which has produced basketball lu- minaries such as Connecticut's Sue Bird and Tina Charles plus Tennessee legend Chamique Holdsclaw. Marshall is ranked No. 16 by Prospects Nation and No. 35 by ESPN HoopGurlz. The two official visit weekends for football games have been set. There will not be any visitors for the home opener versus New Mexico Sept. 14, although 2001 National Player of the Year Ruth Riley, who led the Fighting Irish to the program's first national title, will be honored on the field for her induction this winter into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. On Sept. 28 versus Virginia, Blue & Gold Illustrated has confirmed scheduled official visits for: • Deja Kelly, a 5-8 point guard from Texas, ranked No. 19 by ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 31 by Prospects Nation. • Tennessee point guard Alasia Hayes, No. 28 by ESPN HoopGurlz yet not rated by Prospects Nation. The other four finalists for the 5-7 prospect are Michigan, North Carolina State, Rutgers and Middle Ten- nessee State — where older sisters Anastasia and Aislynn are part of the program. On Oct. 12 versus USC, the official visitors, in addition to Campbell, are slated to be: • Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark, the nation's No. 4 prospect according to ESPN HoopGurlz and No. 7 by Prospects Nation. The 5-10 standout has whittled her schools down to Notre Dame and the in-state Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones, where older brother Blake is a sophomore reserve quarterback. • Ohio wing Madeline Westbeld, the 6-2 younger sister of Kathryn Westbeld, the glue figure as a start- ing forward for the 2018 national champions. Ranked No. 24 by Prospects Nation and No. 31 by ESPN HoopGurlz, Westbeld also named Louisville, Ohio State, Tennessee and UCLA among her five finalists. A potential visitor this fall also could be 6-2 forward Amirah Abdul-Rahim, from St. Francis High School in Alpharetta, Ga. She is ranked No. 59 by Prospects Nation, but is not part of ESPN HoopGurlz's top 100. Her older brother Amir was recently named the men's head basketball coach at Kennesaw State. In the 2021 class, 5-10 point guard Olivia Miles from New Jersey's Blair Academy visited this summer. The No. 1 prospect in the class — Washington, D.C., native Azzi Fudd, who is recovering from a torn ACL — has also been to the campus on several occasions. — Lou Somogyi Caitlin Clark, a 5-10 point who is rated as the No. 4 overall player in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz, has Notre Dame in her top three along with Iowa and Iowa State. PHOTO COURTESY USA BASKETBALL