Notre Dame Fighting Irish
ACC (30-3, 15-1)
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish might have had one of the quieter regular seasons that they have had in a long time. Coming into the season, under the direction of head coach Muffet McGraw, expectations were very high but after the loss to Connecticut in December the attention dropped off just a little bit. Thus, the ability to play a little bit looser allowed Notre Dame to once again surge to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference and positioned the Fighting Irish to be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Wins: 11/20 Washington (71-60), 1/26 Duke (62-58), 2/26 Florida State (79-61)
Bad Losses: 12/7 Connecticut (61-72), 12/29 at N.C. State (62-70), 1/16 at Tennessee (69-71)
Coach: Muffet McGraw
Why They Can Surprise:
Guard play is always a difference maker in the NCAA Tournament and Notre Dame has Lindsay Allen. She is one of the top playmakers in all of women’s college basketball. Brianna Turner been outstanding all season long and is averaging 15.6 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds per game. Arike Ogunbowale is the best three-point shooter for Notre Dame and when she is on shooting the basketball well, it stretches defenses and open things up for Turner down low. In addition, the overall gauntlet of the ACC will help the Fighting Irish in the NCAA Tournament as they played several high quality teams like Florida State, Duke, Louisville, and Miami. There is also the element of motivation in favor of Notre Dame as they fell short in the Sweet 16 last year against Stanford and you know the Fighting Irish will do everything they can to atone for that early exit.
Why They Can Disappoint:
When Notre Dame lost at Tennessee they did not slam the door on the Lady Vols as the Fighting Irish blew a 62-52 lead in the fourth quarter. Consequently, it will be very important for Notre Dame to keep the foot on the gas pedal when they have a lead in the fourth quarter and put teams away. Another potential cause for disappointment will be if the Fighting Irish fall behind by a big margin like they did in the loss to North Carolina State in Raleigh. The Wolfpack led by as many as 19 points and, while Notre Dame rallied to get back in the game, they simply ran out of time. So starting fast and not letting up is going to be very critical for the Fighting Irish in this NCAA Tournament.
Probable Starters:
Lindsay Allen, Senior, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 7.6 apg, 5.2 rpg, 2.3 spg
Marina Mabrey, Sophomore, Guard, 14.2 ppg, 2.7 apg
Arike Ogunbowale, Sophomore, Guard, 15.1 ppg, 1.8 apg, 4.3 rpg
Erin Boley, Freshman, Forward, 6.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Brianna Turner, Junior, Forward, 15.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.5 bpg
Key Role Players:
Kathryn Westbeld, Junior, Forward, 8.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Jackie Young, Freshman, Guard, 7.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Kristina Nelson, Senior, Forward, 3.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg
Mychal Johnson, Junior, Guard, 2.1 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 79.3 (15th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.9 (89, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.5 (3, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.9 (134, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.5 (191, 8)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 39.0 (3, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.6 (141, 6)
Rebound Margin: 8.3 (14, 2)
Assists Per Game: 18/9 (7, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.5 (39, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over North Carolina A&T
2016 NCAA Round of 32 win over Indiana
2016 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Stanford
2015 NCAA Round of 64 win over Montana
2015 NCAA Round of 32 win over DePaul
2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Stanford
2015 NCAA Regional Final win over Baylor
2015 NCAA National Semifinal win over South Carolina
2015 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over Robert Morris
2014 NCAA Round of 32 win over Arizona State
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Oklahoma State
2014 NCAA Regional Final win over Baylor
2014 NCAA National Semifinal win over Maryland
2014 NCAA National Final loss to Connecticut
2013 NCAA Round of 64 win over Tennessee Martin
2013 NCAA Round of 32 win over Iowa
2013 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Kansas
2013 NCAA Regional Final win over Duke
2013 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Connecticut
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Liberty
2012 NCAA Round of 32 win over California
2012 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over St. Bonaventure
2012 NCAA Regional Final win over Maryland
2012 NCAA National Semifinal win over Connecticut
2012 NCAA National Final loss to Baylor
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Utah
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Temple
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Oklahoma
2011 NCAA Regional Final win over Tennessee
2011 NCAA National Semifinal win over Connecticut
2011 NCAA National Final loss to Texas A&M
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Cleveland State
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over Vermont
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Oklahoma
2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Minnesota
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over Southern Methodist
2008 NCAA Round of 32 win over Oklahoma
2008 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Tennessee
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over California
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to North Carolina
*all team stats through 3/2
