ND Women's BB '17 -'18 Season

[BGIF]

Hebard 6 footer layup around Jess.

ORE Timeout 1:05 - 4th

ND 82-73

 

[BGIF]

Ducks trading fouls. Mabs hits both. ND by 11

Ducks 3 misses the rim. Jackie reb.

Rico pullup J, NG! Shooting 6-19, 6-6 from FT line.

Rico dribbling away the clock.

Ducks surrender!

FINAL FOUR!​

MORE ACLs THAN LOSSES!​

 

[dad4aa]

Not sure what chance we have to beat UCONN but I love the grit and determination of this team. They fight for everything until the last buzzer. GREAT WIN!!

 

[BGIF]

Kat and Koko with the Gatorfetti bath celebration.

 

[connor_in]

When the acl's started snapping I never would have guessed Final 4 bound

 

[BGIF]

Congratulations to the Selection Committee

Congratulations to the Selection Committee

All Four #1s in the Final Four.

 

[BGIF]

ND DOMINATES boards 51-29 ... but only took 7 more shots.

ND 19 Orebs

ORE only had 5 turnovers to ND's 10.

ND had 21 assists on 31 buckets. TEAM GAME!

Matchup		ORE  ND
FG Made-Attem	28-65 31-72
Field Goal %	43.1	43.1
3PT Made-Atte	4-15	3-10
Three Point %	26.7	30.0
FT Made-Atte	14-18	19-21
Free Throw %	77.8	90.5
Total Rebounds	29	51
Offensive Rebos	6	19
Defensive Rebos	23	32
Assists	11	21
Steals	8	2
Blocks	3	2
Total Turnovers	5	10
Personal Fouls	18	13
Technical Fouls	0	0

 

[BGIF]

Oregon scored 25 points in the 2nd Q. Then scored 28 points in the last 20 minutes.

DEFENSE!

 

[Ndaccountant]

Well deserved trip to final four. Congrats to the team.

 

[NorthDakota]

All Four #1s in the Final Four.

welcome to women's basketball

 

[Ndaccountant]

welcome to women's basketball

Only happened 4 times in last 30 years, but yea.....

 

[BGIF]

Oregon held ND to 12 points under their Tournament average.

ND held Oregon to 17 points under their Tournament average.

 

[NorthDakota]

Only happened 4 times in last 30 years, but yea.....

How bout men's ball?

 

[BGIF]

Checkout the ND Distribution of Rebs and Assists

Checkout the ND Distribution of Rebs and Assists

Oregon

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
R. HebardF	34	8-12	0-0	1-2	3	7	10	0	3	2	1	3	17
S. SaballyF	27	3-11	2-5	1-2	1	2	3	2	0	0	2	2	9
S. IonescuG	40	9-22	1-4	7-8	2	3	5	4	3	0	0	2	26
L. BandoG	37	2-6	1-4	0-0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	2	5
M. CazorlaG	33	4-9	0-2	5-6	0	2	2	3	1	0	0	4	13
BENCH	        MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
O. GildonF	11	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	0	2	2	0
M. McGwireF	12	2-3	0-0	0-0	0	3	3	0	0	1	0	2	4
J. HallG	06	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
TEAM		       28-65	4-15	14-18	6	23	29	11	8	3	5	18	74
 		       43.1%	26.7%	77.8%

Notre Dame

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. ShepardF	36	7-17	0-0	4-5	6	3	9	3	1	1	0	2	18
K. WestbeldF	33	9-12	0-0	2-2	2	5	7	3	0	0	3	3	20
M. MabreyG	40	4-9	2-4	5-6	0	7	7	7	0	0	3	1	15
A. OgunbowaleG	40	6-19	1-4	6-6	2	4	6	2	1	0	2	1	19
J. YoungG	40	3-11	0-2	2-2	4	9	13	6	0	0	2	4	8
BENCH	        MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
K. NelsonF	11	2-4	0-0	0-0	1	2	3	0	0	1	0	2	4
TEAM		      31-72	3-10	19-21	19	32	51	21	2	2	10	13	84
 		      43.1%	30.0%	90.5%

 

[BGIF]

ND's 3 guards played all 40 minutes.

Koko was the only sub.

 

[NorthDakota]

ND's 3 guards played all 40 minutes.

Koko was the only sub.

Is ND not very deep or?

 

[BGIF]

No. 1 Irish Advance to Eighth Final Four After 84-74 Win Over No. 2 Oregon :: Notre Dame Women's Basketball :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of ND Athletics

No. 1 Irish Advance to Eighth Final Four After 84-74 Win Over No. 2 Oregon
Westbeld scored a team-high 20 points

SPOKANE, Wash. -- For the eighth time in program history, the University of Notre Dame women's basketball team is dancing in the Final Four. The No. 1 seeded Irish (33-3) outlasted the No. 2 seeded Ducks (33-5) 84-74 Monday night after a strong defensive performance in the second half.

Kathryn Westbeld led the Irish with 20 points and seven rebounds. Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard where not far behind with 19 and 18 points, respectively.

The Irish dominated the rebounding battle, holding a 51-29 advantage that led to 26 second-chance points. Notre Dame held the high-scoring Oregon offense in check in the second half. The Ducks scored just 28 points in the second half after putting up 46 in the first half.

Notre Dame and UConn are now the only teams in all of NCAA Division I women's basketball to have appeared in six of the last eight Final Fours.

"So proud of this team, where we came from, what we've overcome to get here, over a great Oregon team," Karen & Kevin Keyes Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. "Sabrina Ionescu, just a fantastic player. Did a great job on her in the third quarter, I thought as well as we played defensively. That was the difference in the game. Got them to miss a couple shots, rebounded really well. Jackie Young particularly rebounded well. Kathryn, you expect a senior to be ready to lead your team, she certainly did that today."

How It Happened
Ogunbowale and Westbeld carried the Irish to a hot start in the opening quarter. The Irish shot 62.5 percent (10-16) from the floor en route to a 22-21 lead after 10 minutes of play. Ogunbowale had seven points and two assists while Westbeld added six points of her own on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor. The Irish had nine assists on 10 shots in the first quarter.

Later down 26-22 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Irish spurred off a 9-0 run to take a 31-26 lead. Jessica Shepard produced the first four points to tie the game and Mabrey added the final five with a layup and deep three-pointer to regain the five-point lead for the Irish.

However, the Ducks fought right back and ended the quarter on a 20-9 points differential, taking a 46-40 halftime lead. Shepard led the Irish with 14 points at the half, followed by 10 points from Westbeld.

The Irish quickly turned the halftime deficit into a third quarter advantage thanks to a 15-4 run, including a 13-2 spurt over 2:54 minutes of play. The Irish defense led the charge on the run, holding the Ducks without a field goal for over three minutes.

Their lead grew to 61-55 for the Irish at the end of the third quarter following another strong defensive segment. Notre Dame held Oregon scoreless over the final 2:52 of the quarter and limited the Ducks to just 3-for-17 (17.6 percent) from the floor in the quarter.

In the final quarter, the Irish held off one last run from the Ducks and used the free throw line to punch their ticket to the Final Four. The Irish were 11-for-12 from the line in the fourth quarter and 15-for-16 in the second half.

Player of the Game
Kathryn Westbeld scored a team-high 20 points against the Ducks on 9-for-12 shooting from the floor. She also added seven rebounds and three assists to lift the Irish to their sixth Final Four in the last eight years.

UP NEXT
The Irish begin the road to Columbus, Ohio, for Friday's NCAA National Semifinal game against No. 1 UConn at 9:30 pm ET.

 

[BGIF]

Oregon vs. Notre Dame - Game Recap - March 26, 2018 - ESPN

Irish dancing back to Final Four after beating Oregon 84-74

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Kathryn Westbeld scored 20 points, Jessica Shepard added 18 and Notre Dame reached the Final Four for the eighth time in school history by defeating Oregon 84-74 on Monday night.

Westbeld came up with the biggest game of her Notre Dame career despite being slowed by an ankle injury from the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Westbeld had scored a combined 12 points in the previous four games, but she teamed with Shepard for an inside attack that hurt the Ducks.

Westbeld made 9 of 12 shots. Notre Dame (33-3) outscored Oregon 52-38 in the paint and outrebounded the Ducks 51-29 in the Spokane Regional final.

Arike Ogunbowale added 19 points and Marina Mabrey had 15 for the Irish.

Despite a handful of costly injuries along the way, the Irish are back in a familiar spot in the national semifinals. It's the sixth Final Four for Notre Dame since 2011 and old friend UConn awaits in the semis Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.

First-team all-American Sabrina Ionescu led Oregon (33-5) with 26 points, but the Ducks struggled offensively over the final 20 minutes. Oregon shot 8 of 31 in the second half and Ionescu had just seven points after the break.

The Ducks were unable to find other scoring options. Ruthy Hebard had 12 points in the first half and just five in the second half.

Oregon also never got into a rhythm with its outside shooting. The Ducks were 4 of 15 on 3-pointers after entering as the No. 2 team in the country at 40.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Notre Dame's defense was a big reason why Oregon shot so poorly.

After a first half that was an offensive showcase, Notre Dame did a better job of pressuring Ionescu and getting the ball out of her hands. When she did get a shot attempt, it was often a challenged look.

Notre Dame took full advantage, starting the half on a 15-4 run, including three second-chance baskets and Jackie Young's jumper with 30 seconds left in the quarter that gave the Irish a 61-55 lead.

The Ducks closed to 65-63 on Hebard's fast-break layup -- just the sixth field goal of the second half for Oregon. Free throws by Westbeld and Shepard's basket after Ionescu missed pushed the lead back to 69-63 with 4:50 remaining. Westbeld scored again and the lead was 71-63.

BIG PICTURE

Oregon: The Ducks had outrebounded opponents by seven for the season. After holding even with Notre Dame for most of the first half, Oregon was outrebounded 19-6 in the third quarter and 34-13 in the second half.

Notre Dame: Ogunbowale was named the most outstanding player of the region. She was 6 of 6 at the free-throw line in the second half and the Irish were 15 of 16 at the line for the game.

 

[arrowryan]

Is ND not very deep or?

Not at all. They have just 7 healthy scholarship players: the starting 5, Koko, and a true frosh. Their starting 5 is really, really good but they don't have much after that. Like someone said in a previous post, they have more players with a torn ACL (4) than losses (3). This is why many people believe this is Muffet's best coaching job yet.

What is even more awesome is that they return 4 starters next year (they lose Westbeld), get Brianna Turner back, get Mikayla Vaughn back, and bring in a good recruiting class.

 

[koonja]

Not at all. They have just 7 healthy scholarship players: the starting 5, Koko, and a true frosh. Their starting 5 is really, really good but they don't have much after that. Like someone said in a previous post, they have more players with a torn ACL (4) than losses (3). This is why many people believe this is Muffet's best coaching job yet.

What is even more awesome is that they return 4 starters next year (they lose Westbeld), get Brianna Turner back, get Mikayla Vaughn back, and bring in a good recruiting class.

I haven't watched any games this year. Do they have a chance to beat UCONN on Friday? Or is this David vs. Goliath again?

 

[BabyIrish]

I haven't watched any games this year. Do they have a chance to beat UCONN on Friday? Or is this David vs. Goliath again?

Probably not given the injury situation. You'd think that starters playing so many minutes would be too hard to overcome but they should be used to it by now. I think the one overall thing so far this tournament is they have played horrendous defense in the first half of every game and then tightened up in the second. There's no way they can survive doing that against UCONN. They have to find a way to play defense for 4 quarters, I just don't think they have the energy to do it.

 

[koonja]

Probably not given the injury situation. You'd think that starters playing so many minutes would be too hard to overcome but they should be used to it by now. I think the one overall thing so far this tournament is they have played horrendous defense in the first half of every game and then tightened up in the second. There's no way they can survive doing that against UCONN. They have to find a way to play defense for 4 quarters, I just don't think they have the energy to do it.

Got it, thanks.

At least there's 4 days off before the UCONN game if they're burning so many minutes. Would you say it's less likely they beat UCONN this time than in year's past then? Taking away hindsight, lol.

 

[clashmore_mike]

Got it, thanks.

At least there's 4 days off before the UCONN game if they're burning so many minutes. Would you say it's less likely they beat UCONN this time than in year's past then? Taking away hindsight, lol.

They were up 11 in the 4th quarter at UCONN earlier this year but let that one slip away. I think that was also before Thompson's acl injury. It's possible but they'll need to stay out of foul trouble and not have any extended scoring droughts.

 

[texbender]

They were up 11 in the 4th quarter at UCONN earlier this year but let that one slip away. I think that was also before Thompson's acl injury. It's possible but they'll need to stay out of foul trouble and not have any extended scoring droughts.

Just don't see how ND can stay with UCONN for 40 minutes with a limited roster. They are obviously the best team by far in WBB. As pointed out above, any foul trouble and/or scoring drought will only make a tough situation even tougher.
But an Irish win over UCONN's jackass coach would be sweet.

 

[arrowryan]

I haven't watched any games this year. Do they have a chance to beat UCONN on Friday? Or is this David vs. Goliath again?

Is there a chance? Yeah, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it. If they were healthy, I'd say they would have a pretty good shot at winning it all.

Like Clashmore said above, Notre Dame had UCONN on the ropes earlier in the season but let it slip away.

Its not that Notre Dame doesn't have a talented enough starting lineup to beat them; ND's starting 5 is probably just as good as UCONN's. The issue is, Notre Dame's only sub is probably the most unathletic 21-22 year old in Northern Indiana.

 

[BabyIrish]

Got it, thanks.

At least there's 4 days off before the UCONN game if they're burning so many minutes. Would you say it's less likely they beat UCONN this time than in year's past then? Taking away hindsight, lol.

Yes I’d say its more likely we lose this year. Similar to 14 when we lost Achowna in the tourney. If we had her I think we could have won. If we were healthy now we could win. I expect will lose by +15.

 

[Old Man Mike]

We saw The Muffet McGraw Effect again after halftime. It seemed apparent that she spent the locker room time saying "We can't let Ionescu beat us! Make someone else beat us! I want strong lasting hedges on every screen, and our other people filling!!! If THEY beat us, OK, but don't let Ionescu do it."

And so the Queen Empress declared, and so it was.

 

[IrishFaninTX]

Is there a chance? Yeah, but I certainly wouldn't bet on it. If they were healthy, I'd say they would have a pretty good shot at winning it all.

Like Clashmore said above, Notre Dame had UCONN on the ropes earlier in the season but let it slip away.

Its not that Notre Dame doesn't have a talented enough starting lineup to beat them; ND's starting 5 is probably just as good as UCONN's. The issue is, Notre Dame's only sub is probably the most unathletic 21-22 year old in Northern Indiana.

To me, it looked like we ran out of gas when we played them earlier in the year. That might be s problem this time but in December we were not used to playing with only 7 players. We've been doing it for months now so it might not affect us as much this time. Not expecting a win but it wouldn't surprise me after how this team has played this year.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

Yes I’d say its more likely we lose this year. Similar to 14 when we lost Achowna in the tourney. If we had her I think we could have won. If we were healthy now we could win. I expect will lose by +15.

I went to most of their home games in 2014 and I was at the game when Ace went down. I don't think I've ever been more crushed from an injury to any team I root for. That team was amazing and was well on its way to the championship and then all of the air went out of their sails in a second. The fact that we put up as good of a fight as we did in the first half of the championship was honestly a surprise to me and a testament to Muffet and the rest of the leaders on that team.

 

[SouthSideChiDomer]

Muffet was named AP womens coach of the year. She deserves it for all she did with all the injuries we had this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw is The Associated Press women's college basketball coach of the year <a href="https://t.co/dNGdLBJKUF">https://t.co/dNGdLBJKUF</a>; <a href="https://twitter.com/GamecockWBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GamecockWBB</a>'s A'ja Wilson is player of the year. <a href="https://t.co/3Fnn6s4TrM">https://t.co/3Fnn6s4TrM</a> <a href="https://t.co/sJPRkFuAme">pic.twitter.com/sJPRkFuAme</a></p>— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25/status/979472751726542848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2018</a></blockquote>
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