ND Women's BB '18 -'19 Season

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TONIGHT 7 pm ND v Toledo ACCNX

TONIGHT 7 pm ND v Toledo ACCNX

GAME 5: NOTRE DAME VS TOLEDO
When: Wednesday, Nov. 20 | 7 p.m. ET
Where: Purcell Pavilion (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Watch: ACCNX
Listen: PULSE FM 96.9 / 92.1 / 103.1


NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team (2-2) ends a four-game homestand with the Toledo Rockets (1-1) on Wednesday, with a 7 p.m. ET tip time inside Purcell Pavilion. The game is available online on ACCNX. The Fighting Irish will be hosting their annual canned food drive, with all proceeds benefitting the St. Vincent DePaul Society.

IRISH VERSUS THE ROCKETS

Notre Dame leads the overall series against Toledo 6-2, with an unblemished mark of 3-0 inside Purcell Pavilion. The Irish have won five straight in the series, which included a 72-56 battle just a season ago, in a winning effort in Toledo.

BRUNELLE GOING FOR FRESHMAN RECORD

Never in the history of the Fighting Irish women’s basketball program has a true freshman started her Notre Dame career with five straight games in double figures. With four consecutive double-digit scoring games under Sam Brunelle’s belt, the freshman will be going after history on Wednesday.

AN IMPRESSIVE STREAK ENDED

A 12-year streak ended on Monday, Nov. 18, when Notre Dame exited the A.P. Top-25 poll. At the time, the Irish boasted the third highest active streak in the country with 234 straight weeks in the poll – only UConn and Baylor were higher. The streak dates back to the start of the 2007-08 season.

PROTECTING THE HOUSE

Purcell Pavilion continues to be one of the toughest venues to play in women’s hoops. Before the back-to-back losses at home against Tennessee and Michigan State, the Irish were 110-3 over their last 113 games, which dates back to the 2012-13 season. The only three losses suffered in that stretch came at the hands of the UConn Huskies.

Notre Dame is 483-95 all-time inside Purcell Pavilion. The Irish have sold out Purcell Pavilion 56 times and boasts a 46-10 record in those instances.

WELCOME BACK GILBERT

Last season, Gilbert played in six full games, including a breakout Vancouver Showcase, before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury against Iowa on Nov. 29, 2018. Nearly a year later, Gilbert has returned in full force, leading the team in scoring as her 17.3 ppg ranks ninth in the ACC. In fact, Gilbert has tallied double-digit points in all four games, leading the Irish in scoring in three of the four games.

In addition, Gilbert also leads the Irish in shooting percentage (.509), made field goals (28) and steals/game (2.0). Lastly, she is the lone Irish player thus far with a 20+ point performance, recording a career high of 24 points against Loyola.

BRUNELLE RALLY

Trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter, Sam Brunelle tried spearheading the rally by scoring 11 of her 19 points in the final period alone. Brunelle connected on two treys in the quarter, including one with 10 seconds left to cut the deficit to one. Brunelle also got a final three-point attempt up at the buzzer to tie the game, but the shot came up just short.

NO REST FOR THE IRISH

Four Notre Dame starters all rank within the top-12 in the ACC in minutes played. Destinee Walker ranks second in the league, averaging 36.5/game. Sniezek ranks fourth with 35.8, Gilbert sixth with 34.5 and Brunelle ninth with 33.8.

SNIEZEK DIMES

Sniezek is averaging 6.0 assists per game, which ranks fourth in the ACC and 22nd in the nation. Meanwhile, her 1.5 A/TO ratio ranks eighth in the league.

Furthermore, her 24 assists through the first four games of a season is the most since Lindsay Allen dished out 25 in the first four of the 2016-17 season. Allen had 34 after five games and went on to record 282 that season which holds the program record.

DEFENSIVE PRIDE

Coach McGraw noted before the season that this year’s crop will pride itself on defense. Though last week didn’t go Notre Dame’s way against Tennessee and Michigan State, the Irish can certainly be proud of the fact they forced 28 Lady Vol turnovers, including 10 in a six-minute span in the fourth quarter. It marked the most turnovers forced since Notre Dame caused 25 against Tennessee on Jan. 18, 2018. Then, the Irish forced 20 MSU turnovers, thus totaling 48 in the two-game span.

— ND —

 

[BGIF]

Massey Prediction

ND 83-55

98% Win probability

 

[Old Man Mike]

83 points is a lot for this group.

Maybe Sniezek will shoot a few more times.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Sadly my previous comment was TOO right. We win 54-51 but losing nearly all game --- remembering that this is Toledo AT Notre Dame. (Sniezek, by the way, takes NO shots during the game. Some opposing coach will decide to go box and one on Brunelle or Gilbert and ignore Sniezek with a gimmick defense. We might not score 40 that game.)

This is going to be a very long sad season, and a true test for a real fan.

But somehow they won.

 

[dad4aa]

First game I was able to get to this year. Love the hustle and grit but missing team unity. Not sure if this game is typical of the season so far but there were too many 1 on 2 or 1 on 3 moments IMO.

 

[BGIF]

IRISH GROUND ROCKETS IN FINAL MINUTE WITH 54-51 WIN

IRISH GROUND ROCKETS IN FINAL MINUTE WITH 54-51 WIN

UT (1-2,0-0 MAC) VS ND (3-2,0-0 ACC)

 Period 1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Toledo	18	15	11	7	51
Notre Dame	10	16	15	13	54

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The (RV) Notre Dame women’s basketball squad (3-2) gutted out a 54-51 victory over Toledo (1-2) on Wednesday night, rallying from nine in the comeback win. Freshman Sam Brunelle recorded her first career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Brunelle became the first freshman to start her Irish career with five double-digit scoring games.

Destinee Walker supplied 12 points and six boards to the Irish cause, while Katlyn Gilbert flirted with a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds. Meanwhile, the Irish defense caused four shot-clock violations in the fourth quarter alone to help spur the team to victory, forcing 21 Toledo turnovers in-all.

“I thought Gilbert did so many great things and came up with some big steals, big rebounds and big plays. I was really pleased. And for Sam to get her first career double-double – one of many. She made some huge shots also, but it was her rebounding which was key. That’s how we won at the end of the game,” Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Muffet McGraw said. “Toledo’s effort was tremendous. They look like a veteran team and forced us into some bad mistakes. We got a lot of work to do, but heading in the right direction.”

How It Happened

Anaya Peoples, Walker and Brunelle all tallied early buckets to jump the Irish out to a 6-2 lead in the opening minutes, but the Rockets regrouped with a 9-0 run to take their first lead. Walker would connect on back-to-back jumpers to pull the Irish within one at 11-10, yet Toledo converted two three-pointers in the final minute to take an 18-10 advantage into the second.

Fast forward to 1:43 remaining till half and Toledo’s Mali Morgan-Elliot hit a three to give the Rockets their largest lead of the game at 31-22. Next, Gilbert and Peoples connected on back-to-back scores but Toledo ultimately took a 33-26 lead into the half.

The Irish started the third on a 6-0 run, but Toledo’s fifth trey of the game kept the Rockets ahead 36-32. Midway through the quarter, Brunelle became the first Irish to reach double-digits, thus setting the new program mark for a freshman.

In fact, Brunelle went on to tally eight points in the period on 4-of-5 shooting, keeping the Irish within one-possession heading into the fourth at 44-41. Brunelle had already achieved her first career double-double as well boasting 15 points and 10 boards at the time.

Trailing by four (46-42) with 6:45 left in the game, Notre Dame sent its fans to their feet, recording a 7-0 run (four points from Walker) in just over a two-minute stretch – a span which saw the Irish defense force back-to-back shot-clock violations.

With a pair of free-throws, Brunelle extended the run to 9-0 as the Toledo drought lasted four-and-a-half minutes. Later up three with two minutes remaining, Sniezek recorded a clutch steal which Walker converted to points, extending the lead to 54-49.

Next, Toledo cut the lead to one possession at 54-51 with 38 seconds remaining, but the Irish defense held strong for the three-point victory.

Notes

• With the win, Notre Dame extends its overall series lead against Toledo to 7-2, with a 4-0 mark at home.
• Brunelle became the first freshman in program history to start her Irish career with five double-digit scoring games. Brunelle logged 19 points and 13 rebounds – her first career double-double.
• The Irish forced 21 turnovers tonight and have now forced 69 total over the last three games, logging at least 20 in each.
• Gilbert kept her career high double-digit streak rolling with 11 points against Toledo, making it five games in a row.
• Walker logged her fourth double-digit scoring effort on the year with 12 points – the 44th of her career.

Up Next

The Irish look to secure their first ranked win on the young season when they travel to Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 23. Tip against the No. 21 ranked Michigan Wolverines is slated for 1 p.m. ET on BTN+.

–ND–​

 

[BGIF]

Toledo 51 ND 54 Full Box Score

Slide the bar to the right to see TO, BL, ST, Min, and +/-

Only 2 Minuses for ND Walker 37 minutes 12 points, 6 rebs and Cosgrove 19 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebs.

#	Player	PTS	FG	3FG	FT	OR	DR	REB	A	PF	TO	BL	ST	MIN	+/-
10*	GILBERT	11	4-15	0-1	3-4	1	7	8	0	0	2	0	3	39	5
13*	SNIEZEK	2	0-0	0-0	2-2	0	1	1	3	3	4	1	2	33	3
21*	PEOPLES	7	3-10	0-0	1-3	2	4	6	1	5	3	0	1	32	8
24*	WALKER	12	6-17	0-3	0-0	2	4	6	2	1	1	0	1	37	-2
33*	BRUNEL	19	6-12	1-6	6-10	3	10	13	0	2	2	3	2	37	2
2	COLE	1	0-0	0-0	1-2	1	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	3	5
22	COSGROV	2	1-4	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	2	0	2	19	-7
TM	TEAM		-	-	-	2	0	2		0	0				0
TOTALS	        54	20-58	1-10	13-21	11	29	40	8	13	14	4	11		0
GAME PCT	        34.5	10.0	61.9				0
THIS HALF	28	9-21	0-4	10-16	5	14	19	4	7	9	2	5		0
HALF PCT	        45.5	0.0	83.3

 

[BGIF]

Another gritty last few minutes this time not against a Top 25 Team but against the #115 Massey or #120 RealTime Power Rating.

We have troubles shooting 3s, FTs, and layups to begin. That's really not a part of learning Muffet's Offense, that's basic stuff. IF you shoot reasonably from the arc, 35-40%, hit 75% or better of the FTs, and make high percentage layups, you can lose the rebounding edge which this team will do a lot and still win a lot of games.

I read yesterday that's there's only something like 3 players currently available on this team that have played together more than a year. I realized experience was short but didn't think of it that short. A Princeton style of play is going to take time to blend, making FTs and layups shouldn't.

Preseason I doubted an NCAA bid. After the first 5 games I've come to feel IF they break .500 Muffet should be Coach Of The Year with this material. UCon and the other Top Teams are going to be brutal. ACC teams are going to seething for years of payback.

GO IRISH!

 

[BGIF]

ND Top Performers

PLAYER	PTS	REB	FG	AST	EFF
33 BRUNELLE	19	13	6-12	0	25
24 WALKER	12	6	6-17	2	9
10 GILBERT	11	8	4-15	0	8
13 SNIEZEK	2	1	0-0	3	5

 

[BGIF]

Comparison

STATs  TOL ND
FG%	34%	34%
FGs	21-61	20-58
3FG%	20%	10%
3FGs	5-25	1-10
FT%	80%	62%
FTs	4-5	13-21
TOs	21	14
PtsOffTO	8	16
TotReb	42	40
DefReb	30	29
Off Reb	12	11
2ndChPts	2	7
BenchPts	13	3
PtsPaint	28	24
FstBkPt	2	6
Blocks	3	4
Steals	7	11
Assts	11	8
Times Tied:	0
Lead Chg:	0
LeadTime	30:14	9:06

 

[BabyIrish]

On the offensive struggles, the players have not yet been able to grasp Muffet’s system. I think that’s why there’s so much one on one and low percentagee shooting. Their heads are swimming. In the second half it was much better because they simplified the offense. Muffet May need to do that going forward, simplify the offense and add stuff slowly over the course of the season.