NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Over 600 Irish faithful lined the Purcell Pavilion tunnels as the 2018-19 Notre Dame women’s basketball team signed autographs for 45 minutes before kicking off the annual end of the year awards ceremony.
Host of the evening and voice of the Irish, Bob Nagle, gave the opening remarks and introduced athletic director Jack Swarbrick, followed by Karen & Kevin Keyes head coach Muffet McGraw. The Naismith Hall of Famer talked lengthy about the departing seniors as Marina Mabrey, Jessica Shepard, Arike Ogunbowale, Maureen Butler and Brianna Turner took to the stage to deliver one last farewell to the lime-green crowd.
Next up, it was awards time. Turner rightfully took home the first award of the night, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors. Most improved went to Danielle Patterson, while the Most Spirited nod went to freshman Abby Prohaska.
Nicole Benz, who earned the Elite 90 award in Tampa for having the highest GPA of any player at a championship event, picked up the Knute Rockne Student-Athlete Award for the second consecutive year.
Every year the local media gets in on the action and votes on the Woody Miller Media Award. For the second year in a row, Ogunbowale took home the honor.
Lastly, the Monogram Club MVP Award went to two different student-athletes tonight, as Turner and Young shared the top honor.
Women’s Basketball Awards Ceremony Winners
Defensive Player of the Year – Brianna Turner
Most Improved – Danielle Patterson
Most Spirited – Abby Prohaska
Knute Rockne Student-Athlete – Nicole Benz
Woody Miller Media Award – Arike Ogunbowale
Monogram Club MVP – Brianna Turner & Jackie Young