March 29, 2018
COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a big awards day for Notre Dame women’s basketball inside Nationwide Arena on Thursday as Karen & Kevin Keyes Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw and junior guard Arike Ogunbowale each took home some major hardware. Muffet McGraw was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year while Ogunbowale was announced as a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-American.
For McGraw, it marked the fourth AP Coach of the Year award for her career, previously earning the honor in 2001, 2013 and 2014. Overall, it marked McGraw’s third Coach of the Year award this season after picking up the same with espnW and USA Today.
Coach McGraw has the potential to pick up yet another major accolade on Saturday when the 2018 Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year will be announced. She joins UConn’s Geno Auriemma, Oregon’s Kelly Graves and Mississippi State’s Vic Schaefer as one of the four finalists.
For Ogunbowale, the junior picks up her fifth different All-America honor this season, previously receiving Second Team honors from espnW, USA Today, USBWA and the Associated Press. Ogunbowale was recognized as one of the 10 best women’s basketball players in the country by the WBCA this evening in the All-America announcement. In addition, Ogunbowale becomes the seventh different Irish player to be dubbed WBCA All-American.
The Milwaukee native hers the weekend as the hottest player at the Final Four, averaging 25.0 points per game during the NCAA Tournament. Ogunbowale has tallied 746 total points this season, which ranks eighth in the nation and third best all-time at Notre Dame.
Last, but not least, both Marina Mabrey and Jessica Shepard were named WBCA All-America Honorable Mention.
— ND —