Nov. 22, 2017
| Games 4-6: #6/6 Notre Dame (3-0) at the Gulf Coast Showcase | |
| Tournament Site: | http://gcs.bdglobalsports.com/ |
| Where: | Estero, Fla. | Germain Arena |
| Watch: | FloHoops Stream ($) |
| Listen: | PULSE FM 96.9 / 92.1 | Bob Nagle (PxP) |
| Live Scoring: |
Click Here |
| Notes: | Notre Dame |
| Social: | @NDWBB |
| Quarters: | vs ETSU (4-1) | Fri, Nov. 24 | 7:30 pm ET |
| 2nd Round: | vs #17/16 USF or Washington State | Sat, Nov. 25 | TBD |
| Final Round: | vs Rutgers, St. John’s, Western Michigan or #3/2 South Carolina | Sun, Nov. 26 | TBD |
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – From the Pacific Northwest to the Sunshine State – the No. 6 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (3-0) takes its road tour to Estero, Florida, where the Irish will compete in the Gulf Coast Showcase. Notre Dame will compete in three games in three days, starting with ETSU on Friday, Nov. 24, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
GULF COAST SHOWCASE
Now in its fifth year, the Gulf Coast Showcase will emanate from Germain Arena in Estero, Florida and feature an eight-team bracket. Past tournament champions include, Baylor (2016), Stanford (2015), UConn (2014) and Middle Tennessee (2013).
For Notre Dame to join the above mentioned champions, the Irish will first have to get through ETSU in the first round. The Bucs are 4-1 on the year with wins over Cincinnati, Appalachian State, Tennessee Tech and Duquesne. ETSU’s lone loss came to familiar foe, Tennessee, 87-49. Friday’s showdown will be the first meeting between the two programs.
If successful, Notre Dame will challenge the winner between No. 17/16 USF and Washington State. South Florida, who was a 2017 NCAA Tournament participant, is 4-0 on the year with a notable win over LSU. Meanwhile, Washington State is 1-3 this season and is coming off of a close 73-68 loss to No. 22 Kentucky. Notre Dame leads the all-time series vs USF, 10-2, and has yet to compete against WSU.
If Notre Dame were to make the championship game, they could clash with either St. John’s, Western Michigan, Rutgers or the defending NCAA Champions No. 3/2 South Carolina. The Irish and Gamecocks are tied at 2-2 in the all-time series, with their last meeting resulting in a 66-65 victory at the Final Four in Tampa on April 5, 2015.
If Notre Dame were to win out, all of its games would take place at 7:30 p.m. ET. Live stats are available on UND.com, along with a link to the paid subscriber live stream, FloHoops. For more tournament information, please visit gcs.bdglobalsports.com.
FOREVER YOUNG
After tallying a career high 21 points at No. 18/17 Oregon State on Nov. 19, Young led the Irish in scoring for just the second time of her career. Furthermore, Young has now produced three straight games with double-digit points for the first time of her career. Keep in mind, Young produced just 11 games in doubles figures as a freshman.
The sophomore currently ranks in the top-15 in the ACC in five different categories: 10th in scoring (16.3), 15th in rebounds (7.7), third in free-throw percentage (.929), third in offensive rebounds (4.3) and 14th in minutes (32.3).
A ROAD LESS TRODDEN
Two tough road contests for the Irish and two road victories in some of the toughest venues. In front of 7,570 Oregon State fans, the Irish emerged with the 72-67 victory. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Oregon State is 62-7 at home, and of those seven losses, two were now caused by Notre Dame.
On Nov. 14, Notre Dame defeated Western Kentucky, 78-65, in front of 5,061 fans – the largest inside Diddle Arena for a non-Education Day game in 12 years. More impressive is that Bowling Green, Ky., ranks in the top- 10 for toughest places to play in the nation, as WKU is one-of-11 programs with a winning percentage over 80 percent in its home city.
BREAKING THROUGH THE DAM
Trailing by as much as 11 points two minutes into the third quarter, Notre Dame rallied to outlast No. 18/17 Oregon State, 72-67. Keep in mind just one team (Marquette), in all of last season, managed to score more than 70 points against OSU’s stout defense.
Jackie Young served as the main catalyst in Notre Dame’s comeback in Corvallis on Nov. 19, finishing with a career high 21 points on a career best nine made field goals. After starting just 1-for-4 from the field, Young exploded with 17 points in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter.
Other Notables: – First time rallying from a 10-point deficit since 2/19/17 at Syracuse, 10-23 (4:38 – 1st); won 85-80. -Last time fewer than 10 assists and won the game: 9 assists vs Florida State (1/2/15)
BOARDING SCHOOL
Jessica Shepard, Jackie Young and Mikayla Vaughn have been dynamic on the offensive glass through three games. Shepard leads the way averaging 5.7 offensive rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the country and first in the ACC. Meanwhile, Young averages 4.3 and Vaughn averages 4.0, ranking third and fifth in the ACC, respectively.
Together, their efforts have led to the Irish ranking fifth in the country and first in the league with its 21.7 offensive boards per game.
From a general rebounding perspective, look no further than Shepard, who has led Notre Dame on the boards for all three games. Shepard’s 10.7 rebounds per game ranks second in the ACC and 48th in the nation.
–ND–