Nov. 14, 2016
GREENSBORO, N.C. –
By Leigh Torbin
After a night of career-highs on Friday in No. 1/2 Notre Dame’s season-opening women’s basketball win over Central Michigan, sophomore guard Arike Ogunbowale was recognized by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Monday as its Player of the Week.
Ogunbowale scored a career-high 30 points in the 107-47 victory over the Chippewas, connecting on 12-of-13 from the field and all five of her 3-point attempts. Hitting all five 3-pointers marked feat that had not been seen for the Irish in 26 years. Ogunbowale provided just the third game in Irish lore where a player took at least five 3-pointers and did not miss one. Alicia Ratay sank all seven of her 3-point shots at Rutgers on Feb. 19, 2000, while Sheila McMillen went a perfect five-for-five behind the arc against UConn on Dec. 8, 1998.
Her 12-of-13 from the floor narrowly missed becoming a school record for field goal percentage. Karen Robinson set that mark by going 12-for-12 at St. Louis on Jan. 14, 1989. It also marked the first time a Notre Dame player had hit the 30-point mark in a game since Jewell Loyd tallied 31 at Georgia Tech on Feb. 19, 2015.
It is Ogunbowale’s second career weekly ACC honor. She was named the league’s Rookie of the Week on Dec. 14, 2015, en route to a spot on the postseason ACC all-freshman and all-academic teams.
The Irish (1-0) return to action at 7 p.m. tonight when they play host to Fordham (1-0) in the quarterfinals of the Preseason WNIT at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
-ND-
Leigh Torbin, athletics communications associate director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2013 and coordinates all media efforts for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball and men’s golf teams. A native of Framingham, Massachusetts, Torbin graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in sports management. He has previously worked full-time on the athletic communications staffs at Vanderbilt, Florida, Connecticut and UCF.