Feb. 27, 2018
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The end of the regular season means awards time as the Atlantic Coast Conference announced its women’s basketball all-conference teams on Tuesday. Three Notre Dame juniors in Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard and Marina Mabrey were recognized by the Blue-Ribbon Panel and the Coaches Panel for the first time in their careers.
Both Ogunbowale and Shepard were named Blue-Ribbon Panel First Team All-ACC selections, while Mabrey was placed on the Second Team. Meanwhile, on the Coaches Panel, Mabrey was given the First Team nod. All-in-all, it marks the third time in five years in the league that Notre Dame boasted three all-conference honorees.
Ogunbowale has been the model of consistency, recording double-digit points in all but one game this season. Ogunbowale, who notched eight games of 20-plus points entering the year, has exploded with an ACC-leading 19 this season, including a career high tying 32 points at Michigan on Nov. 29.
The Milwaukee native has steadily increased her scoring average every year, averaging 11.4 points as freshman, then 15.9 points as a sophomore and now 20.3 points as a junior, which just so happens to lead the ACC as well.
Next, Shepard has made an immediate impact with the Irish, ranking second on the team in scoring with her 14.8 points per game. Shepard has converted 55.3 percent of her shots this season, which ranks fourth in the conference and 32nd in the nation.
Shepard has achieved nine double-doubles, which is tied for the seventh most in the ACC, and is two double-doubles away from cracking the top-8 in program history for the most in a single season. Shepard has led the Irish in rebounding 16 times, as her 7.8 rebounds per game ranks seventh in the ACC.
Rounding out the trio is Mabrey, who finished the regular season ranked in the top-15 in the second most statistical categories of any player in the ACC. Mabrey averaged 14.5 points in league play where she also boosted both her assist and steal averages. The junior’s 4.8 assists ranked fourth in the ACC while her 2.6 steals ranked second.
Ogunbowale, Shepard, Mabrey and the rest of the Irish begin their quest for a fifth straight ACC Tournament title on Friday, March 2, at 6 p.m. ET. If successful, a fifth straight ACC regular season and conference tournament title sweep would set a new ACC record.
— ND —