Double 'Threepeat' For Notre Dame In ACC: 3-Point Play
No. 2 Notre Dame’s (31-1) dominance of women’s basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference continued Sunday afternoon with a 68-57 victory over No. 17 Syracuse (25-7) in the ACC title game at Greensboro, N.C.
Head coach Muffet McGraw’s Fighting Irish are 57-1 versus conference members since joining three years ago. Notre Dame is 16-0, 15-1 and 16-0 during the regular season, 9-0 in the ACC Tournament, and in 2014 it also defeated then league member Maryland in the Final Four. Notre Dame became the first program in the conference to win three consecutive ACC Tournament championships since North Carolina from 2006-08.
All three victories in the 2016 ACC Tournament were by double-digits against Duke (83-54), No. 21 Miami (78-67) and now the Orange. Fifth-year senior/graduate student Madison Cable converted a career high six three-pointers in a game (in nine attempts) to lead the Irish with 18 points (plus eight rebounds) and earn ACC Tournament MVP honors. Sophomore post Brianna Turner matched that point total to go with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Yet the player of the game might have been the third member of Notre Dame’s Big 3 first-team All-ACC selections — both in the regular season and for the Tournament — junior point guard Lindsay Allen. She handled with aplomb the vaunted full-court press of Syracuse (leading the nation in forced turnovers with 24.94 per contest), directed the offense with efficiency, and handed out six assists compared to only two turnovers (the Irish had 14 overall, 11 below Syracuse’s average).
"She had the ball in her hands the majority of the time," McGraw said. "The key to the game was handling their pressure and getting out and guarding them on the 3-point line (where Syracuse was 4-of-23)."
“It’s definitely not that easy,” Allen told ESPN afterwards about the Irish making it look too simple. “The teams get better and better every year and every single season it gets tougher and tougher, but it just speaks to the players that we have, the coaches that we have … just the consistency they bring for us every single year is amazing.”
Syracuse never led in the contest and didn’t seriously threaten after a 9-0 Notre Dame run made it 17-8. The Irish led 22-14 after the first quarter, extended it to 42-30 by halftime, and led by as many as 16 before entering the fourth quarter with a 61-47 cushion. McGraw expressed greater satisfaction with a tighter defense than shown the previous day against Miami.
“They’re doing everything I can possibly ask for,” summarized McGraw to ESPN. “They’re just hard workers, a great group, I love being around them. They just want to keep winning. They don’t care who gets the credit, they just want to win.”
Three-Point Play
1. Hannah’s Storm — In the same way that Cable basically was the “sixth starter” last season as a senior, Hannah Huffman has taken on that role for the Irish in her senior year, especially in the last month. She started in place of the injured Kathryn Westbeld in the last two regular season games, and in the three ACC Tournament games she’s played 23, 22 and 25 minutes off the bench — and was on the floor in the tighter moments the last two contests. She is not the shooter or scorer Cable is, but the Irish have plenty of others who excel in those areas. Huffman’s defense, rebounding (19 in the three-game tournament, with never less than six), ability to handle the ball in the backcourt, or tightly hold in check most anyone at any position, have made her a valued utility player, as Cable always had been before becoming a centerpiece. Those are the needed mortar figures so crucial between the bricks.
2. No Easy March — With South Carolina winning the SEC Tournament and having the same 31-1 record, the Gamecocks are expected to be placed in the Lexington Regional in Kentucky, with Notre Dame shipped out to Sioux Falls, S.D. The first two rounds will be on Notre Dame’s home court, which are generally considered “gimmes.” This year, though, it’s not inconceivable that traditional power Tennessee could be an 8 or 9 seed, despite possessing top 10-talent throughout its roster. That would mean a dangerous potential second-round matchup with the Irish if placed in that Region. Pairings will be announced Monday, March 14.
3. Inside Presence — Notre Dame has made concerted efforts to feed the post with Turner during the ACC Tournament. The NCAA Tournament is described as the guard’s game, and the Irish match up with anyone there. The real difference is going to have to be in the post, though. The other three No. 1 seeds — UConn, South Carolina and Baylor — are all stronger overall, specifically in depth, than Notre Dame in the frontcourt. Keeping Turner healthy and out of foul trouble, and finding a consistent complement on the boards and on defense (where Huffman has come in) will be more pivotal. Westbeld hit her first four shots against Syracuse, all in the 10-to-12-foot range, while finding the gap in the 2-3 zone, to finish with 10 points.