Notre Dame-FSU: 3-Point Play
Notre Dame’s No. 2 women’s basketball team achieved its own version of The Triple Crown this month. In nationally televised contests on the road against top conference foes, the Irish first rallied to victory in the fourth quarter at Duke on Feb. 1 (68-61), at Top-10 Louisville (66-61) on Feb. 7, and then completed “The Belmont” with a 73-66 conquest at No. 12 Florida State on Monday night.
The victory extended Notre Dame’s winning streak to 19 (26-1 overall, 14-0 in the ACC), and its league string to 30 straight wins. At the same time the Fighting Irish also snapped the Seminoles’ 31-game winning streak at home.
It also basically sealed Notre Dame’s third straight regular season ACC crown in as many seasons. The two lone remaining games are at home versus the two teams at the bottom of the 15-team league standings: 0-14 Clemson (4-23 overall) this Thursday, and 2-12 Boston College on Saturday.
Unlike at Duke and Louisville, Notre Dame didn’t have to pull off any dramatic fourth-quarter rallies, but it did stave off a late FSU push after the Irish led by as many as 19 points (43-24).
The Seminoles raced to an early 13-8 lead before Notre Dame ended the first quarter on a 9-2 spurt for a 17-15 edge — and then scored the first seven points of the second quarter for a 16-2 run overall. Shortly thereafter it went on a 17-2 run. Once again the freshman combination of Arike Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey provided the instant offense off the bench, with both converting three treys apiece in the first half while building a 43-28 halftime cushion. The Irish converted seven of their first eight threes and finished 8-of-12 beyond the arc in the first half to build their advantage.
Notre Dame was 2-of-8 in the second half from three-point range, but FSU was unable to get within five until the closing seconds.
Sophomore post Brianna Turner scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and helped hold 6-4 star Seminoles center Adut Bulgak, coming off an ankle injury last week, to 2-of-8 from the floor. Mabrey and senior Madison Cable had 13 points apiece, and Cable also pulled in a team high seven rebounds. Senior Michaela Mabrey contributed three more treys for nine points and Ogunbowale added 11 points, but the top story of the night might have been the career high 11 assists from junior point guard Lindsay Allen.
Three-Point Play
1. Point Emphasized — Turner could be up for ACC Player of The Year, Cable might be Most Improved in the league, and Ogunbowale and Mabrey are two of nation’s more dynamic freshmen, but the one who brings it all together on the floor for everyone is Allen, one of the nation’s more “un” players — as in unselfish, unsung and underrated. Her guidance allows everyone to flourish, and she helps set a tone defensively. She is often the smallest player on the court and can look fragile, but possesses exceptional mental and physical toughness and stamina, having never missed a game in her three seasons. She and Cable — and even seniors Michaela Mabrey and Hannah Huffman in complementary roles — have provided immense veteran leadership and poise to the overall operation.
2. Best Coaching Job? — In early December, head coach Muffet McGraw had two projections. One, this squad was not going to as dominant as the last several Irish teams and would have to grind out many a victory. Two, the Irish wouldn’t begin to jell until the latter part of February. Both have held true. This year's edition, a probable No. 1 seed with UConn, South Carolina and Baylor, has suffered numerous personnel setbacks and does not have the overall post prowess and depth of the other three, and seem more vulnerable to not advancing to the Final Four a sixth straight season. That is all the more reason this is as impressive a job as any McGraw has done.
3. Close Encounters — Among all the streaks mentioned at the outset, including ending FSU’s 31 straight wins at home, maybe the most amazing is the Irish have now won 27 consecutive contests that were decided either by single digits and/or in overtime, seven of them this season. The ability to thrive in game pressure situations is a hallmark of this program.