PDF of the Irish Insider for Friday, March 4, 2011

Graphic Illustration by DAN JACOBS and BLAIR CHEMIDLIN/The Observer

In every sport, there arethree signs of a truly greatteam: Beating up on the ‘less-er’ opponents. Performingwell against the top competi-tion. And third, the ability toovercome adversity.For this Irish squad, the jury

is still out on whether this hasbeen justanother verygood teamassembledby coachMuffetMcGraw, orwhether thisis a specialclub thatrivals the2001squad,which wonthe pro-gram’s only national title.The Irish pass the first part

of the litmus test with flyingcolors. No unranked team hasdefeated Notre Dame, and theclosest such game was aneight-pointwin at SouthFlorida onFeb. 5, onethat wasnever trulyin doubt.Playing

well againstthe eliteteams hasnot been aproblem forthe Irish.The onlytrouble theyhave had inthis regard isfinishing thejob – winning the game’s cru-cial final minutes.Against ranked opponents,

Notre Dame is 4-5 this season,but only one of those losseswas lopsided — 78-57 at No. 2Connecticut on Feb. 19. Theother four were all deter-mined in the last few minutes.The most excruciating loss

of the season came on Jan. 8,when the Huskies, whoseNCAA-record 90-game win-ning streak had been snappedthe week before, went aheadwith 14 seconds remaining ona layup by sophomore guardKelly Faris. The Irish had ledfor most of the game, and theprospect of knocking confer-ence rival Connecticut offtheir pedestal atop the BigEast would have been a sea-son-changing victory for theIrish. Instead, they were leftplaying the “what if” gameand had the challenge ofbouncing back in conferenceplay, which they did.The only other Big East loss

of the season came lastMonday, when DePaul sunk

the hopes of the Irish, whowere looking to pull off amajor road victory and finishsecond in the conference.Senior forward Felicia Chesterhit a clutch layup with six sec-onds to play to give the BlueDemons the victory. Onceagain, the Irish were robbedas their opponent snatchedvictory from the jaws ofdefeat.If Notre Dame is going to

assert itself as a seriousthreat to Connecticut’s reignover the Big East, the Irishneed to come up big in thefinal minutes of a close game.Until they come away with asignature victory, they cannotbe considered among the topcontenders for the nationaltitle.The final aspect of the

three-part formula of a topteam is overcoming adversity.Let’s face it – every team getsat least a dose of it during thecourse of a long regular sea-son. This year the Irish have

had to dealwith two in-seasondepartures –junior for-ward EricaSolomontransferredin December,and highly-touted fresh-man guardKaylaMcBridestopped playin January,both for per-sonal rea-sons. The

two were important benchplayers, combining for 15points per game.Additionally, the team has

had to deal with the previous-ly mentioned excruciatinglosses. The team has respond-ed after the close losses andquickly put the defeats behindthem.The Big East tournament

will be the most telling ofindicators as to whether thetwo losses to Connecticut andthe one-point loss to DePaulwere signs that Notre Dame isvery close to being a top teamand just needs to get over thehump, or that the Irish arenot in the top tier of thenation’s top talent.For McGraw and her squad,

the next two weeks will deter-mine the legacy of this talent-ed group.

The views expressed in thiscolumn are those of theauthor and not necessarilythose of The Observer.

Contact Andrew Owens [email protected]

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERpage 2 Friday, March 4, 2011

Talent to be testedat Big East tourney

Andrew Owens

Sports Writer

COMMENTARY

Follow the games LIVE as Andrew Owens blogscourtside from the XL Center in Hartford, Conn.:ndsmcobserver.com/sports/irish-basketball

Notre Dame travels to theMecca of women’s basketballthis weekend to take on thebest the conference has to offerin the Big East championships. While the XL Center in

Hartford, Conn., may be themost attractive site for the con-ference tournament given thepassion of its local basketballfans, a potential matchupagainst the ConnecticutHuskies in the title game putsthe Irish at a disadvantage,Irish coach Muffet McGrawsaid. “It’s not a neutral site,”

McGraw said. “It’s a great site.For the conference, we drawbetter than anybody in thecountry. We get really goodcrowds. The Connecticut fanscome out for all the games, notjust the UConn game. It’s hardto leave there because theyreally do a good job.”The conference champion

has been crowned in the XLCenter since March of 2004, atestament to the electrifyingatmosphere and financial secu-rity provided by the venue.“We’ve looked at a couple of

alternate sites, McGraw said,“but when you look at thefinancial side of it, it’s reallydifficult to find a place wherewe’re going to be as success-ful.”Benefitting from two days of

additional rest after securing asecond-round bye heading intothe tournament, the Irish lackthe luxury of preparing for aspecific team. However, No. 3seed Notre Dame (24-6, 13-3Big East) knows it will face the

winner of a matchup betweenLouisville (19-11, 10-6), the No.6 seed, and the winner of anopening round match betweenNo. 11 seed Providence (13-15,6-10) and No. 14 seedVillanova (11-18, 3-13).Notre Dame handily took

down each of its potentialopponents during the regularseason, including a 79-43drubbing of Providence and a58-43 win over Villanova.While the Irish took down theCardinals 80-60 during theregular season at home, arematch between the twoteams will be far from the com-forts of Purcell Pavilion.“It’s going to be a lot differ-

ent,” McGraw said. “[TheCardinals] are a much betterteam than they were whenthey played here. In fact, theyplayed poorly here. A lot ofthat was our defense. Theyreally didn’t play well, and wedid a nice job defensively onsome of their better players.”Since their loss to the Irish,

the Cardinals rebounded to fin-ish the regular season tied forfifth in the conference.“They’re fighting for a shot at

the NCAA tournament,”McGraw said. “I think theyhave a great shot at the tour-nament, but I think for them,they want to keep winning topromote the résumé a little bitmore, so it’s a huge game forthem. For us, it’s a question ofseeding. We need to play wellcoming off a loss.”With a bitter taste in their

mouths following a gut-wrenching 70-69 loss to No. 2seed DePaul (26-5, 13-3) onMonday, the Irish eagerly awaittheir next chance to get backon the court and regain

momentum before heading intothe national tournament. Whilelast year’s squad was eliminat-ed in the round of 16, seniorforward Becca Bruszewski saidthis year’s team has the poten-tial to finish its season inIndianapolis, Ind., the site ofthe Final Four.“I definitely think last year

we fell short of our goal,”Bruszewski said. “This year,definitely I want us to bring thesame intensity. I want to get usto the finals of the Big Easttournament. I want us to go forthe title and definitely [the]Final Four. With this team, it’spossible. We’re young, butwe’ve taken a lot of smalllearning bumps across thecourse of the season.”McGraw credits her players’

ability to compete on both sidesof the ball for Notre Dame’ssuccess this season. Despitefacing No. 1 seed Connecticut(29-1, 16-0) twice during theregular season, a favorableschedule has positioned theIrish well for the postseason.“We had a really good sched-

ule,” McGraw said. “We playeda lot of the teams right behindus at home. We played theteams ahead of us on the road.It was kind of an interestingschedule for us. We got theopportunity to really see whatit’s going to be in a hostile envi-ronment, and now we can takethat to Hartford with us.”Notre Dame hits the court

Sunday at 8 p.m. for a chanceto play in the semifinalsMonday at 8 p.m. The champi-onship game takes placeTuesday at 7 p.m.

Irish compete for title in Hartford

By CHRIS MASOUDSports Writer

Contact Chris Masoud at [email protected]

For this Irish squad, thejury is still out on

whether this has beenjust another very goodteam assembled by

coach Muffet McGraw, orwhether this is a specialclub that rivals the 2001squad, which won the

program’s only nationaltitle.

DAN JACOBS/The Observer

Irish coach Muffet McGraw walks off the court following a 79-76 loss to Connecticut onJan. 8 at the Purcell Pavilion. McGraw is coaching her 24th season of Irish basketball.

Becca Bruszewski came toNotre Dame four years agobecause i t o f fered her theperfect package. But shenever expected that she’dgraduate as one of the topcompetitors Irish basketballhas ever seen. In fact , she refuses to

bel ieve i t , a l though Ir ishcoach Muffet McGraw does. “She is the most amazing

competitor I think I have evercoached,” McGraw said afterBruszewski’s f inal game inthe Purcell Pavilion on Feb.26. S t i l l , the senior forward

refuses to take on that title,saying all shedoes is cometo pract iceready to go. “ I don’t

know i f I ’mthe mostamazing, butI def in i te lycome ready togo every day,”she said. And this is

coming froma gir l whohated practice until last sum-mer, when McGrawapproached her about being aco-captain.“She kind of just talked to

me about the summer andhow I needed to come everyday ready to go,” Bruszewskisaid. “I used to hate practice— I couldn’t stand it. But nowI see it more, from a coachingperspective, how necessary itis and how necessary it is forthe team to be ready to go outand play and be prepared forthe next game.”Bruszewski has made sure

that not only herself but alsoher teammates are preparedfor each opponent they face.From setting the tone in thelocker room and at practice tostepping up, both physicallyand vocal ly, in games,Bruszewski shares her “willto win” daily with her team-

mates.“I never want to lose in any

possession, any drill. I neverwant to know that someone’sbetter than me. People talkabout, ‘Oh, this girl has a lotof hype,’ and I don’t . Thatreally makes me come a littleharder to the game because Iwant to prove people wrong,”she said. So she does. Standing tall at

6-foot-1, Bruszewski likes tomake sure her opponentsknow she means business inthe post with an average 5.1rebounds per game, and onoffense with an average of 9.2points in the typical 25 min-utes she spends on the court. Playing for Notre Dame is

not the f i rs t t ime thatBruszewski has earned notice

on the court ,however. AVa l p a r a i s o ,Ind. , nat ive ,she had beenplaying onAAU teamssince gradeschool butbrought herta lents toSouth Bendduring highschool to gainmore expo-

sure. Her experience aided inher high school play as wellas got her noticed. “I started playing AAU more

in third grade, played it inmiddle school and then inhigh school. And then I start-ed playing AAU here in SouthBend to get more exposure.Basketball in high school, Iwas a one through five,” shesaid. “I was the only girl thatplayed AAU, so whatever weneeded to do, I kind of did.”Bruszewski also started to

at tend more Notre Damegames in high school, fallingin love with the atmosphereeven more as a member of theIrish squad.“My whole senior year of

high school, I used to come toevery home game. I’ve beenin the JACC for every gamefor five, six years. So it wasdefinitely something I took in,

every aspect of it – the fans inthe stands, the coaching staff,just running out of the tunnel,just having everyone cheeringfor me.”Just l ike i t d id in h igh

school and a l lowingBruszewski to easily attendhome games, Valparaiso ’svicinity to Notre Dame hasgiven college more of a home-town fee l for her and achance to excel academical-ly— the perfect package. “It was obviously the perfect

package — the academics, thetradition here, the fans, thebasketball. Just definitely aplace that’s close to home. Alot of family members come togames – just a perfectchoice,” she said.Being a student at Notre

Dame has not only allowedthis marketing student to findher passion in the classroombut to also grow as a player,and as a person. “I would definitely say it’s

made me a lot more mature –it’s made me look at thingsfrom a leadership standpointand just what I do af fectsother things and people,” shesaid.Bruszewski ’s leadership

skills were what led McGrawto nominate her as a teamcaptain for the secondstraight year, encouragingand guiding her a long theway. “She’s grown so much as a

leader this year. She’s done areally good job of setting thetone for the team, get t ingthem ready for the games,”McGraw said.But Bruszewski had to earn

the title for herself and, withher coach’s guidance, provedit to her teammates throughher hard work and dedica-tion. “[McGraw] just talked to me

about what I need to look for,or how I need to help peopleout, especially with the newpeople coming in laterbecause we didn’t have ourfreshman here this summer.The team voted on it — I wasreal ly honored by thatbecause my teammates see

how I work hard and that Iwould be a good example forthem and the incoming fresh-men,” Bruszewski said. As a captain, Bruszewski

has taken a few of her team-mates, particularly her fellowposts, under her wing. Even ifthat post is her classmate,senior forward DevereauxPeters. “I think the only difference

between me and [Peters] isI’ve had that experience thatshe d idn’t have those twoyears s i t t ing out . She wasable to watch from the benchand know and see what weneed and where she would fitin,” Bruszewski said.“Post-wise, she doesn’t real-

ly l ike to bang a lot in thepost, so I’ll put her in posi-tions where she’ll make thepass or she can catch it onthe drive.”While Bruszewski does help

Peters in setting up the plays,it’s not a one-sided effort withthe two starters. “We know how each other

plays, and we know how toread each other. We help eachother get into the best situa-tion to succeed,” Bruszewskisaid. Another teammate

Bruszewski has singled out isfreshman forward Natal ieAchonwa, who has been acrucial Irish force coming offthe bench this season. “I’ve taught Natalie to come

ready to go every single day.Right now, the season is longand it’s tough, and it’s physi-cal. Her watching how I playand how I am — i t can bedone, it is necessary and it’ssomething the team needs

every day,” Bruszewski said. But she isn’t trying to be

conceited, because she knowsshe can learn from her team-mates , too . In fact ,Bruszewski said Achonwa hashelped her to learn a keycomponent for success thisseason — patience. “Before this year, I wasn’t

very vocal but I would just getfrustrated really easily. Now,I’m using my words to helppeople out and let them knowwhere they need to be, tryingto take things from their per-spect ive and how they’relearning about the game,”Bruszewski said. That patience is something

that Bruszewski feels will beessential in her future plansof playing overseas. Her pres-ence on the Ir ish team,though, wi l l be great lymissed.“She’s really had a great

career, really exceeded ourexpectat ions. We’re real lygoing to miss her next year –her physical play, her mentaltoughness, her relentless atti-tude. She works so hard everyday at practice. She has reallymade her mark on the pro-gram,” McGraw said. Bruszewski knows that leav-

ing Notre Dame will be hard,but she won’t miss 6 a .m.morning practice in the sum-mer. “It [Notre Dame overall] has

been an experience that I wasnot prepared for, but Ilearned a lot about myselfand other people on the way.It’s made me a better person.”

The Observer � IRISH INSIDERFriday, March 4, 2011 page 3

Big East Bellwether

Contact Meaghan Veselik [email protected]

Indiana native Becca Bruszewski captains Irish through the postseason in her final season

By MEAGHAN VESELIKSports Writer

PAT COVENEY/The Observer

Senior forward Becca Bruszewski drives to the hoop during NotreDame’s 102-30 exhibition win over Michigan Tech on Nov. 3, 2010.

“We’re really going tomiss her next year –her physical play, hermental toughness, herrelentless attitude.”

Muffet McGrawIrish coach

KIRBY McKENNA/The Observer

Senior forward Becca Bruszewski prepares to be introduced before the season’s first game,against New Hampshire on Nov. 12, 2010.


No. 16 SETON HALLPirates

Record: (8-21, 1-15 Big East)

Regular season: The Pirates struggled fromthe opening gate, dropping its f irst 10 con-ference games before picking up its lone winof the season against Cincinnati. Seton Hallfinished conference play with the worst fieldgoal percentage and the fewest assists.

Against Notre Dame: Irish 89, Pirates 38 (atNotre Dame)

How far they go: F irst round exit against No.9 seed Syracuse.

No. 15 CINCINNATIBearcats


Regu l a r s e a son : P l a gued by i n j u r i e s , t h eBearcats never found their rhythm this sea-son, losing 13 straight conference games atone po i n t be f o r e sa l v ag i ng a w i n aga i n s tMarquette to salvage their season.

Against Notre Dame: I r ish 66, Bearcats 48(at Notre Dame)

How far they go: F irst round exit against No.10 seed West Virginia.

No. 10 WEST VIRGINIAMountaineers


Regular season: Although the Mountaineersf in ished the regular season 14 games over.500, they failed to play up to their potential.However, the Mountaineers feature a premierescorer in Liz Repella, who averages 15 pointsper game.

Against Notre Dame: Ir ish 72, Mountaineers60 (at West Virginia)

How far they go: Second round exit againstNo. 7 St. John’s.

No. 9 SYRACUSEOrange


Regular season: The Orange scrapped theirway t o f i n i sh t he con f e r ence season onegame above . 500 , b u t f a i l e d t o make animpac t d e s p i t e a manage a b l e s c h e d u l e .Syracuse did have the best rebounding aver-age at 41 rebounds per game.

Against Notre Dame: Irish 71, Orange 48 (atNotre Dame)

How far they go: Second round exit againstNo. 8 Georgetown.

SUZANNA PRATT/The Observer

Sophomore guard Skylar Diggins evades a defender during Notre Dame’s89-38 win over Seton Hall on Feb. 8.


Freshman forward Ariel Braker drives to the basket during Notre Dame’s66-48 win over Cincinnati on Feb. 26.

Predicting N When we first set out to make this Insider, I thought about assigning

each team (fairly random) odds of winning. After all, I logicked, NotreDame must have a better chance of winning than does, say, Seton Hall. But I realized that’s not true at all. Only one team has a chance of

winning this thing, and it’s the same team that’s won for the past threeyears. I predict Notre Dame will make the final game, but will fall toConnecticut just as badly as it did two weeks ago. Making the finals, though, will help in NCAA seeding. Notre Dame

moved up a ranking in the AP poll both times it lost to Connecticut. Astrong showing here should guarantee a three-seed, and maybe evenbump the Irish up to a two-seed in the national tournament.Prediction: Connecticut over Notre Dame, championship game

Laura Myers

Sports Writer


No. 14 VILLANOVAWildcats


Regular season: The Wi ldcats f in ished nearthe bottom of the pack for the second con-secut ive season. A young team with poten-tial, V il lanova could be a surprise contenderin the future. But after losing eight straightcon fe rence games th i s yea r, t he Wi l dca tstook themselves out of contention.

Against Notre Dame: Irish 58, Wildcats 43 (atVillanova)

How far they go: F irst round exit against No.11 Providence

No. 13 SOUTH FLORIDABulls


Regular season: Despite finishing the regularseason with a sub-.500 record, the Bulls fea-ture one of the league’s most prolific scorersin Andrea Smith, who averages 17.6 pointsper game. They could be a sleeper.

Against Notre Dame: I r ish 76, Bul ls 68 (atSouth Florida)

How far they go: F irst round upset over No.12 Pittsburgh, but exit in the second roundto No. 5 Marquette.

No. 12 PITTSBURGHPanthers


Regular season: By Pittsburgh standards, thePanthers had a subpar season. 5 conferencewins won’t be good enough to make the NCAAtournament and it won’t be good enough tomake an impact in the con fe rence tourna -ment.

Against Notre Dame: I r ish 82, Panthers 50(at Pittsburgh)

How far they go: Upset in the first round byNo. 13 South Florida

No. 11 PROVIDENCEFriars


Regular season: The Friars had shor tcomingson both ends of the floor, but had par ticulard i f f i c u l t i e s p u t t i n g p o i n t s o n t h e b o a r d .Providence featured the third -worst scor ingof fense in the conference at a pa l t r y 50.8points per game.

Against Notre Dame: I r ish 79, Fr iars 43 (atProvidence)

How far they go: Second round exit againstNo. 6 Louisville.


Senior forward Devereaux Peters prepares to shoot during Notre Dame’s71-48 win over Syracuse on Feb. 1.

SARAH O’CONNOR/The Observer

Junior guard Fraderica Miller leads the fastbreak during Notre Dame’s 69-36 win over St. John’s on Jan. 23.

ND’s Tourney

Andrew Owens

While the Irish have come close to knocking off some topteams, I just don't see them beating UConn in a defactoHuskies home game. Notre Dame will get their revenge in thesemifinal against DePaul, but will lose in the championshipgame to UConn.

Prediction: Connecticut over Notre Dame, championship game

Sports Writer

No. 8 GEORGETOWNBulldogs


Regular season: The Bulldogs had a chanceto crack into the top four, but remained con-tent a t the midd le o f the pack . However,they feature the conference’s best scorera f ter Connect icut ’s Maya Moore in sopho -more Sugar Rodgers, who averages 18 pointsper game.

Against Notre Dame: I r ish 80, Georgetown58 (at Notre Dame)

How far they go: Second round exit againstNo. 1 Connecticut

No. 7 ST. JOHN’SRed Storm


How they did during the regular season: TheRed Storm are led by head coach Kim BarnesA r i c o , o n e o f t h e b e s t i n t h e c on f e r e nce .A l though St . John ’s s ta r ted o f f s l ow ly, theteam won six of its last nine games.

How they d id against Notre Dame: I r ish 69,Red Storm 36 (at Notre Dame)

How far they go: Second round exit againstNo. 2 DePaul

No. 1 CONNECTICUTHuskies


How they d i d du r i ng t he r egu l a r season :Bes ides a loss to Stan fo rd to snap a 90 -game winning streak, Connecticut dominat-ed the opposition per usual. Geno Auriemma.Maya Moo re . C l ea r f avo r i t e t o w i n i t a l lagain.

How they did against Notre Dame: Huskies79, I r ish 76 (at Notre Dame); Huskies 78,Irish 57 at Connecticut

How far they go: Win the Big East champi-onships.


No. 2 DePAULBlue Demons


How they d id dur ing the regular season: Anunsel f ish basketbal l team, the Blue Demonspass the ball and find the open shooter. Led bytop-notch coach Doug Bruno, DePaul vaultedto the top of the Big East this season, takingthe No. 2 seed from the Irish in the last day ofthe regular season.

H ow t h e y d i d a g a i n s t N o t r e D ame : B l u eDemons 70, Irish 69 (at DePaul)

How far they go: Upset in the semif inals byNo. 3 Notre Dame.

SARAH O’CONNOR /The Observer

Senior guard Brittany Mallory goes up for the score during Notre Dame’s 69-36 victory over St. John’s on Jan. 23.


Sophomore guard Skylar Diggins drives by a defender during NotreDame’s 70-69 loss to Connecticut on Jan. 8.

Predicting NAs a native of the Bay Area, watching Connecticut lose to Stanford 45

minutes from home was the highlight of my winter break. Not only didthe Huskies see their 90-game win streak snapped, but it was the firsttime they actually looked bad playing basketball. At least I saw it once,because I won’t be seeing it again for another 90 games. Maya Moorerefuses to lose, the Huskies have lost only one game in 30 appearancesat the XL Center and Geno Auriemma knows how to get Notre Dame infoul trouble.The Irish avenge their one-point loss to DePaul in the semifinals of

the conference championships. Blue Demons coach Doug Bruno hasbeen one of the best in the game during his tenure at DePaul, butMcGraw and her squad should be playing with a chip on their shoul-der. A really mean chip.Prediction: Connecticut over Notre Dame, championship game

Chris Masoud

Sports Writer

No. 4 RUTGERSScarlet Knights


Regular season: Rutgers surpassed expecta-t ions, earning a double -bye in the Big Eastchampionships and most likely a ber th in theNCAA tournament. The Scar let Knights havebeen successful because of their defense, asthey only allow 53 points per game.

Against Notre Dame: Irish 71, Scar let Knights49 (at Notre Dame)

How far they go: Upset in the third round byNo. 5 Marquette.

No. 6 LOUISVILLECardinals


Regular season: The Cardinals faltered duringthe middle stretch of the season, but finishedstrong bywinning five of its last seven games.Louisville also has the four th-highest scoringo f f ense i n the con fe rence , as i t ave rages64.5 points per game.

Against Notre Dame: I r ish 80, Cardinals 60(at Notre Dame)

How far they go: Second round exit againstNo. 3 Notre Dame

No. 5 MARQUETTEGolden Eagles


Regular season: Marquette has emerged as aperennial contender for a top seed in the BigEast championships. The Golden Eagles fea-ture a dynamic scorer in Angel Robinson, whoaverages f i ve ass ists per game. Favorab leseeding gives them a shot to make it to thesemifinals.

Against Notre Dame: Irish 73, Golden Eagles55 (at Marquette)

How far they go: Third round upset over No. 4Rutgers, but exit in the semif inals againstNo. 1 Connecticut.


No. 3 NOTRE DAMEFighting Irish


Regular season: The Ir ish turned in anothers o l i d s e a s o n u n d e r I r i s h c o a c h Mu f f e tMcG r aw. T h e d e v e l o pme n t o f s e n i o rDevereaux Peters into a force uunder the bas-ket and the emergence of freshman forwardNatalie Achonwa give the Irish much-neededsize heading into the conference tournament.

How far they go: Fall in the title match to No.1 Connecticut.


Junior forward Natalie Novosel fights off a defender during Notre Dame’s70-69 loss to DePaul on Feb. 28.


Sophomore guard Kaila Turner dribbles around a defender during NotreDame’s 71-49 win over Rutgers on Feb. 12.

D’s Tourney

Meaghan Veselik

Sports Writer

I'm going to be the faithful optimist here and say that theIrish are angry enough to finally give Connecticut what itdeserves — a much needed loss while Notre Dame finallyproves once and for all their strength and skills as a team.The Irish were so close at home that, if they're at the topof our game and are ready to seek vengeance, they canfinally pull through and get the win this team, especially itsseniors, have been waiting for. Although Maya Moore is an undeniable force and carries

their team, she has to tire out sometime, right? And I thinkNotre Dame is the team to do it.

Prediction: Notre Dame over Connecticut, championship

In the past 15 weeks, MayaMoore has been named BigEast p layer o f the week arecord eight times. In the past year, she has

earned the Wade Trophy forplayer of the year, shared theHonda-Broder ick cup thathonors the best female col-lege athlete, won an ESPY forbest female college athlete,was named a consensus All-American and an AcademicAll-American, and played onTeam USA in the 2010 FIBAWorld Championships.In the pas t four years ,

Moore’s awards and recordsare too numerous to list. Buther career can be summedup like this: 143 wins in 146total games, including threeBig East championships andtwo national titles. The mostprolif ic offensive player inConnecticut women’s basket-ball history.And more than any other

Big East team, Notre Damehas been there to witness ithappen. I f the I r i sh and Husk ies

both play their way into thefinals of the Big East tourna-ment this week, it will markthe eighth time that the twoteams have p layed eachother since Moore began hercareer.

A f ter the la tes t o f thesematches, a game then-No. 2Connect icut won 78-57 onFeb. 19 , a reporter askedIrish coach Muffet McGraw ifMoore is the best player shehad ever seen.“Oh yes,” McGraw respond-

ed. “Easily the best player inthe country.” Moore leads the conference

in scoring with 23.4 pointsper game and i s f i f th inrebounding with 7.8 pointsper game. In her 146 careergames , she has fa i l ed toscore in double figures fourtimes. There is not a 2011statistical category in whichshe is not among the top 15in the Big East. On Feb. 19, McGraw said

Moore p layed “ l ike ahuman,” with a stat line of12 points , seven reboundsand seven assists.In seven games aga ins t

Notre Dame in her career,Moore has averaged nearly18 po in ts per game. As afreshman making her f irsttrip to Notre Dame on Jan.27 , 2008 , Moore scoredConnecticut’s first 15 pointsin an eventual 81-64 victory.As a senior, in her third andf ina l appearance a t thePurce l l Pav i l i on , Moorescored 31 in Notre Dame’s79-76 loss on Jan 8. Monday was Moore’s senior

n ight , and be fore No . 1Connecticut clinched its reg-

u lar-season B ig Eas t t i t l ewi th an 82-47 win overSyracuse, her jersey joinedthose of Connecticut greatsD iana Tauras i , Sue B i rd ,Rebecca Lobo and TinaCharles in Connecticut’s Ringof Honor. It isn’t her last time playing

in Connecticut, though. TheBig East tournament is heldin Hartford, and the Huskieswill most likely play at theirown arena , the GamplePavi l ion in Storrs , for thefirst two rounds of the NCAAtournament. When the Big East moved

to a 16-game conferenceschedule two years ago, themath worked out so tha teach team would have to faceone other team twice. For thesake of competition and tele-vision ratings, among otherfactors, the Irish and Huskieswere put together for twogames a year. For tha t reason , Notre

Dame faced the Husk iesthree times in 2010, includ-ing a loss in the B ig Eas tsemifinals. This year, the twocould meet in the finals fortheir third game of the year. A f ter Monday ’s game,

Syracuse coach Quent inHi l l sman pred ic ted whatwould happen in Moore ’sfourth Big East tournament. “During tournament play I

think it comes down to whohas the bes t p layer, and[Husk ies coach] Geno[Aur iemma] has the bes tplayer,” he said. “When youget in to these tournamentgames there are going to besome c lose games andnobody is going to be able tostop Maya.”


Moore to write finalchapter of legacy


Connecticut guard Maya Moore fights for the ball during Notre Dame’s 79-76 loss to the Huskies onJan. 8. Moore and Connecticut have beaten Notre Dame seven times since the 2007-2008 season.

By LAURA MYERSSports Writer

Contact Laura Myers [email protected]

DAN JACOBS and LAURA MYERS | Observer Graphic

PDF of the Irish Insider for Friday, March 4, 2011

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