Notre Dame guard Jackie Young after winning 2019 ACC Women's Basketball Tournament MVP
Sports

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish Win the ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Stunning Fashion

Landon Bost

GREENSBORO, N.C. – With key Louisville Cardinals players going down, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish dominated the paint to capture the 2019 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship.

Redshirt senior guard Arica Carter became inactive 20 minutes before today’s game due to an ankle sprain she suffered in the semifinal game yesterday in a 16-point scoring effort against N.C. State.

Senior Cardinals forward, and ACC-All Tournament second team member, Sam Fuehring injured her leg early in the second quarter, and went back to the locker room. This happened shortly after junior guard Jazmine Jones went to the Cardinals’ bench with her second foul. The Fighting Irish attacked the rim the rest of the way to their 99-79 victory over the Cardinals.

Impact Players 

Jessica Shepard, Fighting Irish senior center: Shepard shot 13-17 from the floor for 30 points, and grabbed 13 rebounds.  

Jackie Young, Fighting Irish junior guard: Young had her way on both ends of the court. She finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Her play in the second quarter separated the Fighting Irish from the Cardinals. 

Brianna Turner, Fighting Irish graduate senior forward: Turner held down the painted area with her three blocks and numerous shot changes. She shot 9-12 from the floor for 20 points along with seven rebounds.

Notre Dame guard Jackie Young
Notre Dame guard Jackie Young

Game Commentary 

  • The Fighting Irish started the game in a 2-3 zone. Louisville found success getting the ball in the middle of the zone; but they missed too many open shots around the basket. Head coach Jeff Walz threw his water bottle at the scorer’s table after junior forward Bionca Dunham missed a freebie. 
  • Louisville played a tight man-to-man defense. The Fighting Irish attacked the paint, and scored on straight-line drives or second chance points. 
  • The Cardinals had too many miscues early in the game that led to them trailing 16-9 at the official timeout with 4:06 left in the first quarter 
  • The Fighting Irish switched to man-to-man during 7-0 run by the Cardinals, which forced head coach Muffet McGraw to call a timeout with 5:52 left in the second quarter. 
  • Young took over the game late in the second quarter, she finished with 13 points, and nine rebounds at halftime.
  • Notre Dame went back to 2-3 zone to start the second half. 
  • Fuehring started the second half.  However, she re-injured herself on her first offensive move. She subbed out of the game, and the Louisville medical staff attended to her on the bench. They put an Aircast on her leg, and she walked back to the locker room under her own power. 
  • Shepard came alive in the third quarter. She had 20 points and 10 rebounds at the end of the quarter. 
  • In the end, Notre Dame wore down the Cardinals with their size due to Louisville’s lack of depth.

Quick Hits 

  • At the end of the first quarter, the Fighting Irish had five second chance points and the Cardinals had zero.  
  • After a rebound that led to a putback, Young secured her double-double with just under three minutes in the third quarter. 
  • Notre Dame lead the Cardinals 56-30 in second chance points and 23-7 in second chance points at the end of the third quarter. 
  •  Dunham finished as Louisville’s leading scorer with 18 points.

Firsthand Perspective 

“It was a huge factor,” Walz said. “(Carter)’s our best defensive rebounder that we have on the team, and they just really controlled their offensive glass the entire night. It wasn’t just their post players. Jackie Young really hurt us at important times.”

“I’m just really willing to do whatever it takes to help our team win,” said Young. “And whether that’s guarding the best player on the other team, rebounding, scoring, passing, whatever that is: I’m willing to do.”

“Coming into the game,” Shepard said, “we knew we had a mismatch. The guards just did a good job passing the ball inside. I can think of all of them making a great pass in. And obviously, getting to play with a great player like Bri makes it really easy. You can just throw it up to the rim, and watch her go get it. It’s been a lot of fun this season.”

“We really took advantage of how they were guarding us,” said Turner. “A lot of times they went four guards, so we knew someone would have a mismatch. And also just Jackie taking the ball full court, going in for easy layups.”

“When you beat ranked teams by as much as we did this weekend,” said McGraw, “it sends a great message. We want to try to set a tone, but it’s a new season. Everybody’s undefeated. We’ve got to take care of business every single game. I’m glad we sent a good message. We can enjoy a couple of days off and then get ready to get back to work.”