WBB: Top Ten Match-up in Finals of Vancouver Showcase

Top ranked Notre Dame will square off against #9 Oregon State in this evening’s championship game of the Vancouver Showcase.   The Beavers edged South Carolina in the final seconds last night 70-68.  OSU had a 15 point lead with 6 1/2 minutes to go, but the Gamecocks tied the score at 68 all with 25 seconds remaining.  Katie McWilliams, a 6’2” senior guard, made two free throws with two seconds left on the clock to seal the win.

Oregon State gave Notre Dame one of its toughest challenges last season in Corvallis.  The Irish had to come from behind (down 8 at the half and 1 at the end of the third quarter) to battle to a five point win — 72-67.  Jackie Young led the Irish with 21 points.  Arike Ogunbowale added 15, but only made 5 of her 18 field goal attempts.

In winning all five games in the new season, Oregon State is averaging 80.2 points per game shooting 48.7% from the field.  They’re averaging 10.2 made three point shots per game and convert 40.5% of their three point attempts.

Destiny Slocum, a 5’7” guard, leads the Beavers in scoring at 15.8 points per game.  The Maryland transfer is playing her first season at OSU. The former McDonald’s All American is averaging 6.4 assists per game.

Mikayla Pivec, a 5’10” junior guard, averages 15.0 points and 9 rebounds per game.  She led all OSU scorers against the Irish last season when she netted 19 points.

Katie McWilliams scored 12 against ND last season.  She’s averaged 12.0 points per game this season and has made 10 of 15 from beyond the arc.  She scored 14 against the Gamecocks last night.

Taya Corosdale, a 6’3” sophomore forward, is averaging 6.4 points per game, but also scored 14 points last night to tie for the team lead with McWilliams.

The fifth starter last night was Janessa Thropay, a 6’2” junior forward, although she only played 12 minutes in the game.  

Joanna Grymek, a 6’8” center from Poland, played 23 minutes last night. For the season, she’s averaged a little over 6 points per game.

Oregon State can also bring 6’7” freshman forward, Patricia Morris, off the bench if needed.  She’s averaging less than 6 minutes of playing time per game, and only played 4 minutes last night.

Notre Dame played without two starters last night — Jordan Nixon and Jessica Shepard.  Nixon has missed both games in Vancouver.  She reportedly suffered a concussion in last Saturday’s game vs DePaul.  Shepard hurt her ankle in Thursday’s game and was held out last night.  And, the Irish are still without the services of Marina Mabrey, who continues to recover from a quadriceps injury.

ND started slowly last night.  The Irish made only 7 of 22 field goal attempts (31.8%) in the first quarter.  Drake made three three-point shots in the quarter to knot the score after one 17-17.

Ogunbowale and Young took over the game in the second and third quarters as the Irish outscored the Bulldogs 54-30. Arike had her best offensive outing of the new season. She scored 30 points (two under her all-time high) making 11 for 19 from the field (57.9%) including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc.  Over the first four games, Ogunbowale's shooting percentage was 41.0% overall and just 26.1% from three.  Against Drake, she also collected 8 rebounds and had 3 assists, a block and a steal with just 1 turnover. She’s now averaging 25.2 points per game.

Jackie Young added 25 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals.  She also only turned the ball over once.  Young made 7 of her 12 two-point attempts (58.3%) and was 1 for 3 beyond the arc.  Jackie went 8 for 9 from the free throw line.  

Brianna Turner added 12 points and 6 rebounds.  She blocked 4 shots and had three steals. Dani Patterson started the game in Shepard’s absence last night.  She scored 8 points (4-8 from the field) and added 6 rebounds.

The Irish had 10 steals overall — led by freshman Katlyn Gilbert, who had 4.  

ND protected the ball much better last night — just 8 turnovers vs 18 for Drake.  The Irish had averaged nearly 19 turnovers per game before last night.

Drake had been averaging 10 made three point shots per game, but the Irish defended the perimeter well as the Bulldogs only made 4 of 16.  

ND built a 29 point lead (77-48) early in the 4th quarter, and coasted the rest of the way. ND played three freshman and two walk-ons over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the game — a lineup that was unable to score, as Drake tacked on 8 points to make the final score 82-64.

Tonight’s game against Oregon State is scheduled for an 8pm (Eastern) tip-off — the same time as ND’s game vs USC.