Tag: Kayla McBride

Championship eludes former Notre Dame guard Kayla McBride again

Still can’t get it done.

Former Notre Dame guard [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] had her best chance to win a championship yet this season. Her Minnesota Lynx had a 30-10 regular-season record and took the New York Liberty, the only team with a better record, to a winner-take-all Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.

McBride did everything she could, scoring 21 points, the second-most on the Lynx. She also grabbed five rebounds, had a team-high five assists and a game-high four steals.

It was not enough though as the Liberty won their first WNBA championship with a 67-62 overtime victory. The Lynx remain in a three-way tie for the most WNBA titles with four.

McBride is used to just coming up short by now. She made the finals with the Las Vegas Aces in 2020, but the Seattle Storm, one of the other two teams with four championships, swept that series. She went to three national title games with the Irish in the 2010s but lost every single time.

It’s a classic example of always being the bridesmaid but never the bride. Let’s hope that McBride, who turns 33 next season, can become the bride before too long.

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Former Notre Dame guard one win away from first WNBA championship

Good luck in Game 5, Kayla!

[autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] has experienced a lot in her 11 WNBA seasons, including four All-Star selections, one of which came this year. But the former Notre Dame guard has yet to call herself a champion. That could be about to change.

McBride and the Minnesota Lynx forced a decisive Game 5 in the WNBA Finals after defeating the New York Liberty in Game 4, 82-80. Bridget Carleton made a pair of free throws with two seconds left to put the Lynx in front. Sabrina Ionescu’s would-be buzzer-beating 3-pointer wound up an air ball, denying the Liberty their first championship for the moment.

McBride led the Lynx with 19 points. She also grabbed two rebounds and dished out four assists. Through four games in the series, she is averaging 17.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 43.1% from the field.

The Lynx currently have four championships in their history. A fifth would give them the most for any WNBA franchise. Here’s hoping McBride gets to be part of that fifth title, assuming she can bring herself to watch:

Game 5 will be played Sunday in Brooklyn.

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Former Notre Dame guard Kayla McBride part of big WNBA Finals comeback

Can the Lynx win the title?

The WNBA Finals are here, and [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] is the only former Notre Dame player who made it. Right now, she’s happy about that because her Minnesota Lynx just opened the series with a 95-93 Game 1 overtime victory over the New York Liberty. What makes this game notable is that the Lynx came back from 18 points down.

McBride was one point of the Lynx team-high of 22 points. She was the only player on her team to reach double figures in the first half, and she tied for the team lead with with 12 second-half points. She was held scoreless in overtime, but she had done enough to help set up Napheesa Collier’s game-winning fadeaway with 1.8 seconds left.

It’s been a great season for McBride, who earned her fourth career All-Star appearance and her first in five years. After a regular season in which she averaged 15.0 points a game, she has a 14.6 scoring average through eight playoff contests. Most importantly, she’s two wins away from her first championship.

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Caitlin Clark faked out Kayla McBride on this outstanding step-back 3-pointer from deep during Fever-Lynx

Caitlin Clark is unreal.

Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark isn’t a stranger to hitting fantastic 3-pointers from deep.

However, the move she put on Minnesota Lynx superstar guard Kayla McBride made this 3-pointer look even more spectacular.

Clark faked out McBride as she was dribbling to step back and hit a shot from well beyond the arc to help the Fever chip down the Lynx lead.

McBride is one of the best players on one of the best teams in the WNBA, and for Clark to be able to pull a move like this off on such a phenomenal player just speaks volumes to where she is in her rookie season.

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Arike Ogunbowale sets WNBA All-Star scoring record, wins second MVP

Irish fans know she’s not afraid of the spotlight.

Notre Dame legend [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] didn’t think she had a shot at making Team USA for the 2024 Olympics. She saved herself the frustration by withdrawing from the pool of potential players early. But when she represented Team WNBA against the same U.S. Olympic team in the WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix, she proved she should be going to Paris.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Ogunbowale set a WNBA All-Star record with 34 points, all in the second half, to lead Team WNBA to a 117-109 victory. She scored 24 of those points on eight 3-pointers.

Ogunbowale’s reward was her second WNBA All-Star MVP Award, her first coming in 2021 when the league All-Stars last faced an Olympic team. She’s the fourth player to win the award more than once. It marked the third time in four years a former Notre Dame player won All-Star MVP.

[autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], the 2023 All-Star MVP, failed to score on three field-goal attempts. Her U.S. teammate, [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag], made a single field goal on five attempts. [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag], the fourth former Irish player in the game, made her only shot attempt for Team WNBA, which came from 3-point range.

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Marina Mabrey, Kayla McBride compete in WNBA All-Star events

Did you watch?

Notre Dame had some representation to tip off WNBA All-Star festivities over the next couple of days. Two of the three events held Friday in Phoenix featured that representation. Regrettably, it didn’t result in any hardware.

[autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag], who was traded from the Chicago Sky at her request earlier this week to the Connecticut Sun, competed in the Skills Challenge, the evening’s first event. You can’t see it that well in the video, but she fumbled a couple of times towards the end, costing her precious time:

The fumbles proved costly as she missed out on the final by two tenths of a second. All she could at that point was look to the 3-Point Contest, but she scored a contest-low 19 points:

Fellow former Irish standout [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] of the Minnesota Lynx came right after her and scored enough points to stay alive:

However, she also didn’t advance to the final, so that was it for Notre Dame fans for the evening. The Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray wound up winning both events, becoming the first player to do so on the same night.

McBride and [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] will compete with the rest of the WNBA All-Stars in the All-Star Game on Saturday. They’ll be up against the U.S. Olympic team featuring [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] and [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

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Notre Dame to face Purdue on Nov. 10 in West Lafayette

Mark your calendars.

The rivalry between Notre Dame and Purdue should be more of a thing. After all, they’re the only two programs in Indiana to have won national championships. The good news is they’ll play each other for a second straight season.

The Boilermakers have announced that they will welcome the Irish to Mackey Arena on Nov. 10. It will be the Irish’s first trip to West Lafayette since a 66-38 victory in December 2011. That team included future WNBA players [autotag]Devereaux Peters[/autotag], [autotag]Natalie Novosel[/autotag], [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag], [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] and [autotag]Natalie Achonwa[/autotag].

The Irish hosted the Boilermakers in South Bend last season on the day [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s statue was unveiled outside Purcell Pavilion. They cruised to a 76-39 victory to tie the all-time series at 14 wins apiece. [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] led the charge with 23 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] had a double-double of 15 points and 12 boards, and [autotag]Natalija Marshall[/autotag] scored 14 points off the bench.

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Five Notre Dame alumni face each other on Brianna Turner’s birthday

Plan to stay up late tonight.

Former Notre Dame standout [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] has turned 28, and there’s only one way to celebrate if you’re an Irish fan. Turner and four of her fellow former Irish will be on the same court when the Chicago Sky visit the Seattle Storm. This is the WNBA matchup that can provide the most former Notre Dame players at any one time in 2024.

Turner has been left on the bench during the Sky’s past two games, but maybe coach Teresa Weatherspoon will give her a break on her birthday. Weatherspoon will have no qualms playing Sky leading scorer [autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag] (14.1 points a game) or reliable bench player [autotag]Lindsay Allen[/autotag], whose 3.1 assists a game rank third on the Sky.

Suiting up for the Storm will be U.S. Olympian [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag], one of the league’s top scorers at 20.4 points a game, and [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag], whose 13.9 points a game rank third on the team. A win for the Storm would tie them for first with [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag]’s Minnesota Lynx in the Western Conference.

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Two former Notre Dame players make WNBA All-Star roster

Congrats, Arike and Kayla!

The final decade or so of [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s tenure at Notre Dame saw her develop many future WNBA stars. Those stars have their mark on today’s league and have earned the right to display their skills as much as possible.

The WNBA All-Star roster for the annual All-Star Game on July 20 in Phoenix has been announced. That roster will include the Dallas Wings’ [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] and the Minnesota Lynx’s [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag], two players who came up with the Irish.

Ogunbowale was named to the team by virtue of being one of the top 10 vote-getters among fans, players and media. McBride was one of eight additional players named after coaches completed the final round of voting. Among those on the final ballot but not making the roster were the Seattle Storm’s [autotag]Skylar Diggins-Smith[/autotag] and the Chicago Sky’s [autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag].

The WNBA All-Stars will face the U.S. Olympic team, which includes the Las Vegas Aces’ [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag], who also was one of the top 10 WNBA vote-getters, and the Storm’s [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

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Five former Notre Dame players among top 20 WNBA scorers

These ladies are making Irish fans proud.

Before too long, Notre Dame coach [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] will be sending players she’s had as head coach to the WNBA. For now though, a few of [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag]’s former players are tearing the league up through their scoring. But a lot of people might not seem to realize just how much they’re lighting up the scoreboard.

While most fans are focused on the budding rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, just as much focus should be going to the professionals the Irish have developed. If you need more convincing of that, check out this tweet from @trendyhoopstars:

That’s unbelievable. It’s a testament to how great the program has been for a while now but especially during McGraw’s final decade coaching the Irish. It should come as no surprise that these players have blossomed professionally and are giving the development at some other prominent women’s basketball schools a run for their money. UConn and South Carolina aren’t the only two programs worthy of attention.

So who are the former Irish players turning heads through the first month-and-a-half of the WNBA season, and where do they rank among the league’s scoring leaders? It’s these five: