Tag: Sam Brunelle

UVA star Sam Brunelle jokingly said her head coach ‘wouldn’t jump over a rock’ in fake scouting report

Sam, please. You still have to see your coach regularly.

Virginia Cavaliers forward Sam Brunelle has star power, and she’s got the jokes, too.

College basketball season is slowly approaching as several conferences hold media days and exhibition games to showcase their best athletes. Many questions about the upcoming season will be asked, including goals and matchups.

However, the best moments typically involve hard-hitting topics like giving a scouting report on your head coach. Brunelle and fellow teammate Camryn Taylor were asked to discuss that during ACC Tipoff, the conference’s annual media day in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Taylor took a moment to compliment head coach Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton on the athleticism she displayed in her prime. But Brunelle immediately jumped in with the jokes.

“I like how you said ‘in her prime,'” Brunelle chuckled. “She wouldn’t jump over a rock now.” Welp.

Brunelle quickly followed up by saying she’d previously asked her coach to take a jump shot, and the answer was “nah.”

Later in the clip, Coach “Mox” is told what Brunelle said and appears stunned. But, “Mox” was quick on her feet and fired back a sick burn when asked if she would like to respond.

“What time is practice tomorrow?”

Well-played, coach. Well-played.

Former Notre Dame forward Sam Brunelle suspended for reunion game

A familiar face will be missing from the court this weekend.

SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame fans hoping to watch former Irish forward Sam Brunelle this weekend will be disappointed. Brunelle, who transferred to Virginia for this season after three years with the Irish, has been suspended for the Cavaliers’ Sunday game in South Bend. That’s because she was ejected from Thursday’s game against Florida State after committing a “fighting foul”. Take a look at the moment in question and judge for yourself:

As a reminder, a “fighting foul” automatically kicks in a one-game suspension and cannot be appealed. It’s unfortunate as Brunelle has had a fine season for the Cavaliers. She is third on the team in scoring with 11.4 points a game and an impressive free-throw shooter, making 90.3% of her attempts from the charity stripe. However, she only has attempted 31 free throws, so she doesn’t qualify for the ACC leaderboard.

Despite the setback, Brunelle still will be in South Bend. Hopefully, she is able to enjoy her weekend under the circumstances. And if you happen to see her, wish her well.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz1mmy7gev0xbr player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Abby Prohaska heading to transfer portal

The Irish guard is heading elsewhere.

Injuries limited Notre Dame guard Abby Prohaska to 20 games during the 2021-22 season. She left the Irish’s regular-season upset of NC State and didn’t see action again until the NCAA Tournament began. Clearly, she doesn’t want the remainder of her eligibility to be tarnished by something similar. But whether she took that into consideration or not, she won’t be back in an Irish uniform as she has entered the transfer portal:

Prohaska, who entered the portal the same day as Irish teammate Sam Brunelle, led the team in field-goal percentage (.509) and free-throw percentage (.857) during the past season. In three seasons at Notre Dame, she averaged 3.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists a game. After making 16 starts in her first two seasons, she came off the bench in every game she played in 2021-22.

We wish Prohaska well and she embarks on whatever challenge she tackles next. Hopefully, she has more of an opportunity to thrive wherever she goes.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Sam Brunelle enters transfer portal

Will you miss her?

To the surprise of few, if any, Notre Dame men’s basketball standout Blake Wesley has announced that he’s entering the NBA draft. It took only one season in college for Wesley to realize he’s ready for the next level. On the same day, a player on the women’s basketball team also announced she’s ready to move on. However, Sam Brunelle isn’t turning professional, but rather entering the transfer portal:

Brunelle was hampered by injuries at various times during her three seasons with the Irish, but she missed only one game in 2021-22, coming off the bench every time. For her Irish career, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 42.6% from the field. As a freshman, she started all 31 games and had a double-digit scoring average for her only time in her collegiate career so far.

Best of luck to Brunelle in her future endeavors, and we hope she will become a key piece to whatever program she joins.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

No. 19 Notre Dame guts out win at Georgia Tech

Huge win in a thriller!

ATLANTA – It was circled on Notre Dame’s calendar as a pivotal game between two teams vying for the coveted double-bye spots in the ACC Tournament. In the end, it was the No. 19/20 Fighting Irish women’s basketball team (20-6, 11-4) who gutted out a tough 72-66 overtime road win at No. 16/18 Georgia Tech (19-7, 10-5) Thursday night inside McCamish Pavilion.

The Irish outscored the Yellow Jackets 11-5 in overtime, picking up their first true road win against a ranked opponent this season.

Olivia Miles led with 18 points and eight assists. Dara Mabrey came up big in overtime, where she scored six of her 11 points.

Just 30 min away from her hometown of Alpharetta, Maya Dodson gave her cheering section something to cheer for with an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double. Sonia Citron also added a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds. For Dodson and Citron it was their seventh and fourth double-doubles of the year, respectively.

Lastly, Anaya Peoples and Sam Brunelle provided much-needed baskets off the bench, scoring eight and four points, respectively.

How It Happened

Georgia Tech started 2-of-3 from three to jump out to an 8-4 lead but the Irish buckled down and began to disrupt the Yellow Jacket offense. The Irish produced a 10-0 run from 3:53-0:46, then later hit a half-court buzzer beater, courtesy Maddy Westbeld, to earn a 17-10 lead. Dodson had six points in the first as six different Irish had registered points.

The Irish defense left its mark in the second quarter, creating four Georgia Tech turnovers in a four-minute stretch, equating to an 8-0 Irish run in which Westbeld and Peoples had tallied four points each. Dodson and Miles extended the run to 13-1, building a big 30-14 advantage.

However, Georgia Tech was able to pull together a rally in the final two minutes of the half, recording a 6-0 run to make it 30-20 at halftime.

At the midway point, Dodson nearly had a double-double with nine points, nine rebounds. Westbeld followed right behind with seven points, five boards. Notre Dame had outrebounded Georgia Tech 27-15 in the half and outscored the Yellow Jackets 26-6 in the paint.

Georgia Tech came out red hot in the third quarter, making three triples in a 90-second span. Olivia Miles did her best to stave off the flurry, trading off the barrage with two of her own to keep ND in the lead, up 36-30 at 6:27.

The next five baskets for the Irish came from five different players as Notre Dame and Georgia Tech traded off baskets. The difference-maker of the quarter came at the very end where Citron knocked down a three before the buzzer for a 49-39 lead.

However, Georgia Tech recorded another stretch in the fourth quarter in which they unleashed three triples in a short span, pulling to within one at 58-57 at the 4:44 mark.

Fast forward to 43 seconds left in the game and it’s tied at 59-all, Irish ball. The hometown girl Dodson delivered in the paint to give Notre Dame a two-point lead with 29 seconds remaining. Down on the other end, Georgia Tech’s Lahtinen drove the baseline and connected on the layup. Next, it was Notre Dame ball out of a timeout with 6.6 seconds but the Irish recorded an untimely turnover resulting in the game going to overtime.

When Notre Dame needed clutch shots in overtime, Mabrey answered, connecting on a jumper before the shot clock at 2:56 and then a huge and-one at 1:23.

Up just two with under 30 seconds left, Miles was fouled and sent to the line where she converted both. A defensive stand later and the Irish were back on the line where Mabrey and Citron iced it.

Up Next

After a bye/off weekend, Notre Dame closes out its regular season with two straight games at home, starting with Clemson on Thursday, Feb. 24. The matchup against the Tigers will tip at 8 p.m. on ACC Network, as the program will honor its four seniors during a pregame ceremony. Then, the Irish end the regular season with No. 3 Louisville on Sunday, Feb. 27, in a special White Out game featuring the return of Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Watch: Notre Dame celebrates its upsets win over NC State

Think they’re happy?

Unlike their male counterparts the night before, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team scored an upset at Purcell Pavilion. The Irish defeated No. 3 NC State, 69-66, to give Niele Ivey her first win over a top-five opponent. What do you do when you earn such a big victory? Celebrate, of course.

Naturally, the first celebration began on the court as soon as the clock hit zero, much to the delight of the fans who turned out:

When Ivey reached the locker room, a water celebration with her players was waiting for her:

With everybody gathered, it was time to break into their victory song (no, not the fight song):

When Ivey addressed her players, she said pretty much everything she could say:

Just for good measure, Sam Brunelle tweeted out her feelings:

So did Ivey:

If you didn’t believe it before, you definitely can now. Notre Dame is back among the best in women’s basketball, and it’s time to acknowledge it.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

No. 20 Notre Dame upsets No. 3 NC State

The biggest win to date of the Ivey Era!

The following is courtesy of Notre Dame athletics:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Niele Ivey earned her first top-five win of her young coaching career as the No. 20 Fighting Irish (17-4, 8-2) knocked off No. 3 NC State (19-3, 10-1), 69-66, on Tuesday night. As a result, the Irish remained undefeated at home, improving to 10-0.

The victory is the first win at home against a top-five team since Arike Ogunbowale and company knocked off Louisville in a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup back in the 2018-19 season.

Maya Dodson led the way with an impressive 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, while keeping All-American Elissa Cunane at bay, who scored 13 points for the Wolfpack.

Olivia Miles’ statline was 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sam Brunelle also notched double figures again with 10 points. In fact, it was a total team effort for the Irish with Maddy Westbeld, Dara Mabrey, Sonia Citron, Anaya Peoples and Abby Prohaska all landing on the scoresheet.

The Fighting Irish also got it done on the glass, out-rebounding the Pack, 45-38, recording 18 second-chance points.

Next – How It Happened

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3

No. 17 Notre Dame stumbles late at Boston College

A tough loss after having a big lead late

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The No. 19/17 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (13-4, 4-2) continues to be haunted by bad juju inside Conte Forum, dropping its third straight in Chestnut Hill by one possession, after Boston College (13-5, 4-3) rallied to win 73-71. In those three losses inside Conte, the combined margin of defeat was just six points.

The Fighting Irish led by as much as 14 points with 2:53 remaining in the third period. The Irish also had two good looks near the basket with just under 10 seconds remaining to either tie or go-ahead.

Five Irish players scored in double figures, led by a 15-point effort from Sam Brunelle. Both Maya Dodson and Sonia Citron supplied 13 points, as the latter led the team with eight rebounds. Olivia Miles notched 12 points and seven assists. Dara Mabrey rounded out the group with 10 points.

Boston College was powered by a three-headed monster: Swartz (28 points), Dickens (20 points) and Soule (15 points). Swartz and Dickens went a combined 11-for-18 from three-point range.

How It Happened

Boston College came out swinging at opening tip, running off to an 8-0 run to prompt a Coach Ivey timeout at 8:32. Notre Dame then settled in and responded out of the break with an 11-0 run over the next 2:18. In fact, the Irish finished the quarter making nine of their next 12 shots to go up 22-17.

Brunelle led with seven points in the first, knocking down all three of her shots. Defensively, the Irish caused seven turnovers in which they converted into nine points.

Next, it was a low scoring quarter in the second, with the Irish edging the Eagles 13-10 to go up 35-27 at the half. Westbeld led this time with six points, while Citron was active on the glass with four boards. By half, 22 of the team’s 35 points were scored in the paint. Furthermore, Notre Dame was shooting 56 percent compared to BC’s 31 percent.

Notre Dame recorded an 8-2 scoring spree early in the third to build a 43-32 lead. Later on, Dodson scored six of the team’s eight points during an 8-0 run, extending the lead to 55-41, Notre Dame’s largest lead of the game at 2:53.

However, over the final 2:35 of the quarter, Boston College netted a 13-0 run to pull within one at 55-54. The Eagles outscored the Irish 27-20 in the third after scoring just 27 total in the first half.

BC then scored the first bucket of the fourth, garnering its first lead of the entire game. Brunelle finally ended the drought with a big three at 8:19 that kicked off a 7-0 run.

The Eagles punched back again with a 5-0 run to pull within one, but this time it was Citron with a big three-pointer at 5:36. Later tied at 67-all, it was Mabrey’s turn to hit a pivotal three.

Yet, the story of the night was Boston College’s relentlessness from three, hitting their 11th of the game and fourth of the quarter to tie it at 70-all with 2:36 remaining.

Down 72-71 with 20 seconds left, the Irish would ultimately have three chances to take the lead. On the first possession, the refs called an offensive foul on Miles, her fifth of the game. On the second, Dodson had a chance in the paint but her layup was too strong. Then with four seconds left, down two, Westbeld’s fadeaway jumper in the paint couldn’t fall, as Boston College rallied for the win.

Up Next

The Fighting Irish will repack their bags for an extended road trip in which they’ll play at Pitt on Sunday, Jan. 23, followed by a makeup game at Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Notre Dame women’s basketball wins at Wake

Irish cruise to a road victory at Wake Forest…

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – In just its second game since the holiday break, the No. 20/19 Notre Dame women’s basketball team (12-3, 3-1) came ready to play, rolling to a 74-64 victory over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-5, 2-4) on Thursday night. Sam Brunelle, Maya Dodson, Olivia Miles and Dara Mabrey all finished in double figures, scoring all but nine of the team’s points.

It was both a season and game high 22 points for Mabrey, recording her second 20-point effort of the season. Mabrey was also 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

Miles earned double-double No. 6 on the year, as the nation’s assist leader dished out 12 assists to go with her 15 points. It marked her fifth double-digit assist performance and 11th game in double figures.

Next, Brunelle finished in double figures for the fourth time this season, pouring in 16 points. The junior was an efficient 7-of-12 from the field. Lastly, Dodson posted her fourth game in double figures over the last five games with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

How It Happened

There was no rust in the Notre Dame offense from the long layover between games, as the Irish jumped out to a 16-2 start over Wake, converting six of their first nine shots. Mabrey hit three treys in the quarter, including one at the buzzer from the center-court logo, pushing the Irish ahead 20-12.

In fact, Mabrey was already in double figures after a pair of free-throws at 8:57 in the second quarter. The Notre Dame defense did its part as well, collecting four turnovers in a two-minute span to keep the distance up 28-16 at 4:43. Ultimately, the Irish outscored the Demon Deacons 17-10 in the quarter, which was capped by another long three, this time by Sam Brunelle.

At the half, Notre Dame boasted a 37-22 lead on 13-of-32 (41 percent) shooting. Mabrey led with 11 points, followed by seven from Brunelle. Westbeld and Miles each had six points, as the latter also dished six assists. Sonia Citron led with seven boards.

Dodson and Miles combined for an 8-0 run to start the third, forcing another Wake timeout, now up 45-22 at 7:23. Later on, starting at 3:19 left in the period, Brunelle caught fire, scoring seven straight points for the Blue and Gold. Next, a nifty pass from Miles to Mabrey at the buzzer kept the Irish rolling, up 58-34.

The score was only deceivingly close thanks to the fourth quarter, where the Demon Deacons outscored the Irish 30-16.

Up Next

The Irish will finally get to play inside Purcell Pavilion once again, marking the first time since Pitt on Dec. 19. Notre Dame is set for a top-25 battle against No. 21/18 North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 16, at 1 p.m. ET. The game is on RSN, so for the Northwest Indiana community, be sure to check the Marquee Network.

Sam Brunelle Named to 2021 Naismith Trophy Watch List

Sam Brunelle has had quite the 2020-21 season, and Notre Dame doesn’t even tip off until Dec. 13 against Georgia Tech.

Sam Brunelle has had quite the 2020-21 season, and Notre Dame doesn’t even tip off until Dec. 13 against Georgia Tech. Already, the sophomore is a Preseason All-ACC member and a member of the Katrina McClain Award Watch List for the best power forward in women’s basketball. Now, she’s one of 50 players to be named to the 2021 Women’s Naismith Trophy Watch List. Ruth Riley became the first and only Irish player to win the award in 2001.

In early February, the list will be cut down to 30 as part of a midseason list. However, that may include players not on the preseason list. Ten semifinalists will be named in early March. Eventually, there will be four finalists with the winner being named during the Final Four.

Brunelle, one of nine sophomores to be named to the list, is joining four other ACC players who will be competing for women’s basketball’s top individual honor. They are Kiara Lewis and Tiana Mangakahia of Syracuse, Elissa Cunane of NC State and Dana Evans of Louisville.