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tBBC WBB Preview: Ohio State vs Notre Dame

Ken

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WBB Preview: Ohio State vs Notre Dame
Ken
via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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(Photo Courtesy of The Lantern)

The #11 Ohio State women’s basketball doesn’t have much time to celebrate their take-down of ranked Texas A&M 95-80. After losing their first two games to the two top-rated teams in the nation, the Buckeyes have strung together 4 impressive wins to move their record. Next up is the Big Ten/ACC Challenge with the Buckeyes heading to South Bend to play the #3 Fighting Irish, who defeated UCLA 92-84 in overtime to move their record to 6-0. Below is a quick snapshot comparing Ohio State to Notre Dame.

PPG-O PPG-D RPG FG% 3PT% FT%
Ohio State 82 72 33 43.0% 35.0% 75.0%
Notre Dame 88 58 41 51.0% 45.0% 65.0%

So, what do we have? The Irish are a little better than the Buckeyes in scoring and a lot better playing defense. As you’d expect, their shooting is significantly better, except at the foul line, where OSU has a decided advantage. Also, as you’d expect, Notre Dame is a better rebounding team.



Notre Dame

This Irish team is talented and deep (9 players averaging 16 or more minutes). They are used to winning; they have only 3 losses in 38 games in the past 12 months, the last loss to UConn in the national championship game.

Here are the Fighting Irish:

Nbr Name Pos MPG FG% 3PT% FT% RPG APG PPG
22 Madison Cable G 27.7 62.7% 58.3% 85.7% 4.7 2.3 15.0
11 Brianna Turner F 21.3 55.8% 0.0% 64.3% 6.8 0.5 14.3
33 Kathryn Westbeld F 23.3 58.0% 0.0% 83.3% 5.2 1.7 12.2
15 Lindsay Allen G 24.3 36.6% 42.9% 75.0% 3.3 5.5 7.0
23 Michaela Mabrey G 22.0 45.2% 36.0% 100.0% 2.0 2.5 6.5
3 Marina Mabrey G 20.2 61.9% 50.0% 71.0% 3.8 3.2 13.0
2 Arike Ogunbowale G 19.8 38.9% 20.0% 55.6% 4.0 1.7 9.7
12 Taya Reimer F 19.3 39.1% 0.0% 43.8% 3.3 1.0 6.3
14 Mychal Johnson G 15.8 36.4% 50.0% 73.3% 1.5 1.2 3.5
24 Hannah Huffman G 11.7 50.0% 0.0% 16.7% 3.0 1.5 1.5
21 Kristina Nelson F 9.6 57.9% 0.0% 50.0% 2.4 0.2 5.2
35 Diamond Thompson C 5.2 100.0% 0.0% 57.1% 1.8 0.0 2.4



The Irish run a 3G/2F lineup, stats above. Turner (6’3″) and Westbeld (6’2″) provide front-court height, scoring and rebounding. As you can see, the ‘hot hand’ is 5’10” guard Madison Cable. I had to re-check her shooting statistics. They are accurate. So is she.

One thing to note will be their substitution pattern at guard. When senior Michaela Mabrey (6.5 ppg) gets a rest, we may see her sister, freshman Marina Mabrey (13.0 ppg) take the floor.



Ohio State

After a four-game “breather”, the Buckeyes face off against the #3 team in the country. McGuff is forging a team in fire this season.

And, for the Buckeyes:

Nbr Player Pos MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
3 Kelsey Mitchell G 33.5 45.6% 41.2% 85.1% 3.0 2.2 25.8
13 Cait Craft G 28.2 41.7% 45.0% 50.0% 0.6 2.0 6.6
14 Ameryst Alston G 34.2 44.0% 37.5% 87.0% 4.8 2.8 18.7
22 Alexa Hart F 21.7 44.7% 0.0% 63.6% 4.7 0.7 6.8
32 Shayla Cooper F 25.7 40.4% 25.0% 50.0% 9.3 1.3 8.5
12 Kianna Holland G 15.0 41.7% 22.2% 100.0% 0.5 1.0 7.0
20 Asia Doss G 15.0 44.4% 25.0% 0.0% 0.7 1.7 4.3
24 Makayla Waterman F 14.0 16.7% 0.0% 66.7% 3.2 0.4 1.2
0 Kaylan Pugh G 13.2 57.9% 33.3% 76.9% 3.2 1.0 6.6
21 Lisa Blair C 10.0 44.4% 0.0% 0.0% 4.2 0.0 2.7
5 Chelsea Mitchell F 7.7 9.1% 10.0% 0.0% 1.0 0.3 1.0
1 Kalpana Beach F 5.0 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.7 0.3 0.7
34 Theresa Ekhelar C 5.0 100.0% 0.0% 50.0% 1.0 0.0 1.3
4 Sierra Calhoun G
10 Stephanie Mavunga F



This is interesting, at this point in the season how the roles are developing and playing out. Kelsey Mitchell (25.6 ppg) and Alston (18.7) lead the team in scoring; no surprises there. The leading rebounder, who is killing it with 9.3 rpg is 6’2″ forward Shayla Cooper. Cait Craft appears to be the designated “perimeter” player. She is shooting a very good 45% (9-20) from 3-pt range. Her overall FG shooting is 42% (10-24). Since 83% of her shots are from beyond the 3-pt line, it’s safe to say that Cait is OSU’s legitimate outside scoring threat.

This will be a game of interesting match-ups:

  • Will defensive schemes dampen scoring of Kelsey Mitchell (OSU) and Madison Cable (ND)?
  • Will Shayla Cooper (OSU) get the better of Brianna Turner (ND) in rebounding?
  • Can Alston/Holland/Doss (OSU) outplay the Mabrey sisters?

The Ohio State-Notre Dame game will tip off Wednesday at 7:00 PM ET from South Bend, IN. The game is televised on ESPN3, or can be followed on GameTracker.

The post WBB Preview: Ohio State vs Notre Dame appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.

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