Notre Dame, Stanford meet with Final Four on the line (Mar 25, 2017)
After Notre Dame lost its best player to a season-ending injury, head coach Muffet McGraw took to Twitter to provide inspiration.
"Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what could be," McGraw wrote after Brianna Turner, Notre Dame's leading scorer and rebounder, tore her ACL during the Fighting Irish's second-round win over Purdue.
"What could be" for Notre Dame: a sixth Final Four trip in seven years.
The Fighting Irish (33-3), the top seed in the Lexington (Ky.) Region, will face No. 2 Stanford (31-5) on Sunday in the Elite Eight at Rupp Arena.
In Turner's absence on Friday night, Notre Dame got double-digit scoring from six different players, led by Arike Ogunbowale, who had a career-high 32 points, in the Irish's 99-76 rout of fifth-seeded Ohio State.
"I'm just so proud of this team right now, especially our freshmen and sophomores," McGraw said after the win. "Our young players stepped up in a big game. Arike with a career high in a huge game without (Turner). It was a struggle for us this week trying to overcome that. Just so proud of the resilience of this team."
Notre Dame point guard Lindsey Allen, who, like Turner, is one of 15 finalists for the Wooden National Player of the Year award, credited her coach with setting the tone this week.
"She really gave us a clear plan of attack, what kind of team we're going to be and what kind of style we're going to play from now on without (Turner)," Allen told the website Blue and Gold. "We're locked in, motivated and focused to make sure everyone is doing her role -- but doing a little bit more."
The Cardinal will make their second straight Elite Eight appearance after knocking off No. 3 Texas on Friday, 77-66.
Stanford, which trailed by seven at the half, took the lead for good on a Karlie Samuelson 3-pointer with 3:07 left in the third quarter, part of a decisive 17-4 run.
Erica McCall led the Cardinal, which came back from a seven-point deficit for the second time in the tournament, with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
"That just shows our heart," McCall said, "I definitely feel confident going into the next game knowing that we're just a fighting team. No matter how far down we get, we're going to come back and fight with every rebound, every shot."
Stanford won the rebound battle 41-35. It was the first time in more than a month Texas had been beaten on the boards.
"I think that we really ask our team to focus and execute," Stanford coach Tara VanderVeer said, "and I think this team is executing really well. But a lot of it is people are willing to do the dirty work. Somebody like Kaylee (Johnson) is setting great screens, or someone like Marta (Sniezek) is very unselfish making passes and getting assists."
The Cardinal and Irish are meeting in the tournament for a second straight year. A year ago, Stanford knocked off Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
Sunday's winner will advance to the Final Four at the American Airlines Center next weekend in Dallas.
