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"Someone asked ... me what stands out about Notre Dame, and there's so
much," Gottlieb said. "The main things are their balance, their
passing ability and the way they run their system with much fluidity.
"I think the major match-up challenge is that they play four guards.
They spread you out in a four-out, one-in, a lot of Princeton-style
things, and so the challenge is to take away the things that come easy
to them and try and force tough shots."
At the point of the attack for the Irish is Diggins, a 5-foot-9
left-handed junior and All-America candidate.
"She's really good," Gottlieb said. "The first thing is to slow her
down in transition and take away easy looks at the basket. There's a
reason that Skylar is one of the top, if not the top point guard in
the country. She orchestrates the whole team.
"I thought, while her scoring wasn't huge (against Liberty), she still
controls the game, she still dominates the game, so we have to make
sure we take away easy baskets in transition and make sure she works
at both ends of the floor, and we take her out of her comfort zone."
McGraw said that Cal has a backcourt that can cause the Irish problems.
"They're fast. They're active. They can penetrate," McGraw said.
"They're really good defensively. They really get up on the ball."
Notre Dame's tournament experience is a plus.
"We've been here before. We know what to expect. I think we will stay
poised under pressure," McGraw said. "I think it's kind of a
contradiction when you look at the teams, a team that's young and
excited to be here and playing well and has nothing to lose, so I
think you have to weigh both of those things. We certainly hope
experience plays a role in it."
Staff writer Curt Rallo:
crallo@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6152
much," Gottlieb said. "The main things are their balance, their
"I think the major match-up challenge is that they play four guards.
They spread you out in a four-out, one-in, a lot of Princeton-style
things, and so the challenge is to take away the things that come easy
to them and try and force tough shots."
At the point of the attack for the Irish is Diggins, a 5-foot-9
left-handed junior and All-America candidate.
"She's really good," Gottlieb said. "The first thing is to slow her
down in transition and take away easy looks at the basket. There's a
reason that Skylar is one of the top, if not the top point guard in
the country. She orchestrates the whole team.
"I thought, while her scoring wasn't huge (against Liberty), she still
controls the game, she still dominates the game, so we have to make
sure we take away easy baskets in transition and make sure she works
at both ends of the floor, and we take her out of her comfort zone."
McGraw said that Cal has a backcourt that can cause the Irish problems.
"They're fast. They're active. They can penetrate," McGraw said.
"They're really good defensively. They really get up on the ball."
Notre Dame's tournament experience is a plus.
"We've been here before. We know what to expect. I think we will stay
poised under pressure," McGraw said. "I think it's kind of a
contradiction when you look at the teams, a team that's young and
excited to be here and playing well and has nothing to lose, so I
think you have to weigh both of those things. We certainly hope
experience plays a role in it."
Staff writer Curt Rallo:
crallo@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6152