Arike Ogunbowale, star of the Dallas Wings, along with Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young, both of the Las Vegas Aces, will star in a WNBA preseason game at the Purcell Pavilion at Notre Dame, marking a special return for the former Fighting Irish players.
A special reunion at Notre Dame
Ogunbowale expressed her excitement about returning to play at Notre Dame, a place filled with significant memories for her. The game is part of a series of preseason encounters that highlight college stars, including Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever, who will also return to their former universities.
This event celebrates Notre Dame’s success in the WNBA, especially the impact of its graduates as perimeter players in recent years. Jackie Young highlighted the preparation that players receive at Notre Dame for the next level, referring to the university as “Guard U”.
Eight Notre Dame alumnae are expected to be on WNBA teams in 2025, which projects to be the highest number of any university.
- In addition to Ogunbowale, Loyd, and Young, Skylar Diggins, Marina Mabrey, Lindsay Allen, Kayla McBride, and rookie Sonia Citron also played in the WNBA last season.
- Loyd commented on the high visibility of Notre Dame players in the WNBA, calling it “incredible.”
Notre Dame, along with UConn and South Carolina, is expected to have the most alumni in the league this season. These programs have won five of the last eight NCAA titles.
Since its founding, Notre Dame has seen 20 of its alumnae play in the WNBA. Diggins, Loyd, and Young are Olympic gold medalists. Loyd, who was also the first draft pick, won two WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm before being traded to Las Vegas, where Young has won two championships. McBride came close to joining the championship club last year, but the Minnesota Lynx lost the final.
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey, who played in the WNBA for five seasons, attributes the players’ success to the university’s “Princeton-style” offensive system, which encourages constant movement, cuts, screens, and the ability of all players to handle the ball and shoot effectively.
It’s a reading-based offense that makes you think. You have to learn fast in the WNBA; training camps just started on Sunday and you need to process information very quickly to make a team.
Niele Ivey
Ivey and McGraw highlight Diggins as the key player who transformed Notre Dame into “Guard U”.
Ivey shared the first word or phrase that comes to mind when talking about each player:
Skylar Diggins: “Bitch”
Kayla McBride: “So efficient”
Jewell Loyd: “Incredible athlete”
Lindsay Allen: “High IQ”
Jackie Young: “Versatile”
Arike Ogunbowale: “Clutch”
Marina Mabrey: “Tasmanian Devil”
Sonia Citron: “Like Jackie”
Ivey expressed her pride in seeing Notre Dame alumnae triumph in the WNBA and hopes the game will be an inspiration to her team.
