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Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: The 4 Best Players of the McGraw Era

By Ben Belden

CHARLESTON, SC - NOVEMBER 09: Skylar Diggins #4 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the Walmart Carrier Classic on the deck of the USS Yorktown on November 9, 2012 in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
CHARLESTON, SC - NOVEMBER 09: Skylar Diggins #4 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the Walmart Carrier Classic on the deck of the USS Yorktown on November 9, 2012 in Charleston, South Carolina. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hoists the NCAA championship trophy after scoring the game winning basket to defeat the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – APRIL 01: Arike Ogunbowale #24 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hoists the NCAA championship trophy after scoring the game winning basket to defeat the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Women’s Final Four at Nationwide Arena on April 1, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs 61-58. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

1. Arike Ogunbowale

She’s not even done with her Notre Dame career yet, but Arike Ogunbowale has to be considered the best player of Muffet McGraw’s tenure. It’s not hard for anyone to remember her accomplishments of this past April’s Final Four, but for the sake of argument, let’s take a short stroll down memory lane:

With her team tied in overtime against the UConn Huskies, Ogunbowale pulled up from just inside the three-point arch and swished the jumper with 1 second remaining to give her team a shot for a National Championship. Two nights later, Ogunbowale did it again, drilling a fade-away shot from the right corner to give the Irish a 61-58 win over Mississippi State and the program’s second National Championship.

In three years at Notre Dame, Ogunbowale has been nothing short of sensational. A bench player her freshman year, Ogunbowale found a way to score just over 11 points per game in just over 19 minutes per game. Since then, she’s started all but one game for the Irish.

This past season, Ogunbowale’s numbers speak for themselves. She scored 20.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.4 rebounds per game. She also 44 percent from the field overall and 41 percent from beyond the three-point arch.

Next: Notre Dame Football: Top 10 Wins of the Brian Kelly Era

Ogunbawale is chasing Skylar Diggins as Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer. Diggins finished her career with 2,357 total points. As of now, Ogunbawale is 580 points behind, with 1,777 points. She would need to average about 16 points per game through her senior season to achieve that mark.