Notre Dame Women’s Basketball: A new era of women’s hoops has begun

The Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team is about to go through a major transition and enter a new era.

There are very few college sports programs that have had the type of success that the Notre Dame Women’s basketball team has had over the last four seasons. The 2019 senior class played in four Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours, two national championship games and brought home one title. They finished with a record of 136-13 in that span. Last season, all five starters — four seniors and one junior — crossed the 1,000-point barrier for their carriers.

That senior class is gone. All five of those starters are now in the WNBA.

So what’s next for Notre Dame Women’s Basketball? A new chapter begins.

If you watched the Irish play in this year’s NCAA Tournament, you saw freshman Abby Prohaska step up off the bench and play solid minutes. She played wise beyond her years, and she has he look of the rock that is going to lead this team for the next three seasons.

She’s going to need elite talent around her. Some of that elite talent arrived on campus last week.

Samantha Brunelle and Anaya Peoples were both five-star recruits in the 2019 class. Brunelle is a 6’2″ forward who runs the floor and handles the ball like a guard. She has unlimited range and is crafty in the post — both as a passer and scorer.

Peoples is a prototypical scoring point guard with a skill set similar to what Jackie Young had at the same age. She goes strong and fast to the rim and will dish it off as quickly as she’ll lay it up.

Together, they’ll be be one of the most formidable freshmen duos in the country this coming season.

I asked Brunelle recently about how it feels to be moved in and on campus. I also asked her what’s next for the two of them as they settle in to their new lives as NCAA student athletes. Here’s what she had to say:

“It feels amazing! I’m so happy to be getting started with the team and get a head start this Summer. Anaya and I are taking Summer classes over the next 5-6 weeks and getting in workouts during the weeks between lifts and court sessions.

We are getting adapted to college life and are super excited we get to be apart of the IRISH family.”

A new era of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball is about to begin. With how young the team is, it will be a lot of fun watching this group grow into a cohesive unit during the 2019-2020 season and start competing for more conference and national championships.

We can’t wait. Go Irish!