Editor’s note: The statistics and records in this article are accurate as of its writing on February 2.

On the surface, 35-1 heading into the Final Four versus 21-0 in early February is nearly incomparable; both records are transcendentally elite throughout sports. The 2012-13 women’s basketball Irish seemed primed to reach the National Championship for the third straight season with that stellar record heading into the final stretch of the NCAA Tournament, but a second rematch against UConn proved to be the team’s demise, 83-65. Skylar Diggins and Kayla McBride combined for 8 of 35 shooting in that performance, and it looked like the Irish’s reign might stall for a period of reclamation following the off-season.

Fast forward to the start of this season, and Notre Dame needed to discover a new identity with Diggins gone for the WNBA. The guard-oriented approach to the game that Notre Dame had incorporated since Diggins stepped on campus was transformed to just the opposite. Muffet McGraw built her team around its post players on the roster, and surprisingly, this newfound strategy has paid off immeasurably. Taya Reimer committed to Notre Dame after being rated the fourth-best high school player in the country by ESPN, and immediately became a contributor.

The 6’4 Reimer and senior forward Natalie Achonwa are two of the main reasons that the Irish are undefeated at this point in the year. Achonwa has been a consistent double-figures scorer who can easily rack up double-doubles in scoring and rebounding in any given game. Her mentoring of Taya Reimer is evident with Reimer’s emerging comfort level and confidence throughout the season. There isn’t much of a drop-off in play whether any combination of Reimer, Achonwa or Ariel Braker is on the court at the two forward spots.

The Irish did return a young star in the mold of Diggins in Jewell Lloyd, the team’s leading scorer. Lloyd has started all 19 games and shot an ultra-efficient 51 percent while averaging 17.5 points per game. Lloyd is also second on the team in rebounds. McBride has returned to be her underrated self. McBride, a senior captain, has been known as a sidekick for the dynamic scorers on Notre Dame over the past two seasons, but without her production of an average of nearly 17 points, 5.5 rebounds, and second-best 72 assists on the year, there would almost surely be a loss on the team’s slate. An 87-83 win over Maryland could have easily had a flipped script if McBride’s 20 points on 7 on 11 shooting hadn’t been there. McBride plays the game extremely hard and will make her physical presence felt on the court as a stretch guard.

The aspect of this season’s team that truly separates it from last season is the presence of a rock-solid bench. Last season, the bench featured youth and inconsistency. Notre Dame could only rely on its bench for just over 30 minutes combined in its loss against the Huskies in the Final Four with only Markisha Wright and Madison Cable playing more than negligible minutes. Wright has been limited to just over 8 minutes per game this year, and although Cable is a notable piece to the puzzle, there have been other bench players on the roster that have surpassed what she has provided to the team.

The depth of the bench is extremely apparent at a multitude of positions. Reimer and Michaela Mabrey are fourth and fifth in scoring on Notre Dame’s team this season. Reimer is strictly used for her post contributions, but Mabrey can do it all, dabbling inside and out as a matchup nightmare for opposing defenders. Cable had her breakout performance in a huge win against UCLA this season with over 20 points and a barrage of threes. Mabrey and Cable are just sophomores, and without a doubt they will play a large role in the team’s fate during the remainder of this season. Reimer and Kristina Nelson are the future stars of the program as true freshmen, possibly as soon as next season with Achonwa and Braker set to graduate.

The Irish may have played their best game of the year the last time they stepped out on the court. Notre Dame was victorious in its biggest résumé booster of the year against an ACC rival in the Duke Blue Devils. Duke came into the matchup ranked one spot behind the Irish at third in the nation, and had the home court advantage in its favor. A trip to Cameron Indoor looked like the one matchup the Irish could fall in when looking at the schedule on paper.

The 88-67 win on ESPN on Super Bowl Sunday featured a scoring barrage of four starters in double figures in scoring, and all four of those starters shot over 50 percent from the field. The Irish also held Duke guard Alexis Jones to 16 points on 7 for 22 shooting from the field and a mere one for five from behind the three point line. A win like Sunday’s truly separates the second-ranked Irish from the rest of the pack with the exception of top-ranked UConn.

Notre Dame may need to face its demons at some point this postseason in the NCAA Tournament. The Irish have a long road ahead with another matchup against Duke and a home matchup against North Carolina in their future, but if they can survive the tests and head into the tournament with a top seed, I believe a marquee win late in the tournament against the Huskies is in order this time around. Good luck keeping up with those post players, McBride and Lloyd up top, and the bench that doesn’t miss a beat. This could finally be the breakthrough year. One year later than most expected it.

Rich Hidy is a sophomore business major and journalism minor. He enjoys watching TV shows during the winter months after receiving a Netflix subscription for Christmas. Contact him at rhidy@nd.edu. 

QUICK STATS:

44: Regular season winning streak for the Irish

27.2: Positive scoring margin for the Irish this season

43.9: Three-point shooting percentage as a team