Welcome to a new feature: Women's Basketball Weekly. Kim Barnes Arico's squad is 2-0 and ranked 24th heading into a critical road game at perennial power Notre Dame this evening. MGoReader matty blue has been posting extensive recaps of each game that are well worth a read. I've been watching the team, too, and it's time to give them some shine.

Quick Notre Dame Preview

The Fighting Irish have had a rough comedown following back-to-back national title game appearances (with one win) in 2018 and 2019, going 13-18 last year after losing five players to the WNBA draft. It was the first season they didn't win at least 30 games since 2009-10 and at least 20 since 2005-06.

Legendary head coach Muffet McGraw, who made 24 consecutive NCAA tournaments before the streak snapped last season, retired after 33 years as ND's head coach—she was replaced by former longtime assistant Niele Ivey, who spent last season as an assistant for the Memphis Grizzlies. Ivey is off to a 1-1 start, losing the opener at a solid Ohio squad and handily beating Miami (NTM) at home. 

There isn't an Arike Ogunbowale or Jackie Young, both top-five picks in 2019, on this squad. The leader is fifth-year senior guard Destinee Walker, who averaged 14.5 points last year but on only a 42.1 eFG%. She's averaging an even 20 points through two games while getting whatever she wants inside the arc, but she's still struggling with her three-point shot. That may come as news to Michigan fans, who saw Walker go off for a career-high 27 points and go 5-for-8 beyond the arc in the Irish win at Crisler last year, but she only shot 26% from downtown on the season.

Three other Notre Dame players are averaging double figures this season. Despite being a 5'10 guard, Anaya Peoples has double-doubles in both games this season, and given she averaged eight boards per game last year that isn't a fluke. 5'7 guard Dara Mabrey, a Virginia Tech transfer, is shooting over 40% on 8.5 three-point attempts per game. 6'3 freshman forward Maddy Westbeld has added inside punch, making 65% of her twos while pulling down seven rebounds per game.

Michigan is going to have revenge on their minds after last year's game. The Irish have struggled on defense this season and were one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the country last season. That portends a huge game for Naz Hillmon and hopefully a crucial road non-conference win for the Wolverines. Michigan will presumably be without fifth-year senior Akienreh Johnson, who hurt her leg late in the opener against Central Michigan and missed the Oakland game. Maddie Nolan started in her place.

[Hit THE JUMP for Naz's exploits thus far, M's impact transfer, and streaming complaints.]

Destroying The Countryside

If you're not watching Naz Hillmon, you're missing out on seeing arguably the best player in program history and most dominant athlete on campus at the peak of her game. She's posting video game numbers: 26 points on 11-13 FG with 11 rebounds against Central Michigan, 35(!) points on 16-24 FG and seven boards against Oakland—she was single-handedly outscoring the Grizzlies for much of that game.

Some more absurd stats from Hillmon's first two game, per Her Hoop Stats and Synergy:

• Her 30.5 PPG ranks fourth nationally, while her 35.8% usage places her 24th.
• She's making 13.5 two-pointers (first nationally) on 18.5 attempts (fourth) and hasn't attempted a single three-pointer.
• Her 4.0 offensive rebounds per game ranks 55th, and she's averaging two steals while only committing 1.5 fouls. Her offensive rebounding rate is 18.2%*, a few tenths of a percent higher than her (totally respectable) defensive rebounding rate.
• She's used 23 possessions on post-ups. Despite usually facing multiple defenders, she's 14-for-20 on those plays, drew two fouls that accounted for three more points, and turned it over once. That adds up to 1.35 points per possession. On post-ups. Good lord.
• While she's only had one assist out of the post, it went for a three-pointer.
• She's taken one jump shot all season. She made it.

In conclusion, watch Naz Hillmon.

*Incredibly, Hillmon is only second on the team in this stat to Maddie Nolan, who is a 5'9 guard and an absolute bulldog. Nolan has an incredible 21.2 OR%, 28th nationally.

The Impact Transfer

The most prominent new face on this year's team is 6'1 G/F Leigha Brown, who won Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year last season at Nebraska before receiving immediate eligibility upon her transfer to Ann Arbor. Despite coming off the bench, she led the Huskers with 14.4 points per game on solid efficiency.

In the starting lineup for Michigan, Brown is second to Hillmon with 16.5 points per game. She's making an impact all over the court, tallying 22 points on 15 shooting possessions with five assists and three steals in the opener. A career 35% three-point shooter, she's canned both her attempts from deep so far, and she's shot a lethal 11-for-18 inside the arc, finishing at the rim and showing off a strong midrange game.

This Shouldn't Be So Hard

We're two games into the season and there have been issues with the stream in both of them. The first, and worst, was BTN Plus flat-out failing to show the beginning of the Central Michigan game. When it finally popped on my screen, over four minutes had elapsed in the first quarter. Needless to say, it took away from the excitement of the season starting.

ESPN+ showed the full Oakland game, to their relative credit. For most of it, however, they either had the wrong score showing on the scoreboard chyron or removed the damn thing altogether, leaving the viewer to guess at the margin and hope to catch a sight of the shot clock to know the time remaining. There were simultaneous, yet different, issues with the live stats—which had credited Hillmon with a phantom basket to end the first half—and I'm not sure if those played a role in the issues with the broadcast.

The second issue is understandable. The first is infuriating and doesn't dispel the notion that women's basketball is treated as a second-class sport that often gets less than the bare minimum effort even from the media that should be interested in getting more people to watch. More games are available to the average viewer than ever; it's time to get the presentation up to standard.