Former Notre Dame women's basketball guard Jackie Young wins WNBA title
Jackie Young did it again. For the second time in as many seasons, Young and the Las Vegas Aces won the WNBA Championship. The former Notre Dame women’s basketball guard helped the Aces beat the New York Liberty, 70-69, in Game 4 of the championship series Wednesday night.
Young had 16 points in the clincher, second to A’ja Wilson‘s 24. Young started all nine playoff games this year on the Aces’ road to back-to-back titles. She averaged 16.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.7 minutes of action per game.
Young’s best games of the postseason got the Aces off to a hot start in the finals. She scored 26 points to match teammate Kelsey Plum as Game 1’s highest scorers, and she put in 24 more points in Game 2 to finish second behind Wilson’s 26.
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey posted on social media that she is proud of Young and very impressed by Aces head coach Becky Hammon.
“SIMPLY AMAZING!” Ivey posted. “Taking notes.”
Young was one of the Aces’ three best players throughout the regular season. She was one of two Aces players to play in and start all 40 games. She averaged 17.6 points per game, ranking third on the team. She made 2.2 three-pointers per game, which ranked second on the roster. Her 44.9 percent shooting percentage from three-point range was the best of any Aces player.
Players like Young are the model for current Notre Dame stars like Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron and Hannah Hidalgo who could one day soon be vying for WNBA championships. It wasn’t long ago when Young was in their shoes.
Young helped the Fighting Irish win the NCAA Championship in 2018 and get back to the title game in 2019. In those two seasons, Young started 75 of 76 games played. She was as dependable as floor generals get for the Fighting Irish coaching staff. A former point guard herself, Ivey is teaching Miles and Hidalgo to be that way. Of course, much of what goes into it is innate for those former five-star recruits.
Look for Miles and/or Hidalgo to be the next Notre Dame women’s basketball players to accomplish what Young and Ruth Riley have; NCAA and WNBA titles in addition to an Olympic gold medal. First thing first; Miles has two years left to check box No. 1 in that sequence.
