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See the full story · 1 sourcesWhile a former Notre Dame women's basketball standout did not win WNBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the fourth time in the 2020s, five players who once suited up for the Irish competed at the United Center in Chicago Saturday, July 25.
Although Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles does not represent Notre Dame due to playing her last collegiate season at Texas Christian (TCU), Notre Dame's five former players in the All-Star Game marked a program record and a league-high this season.
The Toronto Tempo's Marina Mabrey led the way despite not being named an All-Star starter. In her first All-Star appearance, Mabrey scored 23 points and dropped five 3-pointers. She was on Naismith Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper's team in a losing effort to Naismith Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon's squad 129-122, but Mabrey put up the second-most points of the night behind the Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell's 28.
More: Notre Dame alum Marina Mabrey ties WNBA scoring record with Toronto Tempo
Miles, who was the only rookie starter in this year's All-Star Game, made her mark with an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double on the winning team. She also had eight assists and two steals.
Dallas Wings first-time All-Star Jessica Shepard started on Team Spoon alongside Miles. Shepard finished with seven points, five assists and five rebounds against two of her 2018 NCAA National Champion Irish teammates.
On Team Coop with Mabrey was the third member of that historic Notre Dame team: Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces, who made her fifth All-Star appearance. She played just 10 minutes, scoring three points and dishing out three assists.
Also joining Mabrey and Young was back-to-back All-Star Sonia Citron of the Washington Mystics. Citron had eight points and two assists.
Friday's Festivities
Mabrey also competed in the 3-Point Contest, Friday, July 24, in which she finished fourth among the six competitors. Dallas rookie Azzi Fudd, a UConn alumna and the 2026 WNBA Draft first overall pick, became the first rookie to ever win the contest.
As per Chelsea Leite of TSN Sports, Mabrey's 13 3-pointers made resulted in a $6,500 donation from Mabrey and Under Armour to Black Women's Institute for Health, "a Toronto-based nonprofit advancing health equity for Black women and girls."
More: Sky is the limit for Notre Dame women's basketball freshman Jacy Abii
In a four-team Shooting Stars Challenge, Shepard represented Dallas and the former Detroit Shock alongside retired former WNBA Finals MVP Deanna Nolan and the No. 5 prospect in ESPN's Class of 2028 SportsCenter NEXT Top 60, Sandy Creek (Georgia) high schooler Morghan Reckley. The five-star prospect has an offer from Notre Dame, and recently won a gold medal for USA Basketball alongside five-star Class of 2027 Irish commit Eve Long in the FIBA U17 World Cup in Czech Republic.
Washington's trio of retired Naismith Hall of Famer and two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, Shakira Austin and Class of 2027 No. 4 prospect Jezelle "GG" Banks won the competition. Banks, a five-star prospect out of St. James Performance Academy in Washington D.C., also has an offer from Notre Dame. As does 2027 No. 12 prospect Ryan Carter, who competed in the event on team Minnesota alongside Courtney Williams and retired five-time WNBA All-Star/Champion Rebekkah Brunson.
Both Carter and Banks won a gold medal with USA Basketball this summer in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup in Mexico. Their coach? Niele Ivey.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Marina Mabrey leads 5 former Notre Dame standouts at 2026 WNBA All-Star Game
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