ESPN Article on Marina Mabrey, Jersey Girl: Don't Get Punked
Most of this will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that's been following Marina throughout her career. (Or fans of other teams that have played against her
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Good quotes from Marina, Steph White (her Connecticut Sun coach) and Alyssa Thomas, the de facto leader of the Sun.
And Muffet McGraw, Marina's Coach at Notre Dame (you know her). McGraw's quotes were interesting:
- "She's relentless. She's competitive. She's the kid that you've got to have on your team," said Muffet McGraw, the former Notre Dame head coach and current ESPN analyst. "She is not after anybody liking her. In fact, she's fine if you don't.
On that team (2017- 2019), Mabrey sometimes deferred to other players (Arike Ogunbowale, Jess Shepard, Jackie Young) because it was what that squad needed her to do. Her selflessness taught her the value of contributing, no matter the role.
"I thought she was the reason that we won the championship because she would hold her teammates accountable if she thought for a minute they were slacking off."
- "After Notre Dame won the national title over Mississippi State, McGraw celebrated with a team dinner. At the table, she asked for the favorite championship game memory of each player, including Mabrey, who had 9 turnovers that night but also registered 10 points and hit a critical 3-pointer before Ogunbowale's game winner at the buzzer.
"She (Marina) said, 'I loved looking over at the bench,'" McGraw said, "'and knowing you couldn't take me out.'"
Marina Mabrey is one those players you love when she's on your team and not so much if she's on the opposing team.
www.espn.com
