Belmar native Marina Mabrey brings national championship to Notre Dame

With the eyes of New Jersey girls hoops fans attentively watching her, Belmar native Marina Mabrey regularly reached the pinnacle of high school sports, bringing home two Tournament of Champions titles with Manasquan High School in 2012 and 2015.

Now a junior guard on the University of Notre Dame women’s basketball team, Mabrey reached the mountaintop once again with the eyes of the nation peeled to their television screens on Easter Sunday.

Mabrey, the 5’11” energetic and animated point guard for the Fighting Irish, used her sweet shooting stroke and dynamic playmaking ability to help lead top-seeded Notre Dame to the 2018 NCAA National Championship game. With a vintage, New Jersey-tough performance, Mabrey enjoyed a shower of confetti as Notre Dame took home its second national championship, and first since 2001, with a 61-58 buzzer-beating victory over Mississippi State University.

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With Notre Dame trailing 58-53 with 2:01 left to play, Mabrey drained a deep three-pointer, Notre Dame’s first of the night, to pull the Fighting Irish to within two points. Notre Dame eventually captured the title on junior guard Arike Ogunbowale’s dramatic three-pointer at the horn, the second buzzer-beater for Ogunbowale after she sent UConn home packing with a game-clinching bucket in overtime in Friday’s Final Four matchup.

In the shadow of Ogunbowale’s impressive theatrics, Mabrey proved to be a huge spark in Notre Dame’s comeback after the Fighting Irish trailed 40-25 midway through the third quarter.

“I was definitely looking to make it,” Mabrey said referring to her late bucket in a postgame press conference. “We weren’t even looking for a three. We were 2-for-9. We didn’t even get any. We were looking for Jess (Shepard) inside, and my player left. I think she trapped down or something. Jess just kicked it to me, and I was like, okay, Marina, it’s time. You really need to make this. So I got lucky.”

Call it luck or whatever else you like, Mabrey played an integral role in a magical Notre Dame run.

Mabrey shot lights out against fourth-seeded Texas A&M in the Sweet 16, shooting 7-of-11 from beyond the arc and finishing with 25 points and nine assists as Notre Dame topped the Aggies 90-84.

She then tallied 15 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in an 84-74 Elite Eight victory against Oregon to send the Fighting Irish to their eighth Final Four appearance.

“When she hits a three, it seems like four,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said prior to the Ducks’ loss. “You know the next one is going to go down easier.”

Though she shot 1-of-7 from the floor and finished with seven points in Notre Dame’s thrilling victory over UConn, Mabrey still brought a hard-nosed swagger that she developed in the parks and gymnasiums of New Jersey to the court on Friday night.

“Hats off to UConn. They’re a great team, but we’re better” Mabrey told Bleacher Report postgame.

Mabrey entered a new role at the point this year after four different Notre Dame players went down with ACL tears, more season-ending injuries than losses the 35-3 Fighting Irish suffered this year. As the floor general, Mabrey brought her own brand of grittiness and resiliency in the face of adversity to South Bend.

It’s something that comes as no surprise to those who witnessed her greatness in the Shore Conference.

“Her team adopted her refuse-to-lose attitude, and when it seemed the game was out of reach, they fought back each time,” Manasquan High School coach Lisa Kukoda said. “A true characteristic of Marina.”

Daniel LoGiudice: @danny_logiudice; dlogiudice@gannettnj.com.