#33 Sam Brunelle 2020-21 Women's Basketball Roster

AWARDS

• 2021-22 Season
  • Katrina McClain Award Watch List
• 2020-21 Season
  • 2020 Preseason All-ACC
  • 2020 Naismith Trophy Watch List
  • 2020 Katrina McClain Award Watch List
• 2019-20 Season
  • 2020 ACC All-Freshman Team
  • espnW National Player of the Week (March 2, 2020)
  • Two-time ACC Freshman of the Week

CAREER HIGHS

• Points: 31 (vs DePaul, 12/11/19)
• Rebounds: 13 (vs Toledo, 11/20/19)
• Field Goals Made: 13 (vs DePaul, 12/11/19)
• Field Goals Attempted: 20 (at Duke, 1/16/20)
• 3-Point Field Goals Made: 7 (at Florida State, 3/1/20)
• 3-Point Field Goals Attempted: 12 (at Virginia, 1/26/20)
• Free Throws Made: 6 (vs Toledo, 11/20/19)
• Free Throws Attempted: 10 (vs Toledo, 11/20/19)
• Assists: 5, 2x (last at Louisville, 2/7/21)
• Blocks: 4 (at Pitt, 1/2/20)
• Steals: 4, 2x (last at Wake Forest, 1/13/22)
• Minutes: 42 (at Syracuse, 1/5/20)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Double-figure scoring: 39
• Double-figure rebounds: 2
• Double-doubles: 2
• 20-point games: 7
• 30-point games: 1

JUNIOR SEASON (2021-22)

• Transferred to Virginia after the season
• 2021-22 Katrina McClain Award Watch List
• Played in 32 games and averaged 16.5 minutes off the bench. She averaged 6.8 points, which ranked 6th on the team.
• Was extremely efficient from two-point range. Sam converted 56.9 percent from two on the season, which led the team.
• Tied her season high in made three’s with 4 against Georgia Tech in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament. Sam finished with 14 points – her highest output since Feb. 1 vs NC State.
• After scoring back-to-back baskets off the bench in the 1st quarter at Louisville (Feb. 13), Sam’s momentum was halted with a shoulder sprain injury in which she was forced to exit the game. She wore s a shoulder brace/sling for the remainder of the season.
• Gritty performance in win over No. 3 State. Had 8 points before taking a nasty bump in the 2nd quarter in which she hurt both her head and leg. Came back in the 2nd half and still found a way to finish in double figures.
• Against Syracuse on Jan. 27, Sam produced 15 points, a season best 6 rebounds and tied her season highs in assists (3) and blocks (3).
• Sam said sharpie at Pitt on Jan. 23 when she hit a clutch and-one in the 4th with just under six minutes remaining.
• Vintage Sam at Wake Forest – 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, which includes 2 treys. She also tied her career high of 4 steals.
• Finding her role off the bench, Sam notched a 12-point effort on 5-of-12 shooting vs Pitt on Dec. 19. She had 10 points in the 3rd quarter alone to put the game out of reach. She was 4-of-7 from two.
• 17 points off the bench to help the Irish get a big ACC road win at Syracuse on Nov. 14. Brunelle connected on at least eight field goals for the second time in the first three games.
• Efficiency at its finest, Brunelle dropped 20 points in just 17 minutes in the season-opening win over Ohio. The junior shot 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three. Dodson and Brunelle were the spark plugs in the 3rd quarter, combining for 24 points (Sam had 10). In addition, the last player to come off the bench and drop 20 points was Jackie Young (22) vs Virginia on 3/3/19.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2020-21)

• Played in 17 games, averaging 22.8 minutes off the bench.
• Big shooting improvements from Sam in year two. She went from shooting 31.5 percent from three as a freshman to 38.3 percent this year. She also went from 39.7 percent overall to 48.4 percent.
• Before the team Covid pause, Sam fired off 3 straight games in double figures, totaling 39 points, 13 assists and 21 rebounds. She also had dished a career-high five assists in back-to-back games.
• Went off in the third quarter vs. Louisville on Feb. 28, shooting 5-of-6 to score 11 of her 13 points.
• Over her last 6 games, Sam averaged 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg and 3.0 assists.
• Her 28 rebounds over the last 5 games of the season were more than the previous 10 games combined.
• Her averages were slightly up when looking at her stats strictly against Net Top-50 opponents – averaged 9.3 ppg and 4.4 rpg.
• Best game happened at Syracuse on Jan. 31 — Season high 19 points, career-high 5 assists and  8 rebounds. Thus her first career Stat-Sheet Stuffer game.
• Season-high 9 rebounds at Louisville on Feb. 7 – to go with her 10 points.
• Attempted just four free throws on the year – first one happening vs. FSU on Feb. 25.
• Scored 11 of her 13 points in the 4th quarter at Miami (12/31), willing her team to the 71-60 victory. Sam went 3-for-3 from three point range in the period.
• Guided the Irish to victory over Virginia Tech (12/17) with a 5-of-9 day from three, totaling 17 points. Sam hit two huge three’s in the fourth quarter.
• The three-point shooting quartet of Mabrey, Westbeld, Brunelle and Walker were the primary reason the Irish went from 15th in the ACC in 2020 in 3PT FG% (.271) to 4th this past season (.352) – and 41st in the country.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2019-20)

• ACC All-Freshman Team selection.
• Started in all 31 games, averaging 33.9 minutes.
• Brunelle led all freshmen in the ACC in scoring with her 13.9 ppg. Among freshmen at power-five schools, Brunelle’s scoring average ranked 6th.
• Her scoring average ranked 4th all-time at ND for a freshman.
• Led all ACC freshmen in Points + Assists + Rebounds/Game at 21.4. Furthermore, there were only eight players total in the ACC, counting Sam, who averaged at least 13 points, 5.5 rebounds & 1.5 assists.
• Her six 20+ scoring games led all freshmen in the ACC, while her 23 double-figure scoring games ranked second behind teammate Katlyn Gilbert. She was 1-of-8 ACC players overall to record a 30-point outing.
• Became the first player to start her Irish career with seven double-digit scoring performances – previous record was four.
• Brunelle/Gilbert/Peoples became the first freshmen trio to all finish with a double-digit scoring averages. Plus, Brunelle and Gilbert became the highest scoring freshmen pairing in ND history, besting: Arike Ogunbowale (11.4) and Marina Mabrey (10.7), 2015-16 // Mary Beth Schueth (13.0) and Carries Bates (12.4), 1981-82.
• Only three freshmen pairs in all of Division-I averaged 13.0 ppg or higher –> Brunelle and Gilbert, Fresno State’s Haley & Hanna Cavinder and UTSA’s Mikayla Woods & Adryana Quezada.
• Finding her three-point game: Brunelle went 13-of-68 (.191) from three over the first 14 games. Over the last 17 games of the season, Brunelle converted 45-of-118 (.381). In addition, she averaged 2.4  threes in ACC play, which ranked 6th.
• Named the espnW National Player of the Week on March 3 after notching 23 points/nine rebounds vs UNC, then lifting the Irish over No. 19 Florida State with 25 points on a career high seven made three-pointers. Her seven treys tied Alicia Ratay for a single-game freshman record and ranked second overall for a single game.
• Her 58 made threes ranks 2nd among ND freshmen all-time behind Alicia Ratay (73).
• Over the last five games: averaged a team best 18.6 ppg on 45.2 percent shooting, with a 20-for-43 mark from three (.465).
• Went 6-of-10 from deep to tally 20 points vs. Virginia Tech (2/20).
• Brunelle went off in the win over Miami (1/19), scoring 20 of her 25 points in the 2nd half. Then notched back-to-back games with 20+ points for the first time with 21 at Virginia (1/26).
• Exploded with a career high 31 points on 13-of-18 shooting vs. DePaul on Dec. 11.  Her 31-point performance tied the Notre Dame individual scoring record for a freshmen, tying both Skylar Diggins-Smith and Katryna Gaither.
• 4th Quarter surges: Brunelle scored seven of her 19 points in the fourth against Minnesota (12/4). Scored nine of her 11 points in the fourth at No. 21 Michigan (11/23). Scored 11 of her 19 points in the fourth vs. No. 16 Michigan State (11/14).
• Two double-doubles: 11-points, 12-rebounds against FGCU (11/28). All 12 boards were defensive rebounds, which marked a career best for that category. Prior, 19 points and 13 rebounds against Toledo (11/20).
• Peoples and Brunelle became the first pair of freshmen starters for a season opener since Teresa Borton & Jacqueline Batteast started the 2001-02 season opener.

PREP CAREER

• Ranked No. 6 overall by espnW in Class of 2019, reaching as high as No. 1. 
• Attended William Monroe High School.
• Two-time Naismith High School All-American (Second Team in 2019 / Third Team in 2018)
• 2019 McDonald’s High School All-American
• Won the three-point contest at the McDonald’s All-America game
• 2018 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year
• 2018 USA Today Virginia Player of the Year
• USA Today Second Team USA in 2018
• 2018 MaxPreps High School All-America Third Team
• Three-time All-State selection
• Finished her prep career with 2,229 points and 1,272 rebounds.
• Injured for about half her senior year in 2018-19, but still averaged 17.6 ppg and 10.3 rpg. William Monroe went on to win its first regional championship since 1987, when her mother, Katie, was on the team.
• As a junior, she started all 25 games and averaged 30.0 points, 15.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Guided William Monroe to its first playoff appearance since 1988 (reaching state quarterfinals with a 23-2 record), posting a trio of 40-point games along the way.
• As a sophomore in 2016-17, she started in all 24 games and led her team with 25.0 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.2 spg and 3.4 bpg to help her team to a 16-8 record. Brunelle scored 601 points during her sophomore season, including 30+ five times and a season high of 40 points (vs. Clarke County).
• As a freshman in 2015-16, she started all 26 games and averaged 25.0 ppg, 17.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.8 spg and 2.9 bpg. Holds Virginia High School League records for most points by a freshman (650) and single-game rebounds (28).
• Won the 2018 Hampton EYBL first session tournament with the Fairfax Star.

INTERNATIONAL – USA

• Member of the U16, U17, U18 USA national basketball teams.
• Three-time gold medalist with Team USA and winner of one bronze.
• Won a pair of international gold medals in 2018 – winning the 3×3 title at the Youth Olympic Games in Argentina and the 5×5 title at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Belarus. Prior, she won at the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Argentina. Won bronze at the 2016 FIBA U17 World Cup in Spain.
• Played twice in the USA vs Canada Ballin’ Across Boarders Global Game
• Selected as one of six USA Basketball participants in the 2019 NCAA Next Generation at the NCAA Final Four in Tampa, Florida.

PERSONAL

• Principal’s Honor Roll all 4 years of high school
• National Honors Society Member
• Future Business Leaders of America member and State place in Video Productions
• At Notre Dame, Brunelle plans on pursuing a career in sports broadcasting