ND Womens Basketball: Irish need to turn up heat against Devils
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
It will have to be a new Notre Dame team that takes the floor on Saturday.
The unfocused Irish squad that was on thin ice against Valparaiso on Wednesday will certainly fall through if it can't focus and cool off the Sun Devils.
So what do they need to fix?
"Everything," coach Muffet McGraw said.
Arizona State is off to its best start in the last 10 years. The Sun Devils have been on fire, beginning with a 5-0 record, including an upset against No. 14 Georgia Monday. In addition, the Sun Devils are looking to add a 14th win to their record-setting home winning streak.
The Irish don't look as hot.
In its last two games, Notre Dame has not been executing effectively on offense. Although it's been shooting nearly 58 percent from the floor, the offense has not been as effective as McGraw would like.
"We haven't executed in the last two games," McGraw said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
Offensively, that work will have to focus around playing against a man-to-man defensive scheme. The Sun Devils defense, ranked first in the Pac-10 last season, has used its man-to-man scheme to shut down opposing offenses. The Sun Devils are giving up an average of 62 points per game, more than 13 points less than their scoring average of 75.8 points per game.
But the good defense isn't what is most surprising about this young Arizona State University team. The Sun Devils are playing without two of their best players. Junior two-year starter Betsy Boardman left Arizona State University and sophomore forward Alexis Tate suffered a season-ending knee injury. Despite its losses, Arizona State is on fire offensively.
Led by freshmen standouts Jill Noe, Kristen Kovesdy and Amy Denson, the Sun Devils are shooting 45 percent from the floor and 42 percent from behind the arc. That's a change from the usually defensively focused team.
"I think what happened is they lost their best player and they've all stepped up," McGraw said. "So they're all contributing a little bit more than they did before."
What may be more important is how the Sun Devils play offensively. Where the Irish have not executed as much as McGraw would like, the Sun Devils have run a patient, mistake-free offense.
"Offensively, they don't make mistakes," McGraw said. "They don't beat themselves. They just kind of take their time."
The Irish will have to focus to remove the mistakes from their game. Although they only had two days of practice to fix Wednesday's mistakes, McGraw is sure two days is enough.
"It's a lot of mental stuff," McGraw said. "They just need to focus and get in their heads that they're going to get on their game."
Tip-off is Saturday at noon.
Note:
Saturday's game is part of the AstraZeneca Hoops for the Cure Classic II. Arizona State will be playing host to the second annual tournament that benefits breast cancer research, treatment and education with donations going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
All Sports Stories for Friday, December 6, 2002
