WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Young Irish show improvement over break
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
The Irish have a different look. They've tried some new line-ups. The young players look more at home on the court. But most importantly, they're winning games.
The Irish (9-6, 3-1 in the Big East) showed marked improvement, defeating Marquette, DePaul, Miami, Providence and Seton Hall during a seven-game stretch. A loss to Villanova on Saturday ended a four-game win streak and left the Irish with the knowledge that they can hold their own in the Big East.
"I think we should be undefeated [in the Big East]," head coach Muffet McGraw said. "I'm disappointed that we're not undefeated."
McGraw, who kept with a fairly consistent line-up throughout November, switched things up in the last four weeks. Ericka Haney and Jeneka Joyce took their turn at starting positions while center Amanda Barksdale laid claim to the starting center position, allowing freshman Teresa Borton to be a threat off the bench.
"I think they're a great tandem," McGraw said of the center pair.
Joyce came in as a starter and took some pressure off of Le'Tania Severe, who had been starting at point guard for the Irish. Severe, who had been turning the ball over a lot, found some relief coming off the bench.
"It was taking the pressure off of Le [Severe]," McGraw said. "She had a couple of games where she had a lot of turnovers. I think she wanted to come off of the bench."
The varied line-ups offered success for the Irish. In nine games their opponents scored more than 70 points only once and the team's shooting percentage is back up around 50 percent.
"I think the biggest difference is we're making a lot more shots," McGraw said. "I think we're getting the same [shots], but instead of shooting 38 or 40 percent, we're shooting 50 percent. Things are really clicking for us."
Junior guard Alicia Ratay has also stepped into her role with more aggressive play. In four game since an Irish victory against the Hurricanes, Ratay upped her average points per game from 12 to 14 and topped 20 points in a game twice.
"I think she's finally just really taking to the role of 'I've got to do it,'" McGraw said. "I think that we've been encouraging her to shoot more and take more of an aggressive role and looking for the shots."
Despite more solid offensive and defensive efforts, Villanova found the nerve Notre Dame is still leaving exposed — 40 minutes of focus. The Irish jumped out to several early leads during their nine-game run, however the final minutes still caused a few problems, like the 60-59 loss to the Wildcats.
"[The freshman] are getting more used to the college game and everything," forward Jackie Batteast said. "But we're still having a little trouble focusing the whole game."
"We played really well for 35 minutes [against Villanova]," McGraw said. "Then at the end we got a little nervous ... instead of saying we're going to win this game."
The loss came after a solid Notre Dame victory against Seton Hall on Jan. 9. In 40 minutes of play the Irish managed to hold the Pirates to 45 points while scoring 79 themselves. The Irish jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never let go as they took home their third Big East victory of the season.
The victory, which McGraw labeled the best game Notre Dame has played this season, highlighted the improved play by the teams six freshmen.
"I think that the freshmen are just feeling a lot more comfortable," McGraw said. "They look really relaxed on the court and I think everybody's starting to understand where they fit in."
During the four conference games, freshmen Alison Bustamante, Kelsey Wicks and Borton added some serious help to the Irish effort. Borton ended the four game stand shooting .864 from the field.
"Teresa, Kelsey, they're all getting their career highs," Batteast said of her classmates. "Everybody's feeling more comfortable and that's good."
The early lead mirrored a similar lead Notre Dame took against Providence four days earlier. However, they let that lead slip away and almost lost it in the second half during a 72-66 win.
"We had that 20-point lead at halftime and they got what they wanted in the second half," Batteast said.
The Irish opened Big East play on Jan. 2 against the Miami Hurricanes. The 69-65 victory marked the first time Notre Dame took a win on the road. Ratay sparked the Irish effort, scoring seven three-pointers on nine attempts while Batteast grabbed her seventh double-double of the season.
The low point of the Notre Dame run came during a 72-61 loss to Rice on Dec. 28. The Owls led the whole game.
The loss snapped a three game winning streak after consecutive Irish victories against Marquette (60-33), Western Michigan (71-48) and USC (62-49).
Notes:
uJunior Monique Hernandez left the team of her own volition citing personal reasons. She will continue to pursue her degree at Notre Dame. McGraw declined to comment beyond stating Hernandez was leaving for personal reasons.
uBatteast was named Big East Rookie of the Week following the Notre Dame victory against Providence. That marks the fourth time the freshman has earned the award.
"These were the expectations that were set when I came here and I would feel bad if I wasn't making them," she said.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, January 16, 2002
