ND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Streak faces Hokie test
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Editor
On Dec. 8, 1998 the Notre Dame women's basketball team — a team featuring a sophomore center named Ruth Riley — fell to Connecticut 106-81 on the Joyce Center floor. Since that game, the Irish have been perfect at home, winning 46 games in a row at the Joyce Center, the longest such active streak in the country.
But that streak faces its toughest test yet on Saturday. On a game that will be televised on Fox Sports Chicago, the Irish host the Hokies of Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. Tech, ranked No. 20 by the Associated Press, is the first ranked opponent the Irish have hosted this season. Coming off of their worst loss of the season, an 80-53 drubbing at the hands of No. 1-ranked Connecticut, the Irish are glad to be home and ready for the challenge.
"We've been tossed a little bit at sea, but we're home, you know, docked at port," said freshman forward Kelsey Wicks. "This is where we like to do it so we're just coming in like it's any game. Our focus for every game is to play our best and that's what we're going to try to do here. There's no question, though, that it's a big game for us."
While the Irish players are proud of their home-court dominance, head coach Muffet McGraw hopes that the streak does not become a distraction. After all, the win streak is this long because of wins last season against Purdue, Rutgers and Connecticut — wins led by graduated seniors Riley, Niele Ivey and Kelley Seimon.
"I hope they're not thinking about it," McGraw said. "The streak doesn't really belong to this team, that's how I feel about it. They need to start some streaks of their own. It's not anything we ever talk about."
Instead, the Irish are talking about Saturday's game, specifically adjustments to the starting lineup. Starting point guard Jeneka Joyce was given this week off of practice to nurse nagging leg injuries, and her status for Saturday's game is uncertain. Le'Tania Severe, who has been coming off the bench in recent games, would take Joyce's spot at the point.
Another spot that appears to be up for grabs is the forward position next to freshman Jacqueline Batteast. Ericka Haney has started in that spot most of the year, but played just 17 minutes in Notre Dame's two games against Connecticut and Providence over the weekend.
In Haney's place, McGraw might move Wicks into the starting lineup. The freshman led Notre Dame with 16 points off the bench against the Huskies on Monday.
"Kelsey's really playing well," McGraw said. "I think she's somebody that we're looking at to move into the starting lineup... She played well the last two games. She's rebounding well, which is our weakness right now. That's something that we need. If she can rebound, she can help us."
But McGraw's decision wasn't definite. The Irish coach pointed out that Virginia Tech, who had won 12 games in a row before falling 75-59 at Syracuse Wednesday night, feature a talented forward in Chrystal Starling, who averages a team-leading 16.3 points per game for the Hokies. Haney, still one of the team's best defenders despite her offensive struggles, could help neutralize Starling. The two played together in Germany on a Big East All-Star team over the summer.
"We need Ericka's defense," McGraw said. "Starling is a really good player and I'm not sure if we have a lot of people who can guard her."
Another Hokies player who could give the Irish fits on the defensive end is sophomore center Ieva Kublina. The 6-foot-4 pivot player averages 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Not just an inside threat, Kublina has hit seven of 21 attempts from 3-point land.
"Last year, she had Ruth [Riley] running around the 3-point line because she's a decent 3-point shooter," McGraw said of Kublina, who totaled 25 points in three games against Notre Dame last year. "So that really hurt is in the game down there. She didn't do much against us here but she played well down there."
The Hokies also feature a tough defense that has held opponents to an average of 55.1 points per contest.
"They play the pressure man-to-man, they're a great defensive team," McGraw said. "They're a really fundamentally sound, hard-working team."
The game also gives the Irish a chance to show how much better they are now after starting the season out 2-4, including losses to ranked teams in Michigan, Purdue and Colorado State. Other than Connecticut, the Irish have not played a ranked team since falling to Purdue on Dec. 6.
"I think we are hungry for a win," Wicks said. "We're hungry to make a statement about how much improvement we've made over this season."
All Sports Stories for Friday, January 25, 2002
