Severe latest piece of the Irish puzzle to fall into place
By TIM CASEY
Assistant Sports Editor
Le'Tania Severe knows all about the freshman transition.
She has already suffered two injuries, sat out until December, played sparingly in games and has seen her role switched from high school.
Finally, on Wednesday night against Providence, the first-year guard stepped into the spotlight. In 26 minutes, she scored only two points. But Severe filled the roles that coach Muffet McGraw had been preaching all season.
"She expects me to defend and rebound," Severe said of her roles on the team. "I really never have to worry about scoring. If I get wide-open, that's good. But we've got so many scorers on the floor, it's just like get the ball to them and you're fine."
Entering Saturday's game at Boston College (8-12 overall, 2-7 in the Big East), the Irish players have all seemed to fit into the system. The three main scorers (Ruth Riley, Niele Ivey and Alicia Ratay) have been complemented by the interior defense and rebounding of Kelley Siemon, Ericka Haney and Meaghan Leahy and the perimeter play of Severe, Jeneka Joyce and Monique Hernandez.
During the first half of the Providence game, however, the team struggled for the longest stretch of the season. Notre Dame (20-0 overall, 9-0 in the Big East) shot just 32 percent in the initial 20 minutes, trailed for the first 17 minutes and committed 12 turnovers, a few coming on errant passes.
"We were just standing around," Riley said of the first half. "It seemed like there were more people in the paint. And our guards missed shots that they normally make. That probably isn't going to happen again, a night when everyone's off like that."
The Irish face an unexpectedly weak Eagles squad this weekend. In the preseason, the conference coaches picked Boston College to finish fourth, just behind Notre Dame. But the Eagles, who went 26-9 last year and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, have lost seven of their last eight contests and rank 12th out of 14 teams in the Big East.
They played well at the beginning of the season and were tied at then-No. 2 Tennessee with eight minutes left before losing by 15 points.
Three days earlier, Boston College lost 73-61 to then-No. 5 Purdue after staying close most of the afternoon.
Yet since defeating St. John's 75-36 on Feb. 2, the Eagles have been among the conference's worst teams. The average margin of victory by the opponents in the seven losses has been 9.7 points per game.
Boston College has played most of the season without junior point guard Brianne Stepherson, who started during her first two years. Junior forward Becky Gottstein leads the team in scoring (15.5 points) and rebounding (8.2 rebounds) and shoots 51.2 percent from the field.
"She likes to attack the basket off the dribble or on up and under moves," Riley said of Gottstein. "And they look to post her up a lot. She's a pretty good player."
The last two times the Irish traveled to Chestnut Hill, they came home with a loss. Boston College posted a 78-76 victory on Jan. 17, 1998 and a 78-65 win on Dec. 30, 1998.
"We don't play very well up there," Riley said. "It's probably chance, perhaps. Both times we didn't play well but they have a good crowd and they're aggressive."
With Kelley Siemon (broken hand) questionable for the game, McGraw may continue using Severe to provide a defensive presence. Severe had surgery in September for a stress fracture in her right tibia. The doctors placed a rod in her leg and she was sidelined until the Dec. 18 game against Western Michigan.
A few weeks later, Severe sprained her left knee against St. John's and missed the next two games.
But after months of turbulence, Severe has adapted to college basketball.
"I'm feeling more comfortable now," Severe said. "It's great finally getting back into the flow."
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 2, 2001
