Ratay, Batteast lead as Notre Dame tops Pitt 68-56
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
It was a milestone game for the Irish on Tuesday as they defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers 68-58. The win marked the 500th win in the program's history, making the Irish the fourth Big East team to reach that mark. It also tied Notre Dame with Boston College for second place in the Big East.
After a close victory at Seton Hall on Saturday, the 12-point win was an improvement. Led by solid play from Jackie Batteast, Teresa Borton and Alicia Ratay, Notre Dame looked more comfortable as it took home its fourth consecutive victory.
"We feel like we're definitely moving in the right direction," assistant coach Kevin McGuff said. "We're gaining some momentum as we head into the rest of the season."
Batteast recorded her 10th double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She managed to avoid any fouls until late in the second half, allowing her to go after important rebounds.
"She is such an important part of this team she needs to be smart and stay out of foul trouble," McGuff said. "That comes with maturity."
Although the Irish had a 15-point lead in the first half, the Panthers managed to eat away at that lead in the second half, outscoring the Irish 15-10 to bring the game within four. But a rebound from Alicia Ratay and two foul shots by Batteast began a 13-3 Irish run that put the game out of reach.
"We're doing a better job getting the right people to the [foul] line," McGuff said of the importance of hitting foul shots.
The first half showcased some young Irish talent, at times seeing four freshman on the floor with junior Alicia Ratay. After sophomore point guard Le'Tania Severe got into foul trouble early in the first half, freshman Allison Bustamante came in at the point guard position.
"In the first half, Le'Tania got in foul trouble and so Allison had to play a lot of minutes," McGuff said.
However, Bustamante took a seat in the second half due, in part, to pain in her foot.
Joining Bustamante at times in the first half were Batteast, Borton, and Kelsey Wicks. Borton recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to aid the Irish effort.
"Teresa played great," McGuff said. "She played very, very hard. She had a lot of great rebounds and we were very, very happy with her."
Borton was just part of a solid effort to rebound by the Irish. Notre Dame outrebounded Pittsburgh both offensively and defensively and scored 20 points on second looks. The Panther team, smaller in stature than the Irish, could not fight off the Irish attack that often included driving down the lane.
"[The Panthers] will get up and guard you, so we felt like we had to put the ball on the floor, create some fouls, and get to the free throw line," McGuff said.
Ratay led the Irish with 21 points, coming mostly from treys and free throws. Although she didn't get too many looks, she made use of each one.
"They were doing a couple of things, trying to trap the ball and we got out of the trap and she got some looks that way," McGuff said. "She was very efficient, she didn't shoot a lot but made them when she did shoot them and got to the line a lot."
The Panther effort was led by Laine Selwyn, the usual leading scorer, who grabbed 16 points.
The Irish will next take the court at the Joyce Center against Boston College on Sunday to fight for sole possession of second place in the Big East. Tip off is at 1 pm.
Notes:
* Ratay's third trey of the game gave her sole possession of third place on the Notre Dame list for career three-point shots made. She took over former teammate Niele Ivey's position with 193 3s.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 6, 2002
