Womens Basketball: Storm warning for Irish at Joyce tonight
By JOE HETTLER
Sports Editor
Irish coach Muffet McGraw knows her team wants just one thing when it faces St. John's tonight at the Joyce Center.
"We just want to win at home," McGraw said. "We need to start another streak after losing four in a row at home."
McGraw is referring to the month of January when Notre Dame lost all four of its home games. However, the Irish (13-8, 5-5 in the Big East) have won their last two home games and are looking to build on that momentum against the Red Storm (8-14, 2-9).
"As a team, we need to focus on ourselves and improving in our areas of weakness — rebounding, defense and turnovers," McGraw said. "We've done all three of those well in the last few games and we did a good job with [fewer] turnovers against West Virginia and Georgetown."
The Irish are coming off another tough defeat, this time a 53-50 loss to Virginia Tech on the road. With the win, the Hokies improved to a perfect 11-0 at their own court. However, McGraw was pleased with her team's effort.
"It was a great game," McGraw said. "We put ourselves in a position to win and that's all you can ask for. I'm happy with how we played."
At 13-8, Notre Dame needs to focus on ending its season strong so the Irish can make a run at an NCAA Tournament bid. The toughest part of their schedule is behind them, allowing the Irish an opportunity to reel off much-needed victories.
One of those victories could come tonight against St. John's. The Irish pounded the Red Storm 71-42 Jan. 14 at Alumni Hall. But the Johnnies were without their best player and leading scorer in that game, Danielle Rainey, who averages 16.4 points and five rebounds per game.
"We can't afford to look ahead," McGraw said. "I think we've shown all season that we can't look ahead."
McGraw also said she feels that if Notre Dame can get 18 wins heading into the Big East tournament, the Irish will have a legitimate shot at an NCAA bid.
Aside from facing Connecticut on the road, the Irish face four other Big East foes that are either tied or below them in the conference standings.
The Irish will likely need to win five of their last six to have a good chance of making the tournament.
The first of those six games starts tonight at 7 p.m. when St. John's comes to town.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 12, 2003
