Wicks' last-second free throws lead Irish to 57-52 win
By KATIE McVOY
Associate Sports Editor
With 10 seconds left in the game, Kelsey Wicks may have felt like she was reliving a nightmare. She found herself on the free-throw line with a few precious seconds left on the clock and her team's fate on the line.
But this time, instead of missing the one and one, she hit both shots. A few seconds later she went to the line again and added two more points to top off a 57-52 Irish victory against the Scarlet Knights.
"I was glad she had the opportunity because earlier in the year at the Villanova game she had the opportunity," said head coach Muffet McGraw. "I was hoping she got that chance again."
In a loss to Villanova in early January, Wicks missed the one and one that set up a game winning shot for the Wildcats. On Saturday, Wicks found her shot.
"I don't know, I was just really focused," Wicks told WUND. "Actually I think if I hadn't gotten to the free throw line earlier in the game I wouldn't have known how to shoot those free throws. So I kind of stepped up and said `this is my home'."
Wicks had to find piece of mind in the loud, hostile environment of Lewis Brown Athletic Center. The Irish had been only 2-5 when playing on Rutgers' home turf and they could feel the heat coming from the fans.
"This is a really tough place to play," McGraw said. "They started heckling when we got off the bus. It's a really hostile environment and for freshmen to come in and play with that kind of poise was tremendous."
Wicks' four free throws that found the basket were a much-needed change from the fate of the rest of the Irish charity shots. The Irish were 6-16 at that point in the game from the foul line.
Notre Dame struggled to take control of the game early in the first half, trading the lead with Rutgers in the opening minutes of the game. However, by halftime the Irish had a dominating 11-point lead.
When the second half rolled around, however, the pace of the game changed. Rutgers, after shooting only 22 percent in the first half, found the basket and started shaving away at the Irish lead. The Scarlet Knights brought the game to within three on a 10-3 run in the opening minutes of the half. But then, Alicia Ratay stepped up.
Ratay, who had a season high 25 points, made four straight shots and had a steal that she passed to Jeneka Joyce who made a three-point shot, putting the Irish lead back to 11.
"[Ratay] made every big shot that we needed to have," McGraw said. "She was aggressive looking for her shot. We put it on her back and she carried us through. We went to her almost every time and she made it."
Ratay grabbed eight rebounds and was 3-5 from the three point arc.
"But how about that Alicia Ratay," Wicks told WUND. "I was like, shoot I'm not even going into rebound. It's amazing. I was just very impressed with her game."
Rutgers brought the game within four before Wicks hit four free throws and the Irish took home the win.
Freshman starter Jackie Batteast was sidelined with a torn ligament. In her place, McGraw started freshman Katy Flecky who finished the game with four rebounds and four points, after coming off of her first double-double against St. John's.
"I was very excited, very motivated to get in and do what I could and show everyone finally that I can," Flecky told WUND.
The Irish will take on West Virginia on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Joyce Center.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 18, 2002
