Belles hope nerves ground Flying Dutch
By KATIE McVOY
Assistant Sports Editor
The Belles are counting on nerves to play an important role in round one of the MIAA playoffs as they take on the Flying Dutch of Hope College. They're hoping the No. 1-ranked Flying Dutch will be too tense to play their best.
"I think Hope might be a little nervous from the last time they were up here," head coach Suzanne Smith said. "You lose one [tournament game] and you're out. There's added pressure on them."
The last time Saint Mary's faced Hope, the Belles lost by 16, but led by as much as six during the first half of play. Coming in as the underdog, the Belles are not expecting to worry about their own nerves.
"We should feel good about going up there [to Hope]," Smith said. "Our focus is playing up to our potential."
After two strong performances against Hope, Saint Mary's is looking for a tough match-up even though the Belles are ranked last and the Flying Dutch are in first.
"I think it should be a good match-up," Smith said. "Both times we've played Hope we've played our best and I think we'll come out there [today] ready to play."
Saint Mary's (8-18, 2-12 in the MIAA) enters tonight's tournament game after ending the regular season with a loss to Kalamazoo on Saturday. Hope (22-2, 14-0 in the MIAA) is riding an 18-game winning streak. The Flying Dutch are ranked third in the NCAA Division III and No. 1 in the MIAA. Their last loss was Dec. 7.
Saint Mary's will play without Kristen Math and Leighanne Matesich again tonight. This could cause a problem against Hope's strong bench. Hope head coach Brian Morehouse uses his bench frequently, taking advantage of his team's depth.
Smith, however, will have to work without that depth.
"Right now we don't have a lot of depth," Smith said. "We've had a lot of injury."
Smith will keep her regular starting rotation: sophomore guard Katie Christiansen, senior guard Julie Norman, junior guard Mary Campione and post players junior Anne Blair and junior Kelly Roberts.
"We'll stick with what's working and see what happens," Smith said.
Saint Mary's is ready to face off against a tough Hope defense that switches between zone and man-to-man coverage.
"Offensively, we have to be ready for a lot of pressure," Smith said.
Hope's strong post players will be the main hurdle for the Saint Mary's offense. Junior Laura Poppema has consistently led the Flying Dutch on offense.
"On the defensive side they have a lot of post players," Smith said. "So we have to be ready to defend the inside."
Although the Belles usually focus better on the road, Smith would like to have the support of the home fans during tonight's game.
"Obviously we would love to play here with crowd," Smith said. "But it's a short trip, so it shouldn't be bad."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 20, 2001
