ND WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Freshman faults caused loss
Noah Amstadter
Sports Editor
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.
In the green room at Van Andel Arena Sunday afternoon, Irish senior Ericka Haney sat in a chair, her head buried in her hands, tears flowing from her eyes as she tried to figure out how the Irish had just fallen 78-63 to a Michigan team Notre Dame toppled 88-54 in the second round of the NCAA tournament last March.
Haney's emotions could best be summed up by head coach Muffet McGraw's comments regarding her team's performance.
"What a difference a year makes," McGraw said in her opening statement. "I miss my team from last year. I don't think it was [because of] youth so much tonight that we looked so bad."
As most the Michigan players and a group of nearly 1,000 Irish fans in green T-shirts who rode a bus up for the game noticed, the familiar trio of Niele Ivey, Ruth Riley and Kelley Siemon just isn't there anymore. And while McGraw is correct in pointing out that the Wolverines performed exceptionally well Sunday, to deflect the blame for the Notre Dame's performance away from the three freshman who played significant minutes Sunday would be denying the facts.
Let's face it, the six freshmen who comprise the Irish class of 2005 are experiencing growing pains, some more than others. In fact, during one drill in which the Irish were practicing charges last week in practice, the pains got so bad that shooting guard Allison Bustamante severely sprained her ankle while forward Katy Flecky sustained a concussion.
The Irish first-year players that were healthy enough to suit up Sunday didn't fare much better. Forward Jacqueline Batteast has the skills and athleticism to perhaps someday be the greatest women's basketball player ever to come through Notre Dame, but right now her the decisions she makes on the court are more appropriate for Washington High School than the defending NCAA champions.
Batteast shot 5-17 from the field Sunday, missing five shots from behind the 3-point arc, although she did make three 3-pointers on the way to 17 points. But while Batteast isn't afraid to take the team upon her powerful shoulders, she must learn to create situations in which the Irish can thrive instead of just survive.
Take for example the final few minutes of Sunday's game. Batteast had just hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 66-52. After Alicia Ratay rebounded a Michigan miss, the ball ended up in Batteast's hands once again, where she responded by taking, and missing, a 3-pointer with about 20 seconds left on the shot clock.
Had Batteast, likely Notre Dame's most athletic post player, chosen to drive to the hoop, she could have taken a safer shot while putting the Wolverines in foul trouble as the clock ran down. Instead, the freshman took the first open shot that she saw.
"She's not been successful on the block like we would have hoped that she would be," McGraw said. "She really hasn't performed well down there."
Center Teresa Borton hit one of only four field goal attempts in 20 minutes, finishing with two points and only one rebound.
?Kelsey Wicks, a 6-2 swing player, hit one of four shots in 12 minutes, missing both free-throws she took. Wicks also jumped the gun in the second half, taking an ill-advised three-pointer.
"I was really disappointed that we weren't a little more aggressive offensively," McGraw said. "I think that they sort of matched up with us and we had a lot of one-on-one opportunities. I'm not sure we scored a basket on the block tonight in a post up situation. That was something that we really wanted to do was go down in the block and at least try and get a foul."
Lost in this youthful confusion is Haney, the versatile 6-1 player who developed her niche cleaning up missed shots in Notre Dame's structured rotation last season. During the second half alone Sunday, Haney played the three, four and five positions at various points.
She has seen her position change as the Irish adjust their offense to fit the needs of players like Wicks and Batteast, players with abilities unlike any player Haney played with in her previous three seasons. So on Sunday, Haney's tears flowed with her frustration.
"Compared to last year I need to step more up my confidence level and be more of a leader and right now I'm not being that," Haney said before choking up. At that point, McGraw came over and put her hand on Haney's back, a gesture to tell the senior everything will be okay soon.
With a national championship rematch game with Purdue looming on the horizon Tuesday, it's time for the freshman to ease McGraw's and Haney's frustration and use their minds along with their talent. When they do, this team just might start winning the games it used to.
Contact Noah Amstadter at amstadter.1@nd.edu. The opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Observer.
All Sports Stories for Monday, December 3, 2001
