The Notre Dame women’s basketball team wrote its own chapter in the history of Irish athletics last season by capturing the school’s first national championship in that sport and 22nd overall for the school. Notre Dame’s storybook season ended in dramatic fashion on the floor of the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo., on April 1, 2001 as Muffet McGraw’s 14-year dream and vision of winning a national championship became a reality.
Now, McGraw and the 2001-02 edition of Irish women’s basketball look to begin another chapter. Notre Dame’s national championship run a year ago culminated the most successful four-year period in the program’s history as Irish teams compiled a 109-22 record for a .832 winning percentage from 1997-2001.
Certainly new challenges and goals await this year’s Notre Dame team. Gone from last year’s 34-2 squad are three individuals — national player of the year Ruth Riley, third-team All-American Niele Ivey and three-year starter Kelley Siemon — who were the cornerstones to the program’s success, they raised the level of expectation and elevated the Irish into the national spotlight.
The Irish return seven players, including two starters, in 2001-02 who are committed to ensuring that the standard of excellence is not compromised. Notre Dame ushers in a new era with the addition of six freshman who comprise arguably the best recruiting class in school history as well as one of the top three nationally.
Senior forward Ericka Haney and junior sharpshooter Alicia Ratay, will clearly be the leaders of this year’s team. The two returning starters from a year ago are ready to step to the forefront and take command of the team. While the spotlight last season clearly shone on Riley, Ivey and Siemon, the focus this season will be on the leadership of these two players and how they, and the rest of their teammates, help the younger players with their adjustment to the college game.
“Ericka and Alicia are ready for their new roles and for this to become their team,” McGraw says. “They have earned this chance and I’m happy for them that they will have the opportunity to be in the spotlight as the focus and attention now shifts to them.
“With so many younger players on the team, its going to take some time for us to establish an identity.”
The challenge of building her team around the players she as returning and the six newcomers is something that McGraw, who is set to begin her 15th season on the Irish sidelines, hasn’t faced in a while.
“For the last couple of years, we’ve been spoiled because we have headed into the season with a lineup that has been fairly established,” McGraw says. “This year is exciting because there is alot opportunity for players coming back as well as our incoming freshmen.
“I’m excited for the challenge. Now that we have achieved a level of notoriety at the national level, there is a certain sense of expectation that has never been there before for an incoming freshman class. They feel that they don’t want to be the group that lowers the bar.”
With the losses of Riley, Ivey and Siemon, there certainly won’t be the inherent pressure or talk at the start of the campaign of trying to repeat as some teams coming off national championships have to contend with at the beginning and throughout the season.
“I’m sure to start the year, the level of expectation for us to be one of the top five teams in the country or to repeat won’t be there,” McGraw says. “The pressure of repeating on teams is always so tremendous. Our returning players definitely have a sense of confidence and, more importantly, experience because they know what to expect. Every returning player has sensed the excitement of the NCAA tournament and winning a championship and that is going to be helpful to our younger players.”
With six rookies comprising nearly half of this year’s Irish roster, there will be a certain sense of the unknown early on. But there also will be a great deal of enthusiasm, especially when talk center around the postseason and NCAA tournament competition.
“We’ve got six players on this team who have haven’t been part of the NCAA tournament and are going to be really excited to be there,” McGraw says. “With so many new faces on the team the excitement and enthusiasm will be very high and should be a big plus for us later on in the season.”
While it is expected that Haney and Ratay will be once again in the starting lineup, there will be many chances for others. The level of opportunity for everyone on the team is one that will foster a great deal of competition for playing time. Heading into the preseason, Notre Dame will have 10 players vying for a spot in the starting lineup.
Balance will be the strength of this year’s Irish team in terms of the depth that they have at each position. Notre Dame’s versatility at all positions will pose matchup problems for opposing defenses.
“We certainly are going to be a team that has great balance,” McGraw says. “I don’t think that there is going to be a lot of pressure on any one person. Certainly at the end of the game we want to get the ball into Alicia Ratay’s hands, but I think that the success of this year’s team is going to be based on the fact that opposing teams are going to have guard everyone on the floor.
“Last year there was a lot of double coverage on Ruth. This year I think that we are going to see a lot of single coverage, but defenses are going to have to guard every player who is out there on the floor. We’re going to be a tough team to defend and guard because we are going to spread the floor a little bit more.”
With such a young lineup, the biggest concern facing McGraw and her coaching staff will be consistency. During the past couple of years, Notre Dame has been fortunate with the progress and development that its rookies have made. The bonus for McGraw during the past three years is that the freshmen coming in have had some time to ease their way into the lineup without having the added pressure of contributing immediately.
“Our freshmen are going to see a lot of playing time this season — we may even have two of them in the starting lineup,” McGraw says. “With freshmen on the floor, sometimes you don’t always quite know what to expect. Consistency early on could be a major concern for us.”
Despite the loss of Riley in the middle, McGraw believes that her squad has the potential to be an outstanding rebounding team. Notre Dame has more players this season than they have had in the past who can rebound the basketball, and that will be important considering the loss of its two top rebounders last season — Riley (7.8 rpg.) and Siemon (7.1 rpg.).
Notre Dame will look to showcase junior Amanda Barksdale’s shot-blocking talents in the middle. The Irish center played extremely well during the second half of the season and commanded an inside presence when she was in the game. Barksdale was second on the team in blocked shots last season (58) for a 1.66 per game average.
Sophomore Le’Tania Severe will head into the season as Notre Dame’s starting point guard. Severe missed 14 games last season because of injuries, appears ready to move into Ivey’s vacated spot. She has improved tremendously since the end of last season and appears excited to step into her new role.
“There are a lot of similarities between Le’Tania and Niele,” McGraw says. “Being on the bench last season, Le’Tania got a good grasp of our offense. Certainly the burden of leadership in running the team is something that she is going to have to grow into.”
Severe, however, will not be the only one handling the ball for the Irish. While she will be the team’s primary ballhandler, both Ratay and sophomore Jeneka Joyce are expected to handle some of the ballhandling duties.
“Niele always had the ball in her hands last season, but Alicia and Jeneka are going to have to help Le’Tania out in this area,” McGraw says. “It will be sort of like a committee at the point guard position this year because more people are going to have their hands on the ball.”
Joyce is a strong complement to the outside shooting prowess of Ratay. Similar to Severe, she was sidelined part of the season with injuries, but in the 25 games she played, made 30 three-point fields and connected on 38.0 percent of her attempts. Joyce also will share some of the ballhandling duties in the backcourt for the Irish.
“Jeneka’s progress at the beginning of last season was slowed because of her injuries,” McGraw says. “Once she was in the lineup on a regular basis, she really made a lot of progress.”
Junior Monique Hernandez will be in the lineup more this season as McGraw plans to take advantage her strong defensive skills. Hernandez runs the floor well and can be a scorer, but her greatest asset is her play on defense. With her in the game, look for the Irish to become more aggressive defensively and to press more frequently than they did a year ago.
“Monique is another player who is ready for her chance,” McGraw says. “She has worked extremely hard this summer and has earned the opportunity. With our athleticism in the backcourt, we can be a little bit more aggressive on defense.”
Notre Dame welcomes its largest contingent of Parade All-Americans in a single class with the addition of Jacqueline Batteast, Teresa Borton and Katy Flecky. These three rookies will figure prominently into the Irish game plan this season as will Allison Bustamante, Kelsey Wicks and Jill Krause.
“There certainly is going to be a level of opportunity for our freshmen to come in and have an immediate impact,” McGraw says. “What makes it most exciting for them is that they all are going to have the chance to see a lot of playing time. That’s going to be very beneficial to us later on this season as well as in the future.”
Frontcourt
Notre Dame must contend with the losses of two-time first-team All-American Riley and Siemon, a versatile player who proved to be an inspirational leader throughout all of last season.
The Irish have just one returning frontline player in Barksdale. The 6-3 center from Friendswood, Texas, who played in all but one game last season, averaged 8.2 minutes, 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds. Her contributions during her first two seasons have been more as a shot-blocker, but this year, Barksdale his going to be active at both ends of the floor.
“Amanda really played well down the stretch for us during last season,” McGraw says. “I look for her to continue to improve her game. She has worked hard in the weight room to become stronger. Amanda gives us more flexibility in the middle and will allow us to extend our defense more this season. She’ll be our shot-blocking threat in the middle of our 2-3 defense.”
In addition to Barksdale, Notre Dame will look its three incoming freshmen for support in the post.
Batteast, a first-team Parade All-American honoree, will play a major role for the Irish. The 6-1 forward from South Bend, Ind., enjoyed an outstanding prep career in which she had more than 1,000 points and rebounds. As a senior, she averaged 26.0 points and 16.0 rebounds.
A finalist for the Naismith Award, she will be a swing player for the Irish playing either the three or four positions on the floor. One of the top high school players a year ago, she has an outstanding combination of athleticism, skill and talent.
“Jackie is an extremely versatile player who can dominate both ends of the floor as both a scorer and rebounder” McGraw says. “She is a good outside shooter who also can drive to the basket and shoot off the dribble. But her greatest asset and the strength of her game is in her rebounding ability.”
Borton, a 6-3 center from Yakima, Wash., is a talented post player with good quickness. The second-team Parade All-America after averaging 17.9 points during her final prep season. She runs the floor well in transition and can get out on the break very quickly.
Borton also had more than 1,000 points and rebounds during her career. She was the MVP of the state tournament after leading her West Valley team to the Class 3A state title last season.
“Teresa is a strong post player with great mobility around the basket.” McGraw says. “She is a versatile offensive player down low, who also has developed a very effective free-throw jumper. Teresa also will be another shot-blocking threat for us in the middle. And, she is a strong defender in the post.”
Flecky, a 6-2 forward from Lone Tree, Colo., is another outstanding post player. She garnered third-team Parade All-America honors after averaging 18.6 points and 7.4 rebounds in her final scholastic season at Highlands Ranch. She led her team to its second consecutive state crown in 2001 as Highlands Ranch finished with a 24-1 record and No. 13 ranking in the USA Today’s final poll.
A aggressive rebounder, Flecky is certain to have an immediate impact inside because she is such an aggressive rebounder. She also has developed a free-throw jumper, but is very comfortable playing inside and around the basket.
“Katy is a very physical player who is not afraid to go inside,” McGraw says. “She may be our most aggressive player around the basket. Katy is an outstanding rebounder and versatile scorer. Once she get comfortable with our gameplan, she is going to be a very difficult player for opposing teams to defend.”
Backcourt
Notre Dame’s backcourt possesses great versatility and athleticism, and although the Irish are somewhat inexperienced at the point guard position, McGraw looks to once again get great productivity from her guards and swing players.
As the lone senior on the team, Haney is unquestionably the leader of this year’s Irish team. A combination of a small forward and guard, the 6-1 product of Toledo, Ohio averaged 11.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. She’s is Notre Dame’s most versatile and athletic player on the court and excels at both ends of the court. She can score points in a number of different ways, either as a perimeter shooter or by driving to the basket.
“I’m excited for Ericka that she is going to have this opportunity,” McGraw says. “We are looking for her to provide great leadership in terms of her poise on the floor. She is going to make a lot of big plays for us.
“Ericka is a great defender and rebounder for us as well as an offensive threat. She is ready to step out of the shadow of Ruth and Niele and play a big role for us this season.”
Ratay set the NCAA three-point field goal percentage mark last season as she connected on 54.7 percent of her attempts (54-148). The 5-11 shooting guard from Lake Zurich, Ill., is on course to become Notre Dame’s all-time three-point field goals leader. Ratay has been a big-game player for the Irish in each of her first two seasons and last year was the team’s leading scorer as she averaged 12.9 points per game.
Ratay has started all but one game during her Notre Dame and posted double-figure scoring averages in each of her first two seasons. Certainly one of the top outside shooters in the nation, Ratay is expected to draw the opponent’s best defender and will be the one player that every defense is going to be keying on at the beginning of the season.
“Early on we expect Alicia is going to draw our opponent’s best defender and she is going to be the one that defenses are going to be concentrating on,” McGraw says, “She is going to work hard to free herself up. Alicia has been a “go-to” player for us, and once again, we are going to want her to take the big shots for us.
“Alicia is ready to handle the responsibility of being a team leader. At the end of last season, she showed how much she wanted to win and displayed tremendous poise under pressure. Alicia was a leader for us by example, but now it is her time to have a bigger leadership role on this team.”
Hernandez, who was a backup at the point guard, will likely slide over to the two guard position. The 5-9 native of Rio Rancho, N.M., is one of the most competitive players on the team and is very aggressive on defense. McGraw looks for her to see increased playing time as the Irish look to utilize its press more often. She averaged 2.6 points last season while averaging 11.0 minutes of playing time.
“Monique is going to give us great minutes as a defender and I look for her to see more playing time this season,” McGraw says. “She runs floor well and is as aggressive on defense as any player we have on the team.”
With the loss of Ivey, the point guard duties will be passed to Severe, a 5-8 product of Pembroke Pines, Fla. She played in 22 games as a freshman and averaged 1.9 points per game. Severe had her progress slowed because of injuries early on in the season, but McGraw expects her to be the team’s starting point guard.
Severe gives the Irish considerable depth and quickness in the backcourt and that will benefit Notre Dame at both ends of the floor. She’ll get the ball up the court which will benefit McGraw’s transition style of play which she likes to run.
“Le’Tania know that she is going to be our point guard,” McGraw says. “She has improved tremendously since the end of last season. I’m confident in her abilities to run floor for us at the point because it is something she wants. We’ll need to be patient as she grows into the position, but I’m very comfortable with her running this team.”
Joyce also was bothered by injuries last season, but she proved her mettle at times and showed brilliance from long range. In addition to Ratay, she’ll once again be another three-point shooting threat for the Irish. As a freshman, the 5-9 guard from Topeka, Kan., averaged 5.2 points and was third on the team in three-point field goals made (30).
Joyce will help Severe out with the point guard duties. In addition, she is one of the players McGraw is counting on to become more or a rebounding force.
“Jeneka is a complete player,” McGraw says. “She shoots the ball well from the outside, is an excellent rebounder and has good ballhandling skills.
“I expect Jeneka to be a key player for us this year because of her ability to do so many things. She was frustrated last year by the injuries. We need her to be there out on the floor.”
Wicks, a 6-2 product of Gillette, Wyo., may be as versatile as any player on the Irish roster. In high school, she played a lot of different positions. Wicks has good size and is a solid outside shooting threat. She averaged 20.7 points and 8.4 rebounds in her final scholastic season while leading her team to the state title. She handles the ball well and has good court vision and passing skills.
“Kelsey is an all-around player with a complete game,” McGraw says. “She’ll see playing time this season because she is such a versatile athlete. Kelsey will play along the perimeter, but she also has an inside game and can drive to the basket.”
Bustamante, a 6-0 forward from Miami, Fla., gives the Irish another multi-dimensional threat on the perimeter. A two-time honorable mention All-America selection, and a three-time all-state pick, Bustamante graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes Academy as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,487 points. She averaged 24.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during her senior season, leading her team to a 20-9 record.
“Allison’s strength is her great perimeter scoring ability,” McGraw says. “She’s a tremendous three-point shooter and someone who knows how to score. We expect her to contribute on the perimeter for us this year.”
Krause will see time as a backup point guard. The 5-8 freshmen from Wilmette, Ill., gives the Irish considerable depth in the backcourt. She’s a solid ballhandler and distributes the ball well. Krause, the granddaughter of legendary Notre Dame athletic director Moose Krause, averaged 11.5 points and 2.5 assists during her senior season in high school.
“Jill is a feisty player with a strong mental attitude,” McGraw says. “She’s a hard worker who could develop into another long-range shooting threat for us. Jill’s an unselfish player who distributes the ball well.”
Third-year walk-on Karen Swanson also returns. The 5-8 guard from Westlake, Ohio, is clearly a favorite with Irish fans. Swanson, who played in 23 games last season, has been a spark off the bench for the Irish the past two years and has shown no hesitation to shoot the ball from beyond the arc.
“Karen is such an integral part of our program,” McGraw says. She works extremely hard in practice and has a strong work ethic. She contributes in so many different ways and has a great understanding of what her role is on this team.”
Schedule
McGraw and the Irish have a challenging schedule this year, facing 10 teams which reached postseason play, including seven NCAA Tournament squads.
Highlighting this year’s schedule is a nationally-televised showdown against BIG EAST Conference rival and NCAA Final Four participant Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center. The Irish took two of three meetings from the Huskies last season, including a 90-75 come-from-behind victory in the NCAA national semifinals, helping to propel Notre Dame to its first national championship. This season’s Notre Dame-UConn battle will take place on Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 21) at 3 p.m. (EST) and is slated to air live on ESPN.
Notre Dame opens the season at home against Valparaiso on Sunday, Nov. 18, with a school-record 38-game home court winning streak (second-longest in the country) in tow. The Irish have not lost at home since Dec. 8, 1998.
Notre Dame will then embark on a two-game Thanksgiving road swing to visit Mountain West Conference tournament champion Colorado State (Nov. 21) and Arizona (Nov. 24).
In early December, the Irish will square off with a pair of Big Ten Conference foes. On Dec. 2, Notre Dame will meet Michigan in Grand Rapids, Mich. Then, four days later, Notre Dame will venture south to West Lafayette, Ind., to tangle with Purdue in a rematch of last year’s national championship game, which was won by the Irish, 68-66.
The BIG EAST, which has produced the last two national champions, will once again be among the top conferences in the country. Notre Dame will face Boston College at home, but plays UConn and Rutgers on the road. The BIG EAST Championship is set for March 2-5 in Piscataway, N.J.
“We’ve put together a schedule that is going to test us early on,” McGraw says. “Our trips to Colorado State and Arizona are going to be extremely tough, and I’m sure the Purdue game will be very emotional for both teams.
“Our BIG EAST schedule once again will be very demanding. There’s no easy game in the league, and from top to bottom, the conference has become better and better every year.”
— ND —