April 8, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Freshman forward Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend, Ind.) and junior guard Alicia Ratay (Lake Zurich, Ill.) were named co-recipients of the Notre Dame National Monogram Club MVP Award at the 2002 Women’s Basketball Banquet, which was held Monday evening at the Joyce Center. More than 450 persons were in attendance to help the Irish celebrate a 20-10 season which included the ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history (seventh in as many seasons), and Notre Dame’s ninth consecutive 20-win season, all under the guidance of 15th-year head coach Muffet McGraw.
Other honorees included: junior guard Karen Swanson (Westlake, Ohio), who was selected as the winner of the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award, junior center Amanda Barksdale (Friendswood, Texas), who received the Defensive Player of the Year Award, freshman forward Katy Flecky (Lone Tree, Colo.), who earned the Most Improved Player Award, and freshman Kelsey Wicks (Gillette, Wyo.), who was honored with the Spirit Award. Each of Monday evening’s award winners was selected by a vote of her teammates.
Batteast compiled one of the finest rookie seasons in school history, placing among the BIG EAST Conference leaders in scoring (13.8 ppg., 13th), rebounding (7.8 rpg., 2nd), blocked shots (1.38 bpg., 5th) and double-doubles (11, 2nd). She became the first Irish player to be named National Freshman of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and she was the first player in school history (and second in BIG EAST annals) to earn honorable mention Kodak All-America laurels as a freshman. She also was a unanimous choice as the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Year, picked up second-team all-BIG EAST honors, and was a six-time conference Rookie of the Week, becoming the second Irish player in three seasons to be so recognized.
Ratay continued to build her place as one of the top scorers in Irish history, ranking third in the BIG EAST at 15.4 ppg., and moving into ninth place on the school’s career scoring list with 1,375 points. She also finished second in the conference with a school-record .882 free throw percentage. For her efforts, she earned honorable mention All-America recognition from the Associated Press, and she was a first-team all-BIG EAST selection, her second all-conference honor in as many seasons. In addition, Ratay twice was named BIG EAST Player of the Week, the first weekly awards of her career. She remains Notre Dame’s career leader in three-point percentage (.480) and free throw percentage (.865), and she will enter next season needing to make just 38 three-point field goals to break Sheila McMillen’s career record in that category (249).
Swanson compiled a team-high 3.733 grade-point average (GPA) last fall and earned Dean’s List recognition for the fourth time in five semesters. She currently is an entrepreneurship major in the Mendoza College of Business. On the court, the third-year walk-on and fan favorite averaged 1.0 points and 0.5 rebounds in 15 games for the Irish, tying her career high with five points on Nov. 26 against Army.
Barksdale moved into the starting lineup on a full-time basis this season and made the most of her opportunity, leading the BIG EAST in blocked shots and ranking fourth nationally with 3.0 rejections per game. Despite missing the first four games of the season with a leg injury, she recorded 78 blocks in 26 games, the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. Barksdale also rang up at least four blocks in 10 games this season, highlighted by a school-record 11 swats in a win over No. 16 Boston College on Feb. 10. She ranks second on the Irish career charts for blocks (170) and blocked shot average (1.91 bpg.), trailing only 2001 Naismith Player of the Year Ruth Riley in both categories.
Flecky ranked sixth on the team in scoring (4.9 ppg.) and third in field goal percentage (.452) this season. She was an important contributor for Notre Dame in its final eight games, nearly doubling her season scoring average up to that point (7.4 ppg.), while starting seven times after Batteast was sidelined with an injury. She posted her first career double-double on Feb. 13 with 12 points and 10 rebounds against St. John’s, and came back with a career-high 14 points on Feb. 23 at Georgetown. The latter performance helped Flecky secure her first BIG EAST Rookie of the Week Award, giving the Irish two freshman honorees for only the second time in school history.
Wicks averaged 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 29 games for Notre Dame this season. She also ranked third on the team with 23 three-point field goals and was fourth with a .727 free throw percentage. She scored in double figures twice this season, turning the trick on the road against the two of the toughest opponents on the Irish schedule — NCAA champion Connecticut (career-high 16 points), and Final Four participant Tennessee (10 points).
In addition to Monday’s individual honors, Notre Dame recognized senior forward Ericka Haney (Toledo, Ohio) with a framed jersey. Haney averaged 7.6 ppg. and 4.6 rpg. in her Irish career, and ranks fifth in school history with 129 career games played. During her tenure with Notre Dame, the Irish appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the Sweet Sixteen twice and winning the program’s first-ever national championship. Notre Dame also put together the 10th-longest home court winning streak in NCAA history, winning 51 consecutive games from 1998-2002, and jumped into the top 10 in the nation in attendance, placing eighth this year with a school-record average of 7,825 fans per game.
– ND –