Nov. 8, 2000

Four women’s basketball players ranked among the top 100 high school seniors by Blue Star Basketball headline a class of five high school seniors who have signed national letters of intent to attend the University of Notre Dame in 2001, head coach Muffet McGraw announced Wednesday. Jacqueline Batteast, a 6-0 forward from South Bend, Ind., Allison Bustamante, a 5-11 shooting guard from Miami, Fla., Katy Flecky, a 6-2 forward from Lone Tree, Colo., Jill Krause, a 5-6 guard from Wilmette, Ill., and Kelsey Wicks, a 6-1 forward from Gillette, Wyo., will comprise the Irish women’s basketball class of 2005.

“We are extremely pleased with the class we’ve signed,” said McGraw, who enters her 14th season at Notre Dame with the Irish ranked sixth in the preseason Associated Press poll. “We’ll need to replace five seniors and we signed five very good players. We expect our class to ranked in the top 10 nationally. I think we filled all of our needs. We think they all have a chance to play as freshmen and contribute to our program in a big way.”

Batteast, a two-time Northern Indiana Conference most valuable player, has been rated 19th by Blue Star Basketball and earned fifth-team high school All-America honors by Street & Smith. She averaged 21 points and 14 rebounds while leading Washington High School to a 17-4 record last year. She was named the South Bend Tribune’s metro player of the year in 1999 and 2000.

“Coming into the year we felt like Jacqueline was a very important player for us because of both her talent and what she can bring to the program in terms of local excitement,” said McGraw. “She’s an outstanding talent who is great shooting three pointers, driving the ball and posting up. She has a lot of versatility and we expect her to make an immediate impact.”

Bustamante, an all-state selection at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, has been rated 76th by Blue Star Basketball and earned honorable mention high school All-America honors by Street & Smith. The three-year starter led Dade County in scoring and three-point shooting last year and scored 40 points in her team’s district championship as a junior. The high scoring guard was named MVP of the Junior Orange Bowl, the Sarasota Christmas Tournament and the prestigious City of Palms Tournament.

“Allison is a great three-point shooter,” said McGraw. “She handles and passes the ball very well. She has great scoring ability and is someone we can look to for scoring on the perimeter. Along with Jeneka Joyce and Alicia Ratay, those three will be tough to defend because of their ability to shoot the three.”

Flecky, a member of the Colorado Hoopsters and standout at Highlands Ranch High School, has been rated 13th by Blue Star Basketball, the highest of the Irish class. She also has been named a third-team high school All-American by Street & Smith. She led her high school team to the state championship last year as a junior.

“Katy is a very good post player and a very strong player,” said McGraw. “She comes from a great program in Colorado and had a lot of success in national tournaments. She’s the type of post player who can step away from the basket but is very comfortable around the basketball as well and that’s where we look for her to fill in. We expect Katy to make an impact right away.”

Krause comes to Notre Dame from Regina Dominican High School where she averaged 12 points and 5.5 assists per game as she led her team to a 16-14 record as the team’s point guard. Krause, who has attended summer basketball camp at Notre Dame since sixth grade, is the granddaughter of former Irish football and basketball star and longtime athletic director Ed “Moose'” Krause. Her father, Phil, and uncle also attended Notre Dame.

“Jill is a great point guard and has a great handle,” said McGraw. “She is quick and feisty and a very good defender. She comes to us from very good high school and AAU programs.”

Wicks has been rated 89th by Blue Star Basketball and earned honorable mention high school All-America honors by Street & Smith. She averaged 21 points and seven rebounds during her junior season at Campbell Country High School as she led the Camels to a runnerup finish in the Class 4A tournament for the second consecutive season. She shot 52 percent from the field, 40 percent from the three-point line and 78 percent from the free-throw line last year. Wicks also has been a standout in golf and track and field and twice won the state high jump championship.

“Kelsey is very versatile and can play anywhere from one to four,” said McGraw. “She is a great three-point shooter and a very smart player. She can post up and do a lot of different things. She’s going to be very good in our offense.”