Notre Dame women are national champions
By Chuck Schoffner
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Notre Dame won the NCAA women's basketball championship by pulling off yet another Final Four comeback, beating Purdue, 68-66, yesterday on Ruth Riley's two free throws with 5.8 seconds left.
The Irish trailed by 12 points in the first half and were down 66-64 with a little more than a minute to play when Riley, the team's unanimous All-American and national Player of the Year, came through.
"It's definitely euphoria," Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. "It's the greatest moment in our basketball history at Notre Dame.
"I don't know when I've been this excited. What can you say about Ruth Riley? What clutch on the free throw line, to make both of those free throws!"
Somehow it seemed fitting in this all-Indiana final. Riley is Notre Dame's only Indiana native.
First, she scored in the lane to tie it at 66 with 1:01 remaining. Then, she rebounded a miss by Purdue's Shereka Wright, enabling the Irish (34-2) to set up a late shot.
They got the ball to Riley and she was fouled by Wright. She made the first throw, returned to the line after a Purdue timeout and calmly made the second.
"I can't even describe it," Riley said. "This is the only thing I wanted. To be able to share this with my teammates is unbelievable. We worked so hard that it was fitting to end the season this way.
"All those free throws I shot after practice really paid off."
It still wasn't over because Purdue (31-7) had the last shot. But All-American Katie Douglas missed an 18-foot shot at the buzzer, the ball hitting the front of the rim and bouncing off the backboard as the game ended.
"We designed a play and got out there and didn't execute it," Douglas said. "I had a good look at the basket and it didn't go down for me."
Don't blame Douglas, Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. Curry didn't say it, but the implication was clear: the Boilermakers wouldn't have been here without her.
"She's hit a lot of shots for us, but it didn't go down for her tonight," Curry said. "But we'll not focus on that. We would have liked for her to make the shot, but we didn't get it."
Riley, held to one point in the first 8:23, finished with 28 to lead all scorers, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots. Erika Haney added 13 points, St. Louis native Niele Ivey 12 and Kelley Siemon 10 for the Irish.
That turned out to be enough to offset the inspired play of Purdue freshmen Wright and Shalicia Hurns, and another solid performance by Douglas.
"I always dreamed of this moment, and then to have it happen in my hometown," said Ivey, who wore a brace on the left ankle she sprained during the semifinal. "I'm totally blessed."
The Irish, the best 3-point shooting team in the nation, won despite going 1-for-10 from behind the arc. Alicia Ratay, the nation's best individual performer, was 1-for-4. But the one she made was huge, tying the score at 62 with 4:02 remaining.
"It was such a big shot for us and I was pleased with her courage in taking the shot," McGraw said.
Douglas scored 18 points, converting a three-point play off a steal and layup to give Purdue a 66-64 lead with 1:22 remaining. Then Riley, named the outstanding player in the Final Four, took over and denied Purdue a second title.
Wright and Hurns, athletic players who have bright futures as Boilermakers, each scored 17. Douglas also had seven rebounds, five steals and five assists as her brilliant career came to an end. She was a starter on the '99 championship team.
The other starter Purdue had back from that team — center Camille Cooper — was hurt by fouls and finished with just six points while playing only 23 minutes.
"I knew it would be a battle," Douglas said. "Ruth played a great game. If she was not blocking a shot, she was altering a shot. She was getting a lot of rebounds. It was just her night."
