Irish extend win streak to 12
By KERRY SMITH
Assistant Sports Editor
History repeated itself Wednesday.
Two years ago, the Irish traveled to New York to take on the Red Storm and won by a decisive 20-point margin.
Last night, they did it again. Keeping their perfect record against the Red Storm alive at 8-0, the No. 5 Irish extended their winning streak to 12 with a 69-49 victory.
The win gives head coach Muffet McGraw and the Irish their longest winning streak since the 1990-1991 season.
Improving to 16-2 overall and remaining undefeated in the Big East conference, the Irish are in prime form heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
Irish guard Danielle Green and center Ruth Riley paced the squad with 16 points apiece. Green took control of the court in the first half, registering 11 points and putting on a solid defensive performance.
With tight Irish defense on the floor, the Red Storm had trouble finding the basket in the first half, connecting on just six of 32 for a season-low shooting rate of just 19 percent.
Despite poor shooting, the Red Storm stepped onto the court ready to play in the opening minutes of the game. Latasha Thompson's two-pointer put the Red Storm on top 14-13 midway through the first half.
The Irish defense refused to let the Red Storm extend the lead. Instead, McGraw's squad went on a 12-1 run to lead 25-15 with eight minutes remaining in the half and extended the margin to 33-19 by the buzzer.
That type of stifling defense has been typical for the Irish in conference games this season. Solid play has resulted in an opponents' scoring average of just less than 55 points per game.
From the opening tip of the second half, Riley picked up where Green left off on offense. Scoring 12 of her 16 points in the second half, Riley secured the win for the Irish.
The Red Storm came within 10 with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation, but could not close the gap. The Irish distanced themselves with a 15-0 run to take a 67-44 lead with less than two minutes remaining on the clock.
St. John's loss drops the squad to 6-12 and 1-7 in the Big East. The Red Storm has won only one of their last 10 games.
The Irish were forced to rely on their inside game to beat the Red Storm — for the first time this season the Irish failed to drain a shot from behind the arc. Three-point sharpshooter Alicia Ratay was held to just nine points and made only two three-point attempts all night.
Scoring in double digits for the 16th time in 18 games, Riley remains the leading scorer for the Irish this season.
The Irish win capped a three-game away stint – Notre Dame returns to the Joyce Center Saturday night when they take on Georgetown.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, January 27, 2000
