Leahy, Riley lead Irish to win
By KERRY SMITH
Assistant Sports Editor
When the No. 18 Boston College Eagles stepped on the court Saturday to face the No. 5 Irish, they had a simple game plan: contain the paint.
Unfortu-nately for the Eagles, the game plan didn't work.
After 40 minutes ticked off the clock, the Irish were on top 72-59 and center Ruth Riley and forward Kelley Siemon combined under the basket for almost half of Notre Dame's points and rebounds.
Riley scored a game-high 23 points and Siemon came off the bench to record a double -double with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the Irish.
"We knew that [the Irish] were strong and that they were a great team," Eagle captain Cal Bouchard said. "One of our goals was contain the paint, contain penetration and we didn't do that in the first five minutes of the game and we slowly realized we needed to double down a little bit more."
The Irish stepped on the court ready to defend their undefeated conference record, and opened the game with five points from Riley in the lane and a 7-0 run.
By the time the Eagles realized they needed more pressure down low, the Irish had already ignited the spark that propelled them to their school record-tying 15th consecutive season win and 18th straight home win.
But moving to 19-2 and remaining undefeated in the Big East at 10-0 wasn't as easy as the Irish would have liked.
The Eagles hung with Irish during the first half. Although they were never able to gain the lead, the Eagles tied the game twice and kept the Irish scrambling.
Bouchard was a menace on the perimeter, hitting 4-7 from 3-point range and leading the Eagles with 17 points.
"I think they [BC] are an excellent team," said Irish head coach Muffet McGraw. "Their guard play is outstanding. I think they're among the best in the conference. They played well. They're a great team. They came back."
Riley gave her team the final edge they needed to down the Eagles when her 11-straight points for the Irish increased the lead after a close halftime score.
"Today our emphasis was get the ball to the block," McGraw said. "And this was probably the first team that we really knew we had a big man and took advantage of it."
When guard Danielle Green scored seven of her 19 points in a row, the Irish were up by 10 with just two minutes left to play and dashed the Eagles' chances of an upset.
"I think the difference in the second half was we were able to keep our starters on the floor most of the half," McGraw said. "I think that is why we finished so strong."
Ratay, one of four Irish scorers in double digits, added 12 points and six rebounds for the Irish, while point guard Niele Ivey dished out a game-high nine assists.
Neither team went to their bench as much as they have in previous outings. McGraw felt her starters were rested enough because of several television timeouts and Eagles head coach Cathy Inglese wasn't satisfied with her reserves' play.
"I think [the lack of depth] was a factor," said Inglese. "We need more from the players coming off the bench."
The Eagles had two players who played for the entire game and a third who played for all but one minute of the contest.
The Irish win was key for a team who had gone relatively untested in the conference before Saturday.
"[Winning] was so important to keep our hopes alive for the Big East championship," said McGraw. "To get that home court game in the NCAA tournament we need to beat ranked teams so we're excited to beat a ranked team."
Boston College was the first ranked team to come to the Joyce Center all season.
Despite downing the Eagles — a team that fell to Connecticut by only seven points — McGraw is convinced that her squad can play better.
"We're definitely playing with a lot of confidence and I don't think you've seen our best game yet. I still think we can play better," said McGraw. "We're playing well in spurts and we've had some players step up but as a team I don't think we've peaked yet and that's what we're hoping will happen in the Big East tournament."
Even with four Irish players scoring in double digits, solid defense that held the Eagles to less than the average conference team has scored against the Irish all season and a big win over a tough conference rival, McGraw thinks her squad can so better.
"I'm looking at Niele's shooting 1-11 — she's not going to do that very often," said McGraw. "She had a great floor game today but I think she and Alicia can both score more."
Envisioning a squad that has five players scoring in double digits, McGraw is poised to lead her team into the final stretch of the regular season before the Big East and NCAA tournaments in March.
And her players are ready too.
"I don't think we'll have any trouble focusing [during the rest of the season]," said McGraw. "We've got our eye on a goal that's down the road and we know we have to take care of the business at hand."
That business is to prepare for Pittsburgh, the team's next opponent, when the Irish return to the Joyce Center Wednesday.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 7, 2000
