Wildcats end 51-game home win streak, defeat Irish 48-45
by NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Editor
On Dec. 12, 1998, Notre Dame topped Villanova 63-62 at the Joyce Center, a victory that began a string of 51 consecutive home victories for the Irish. Then-sophomore Ruth Riley pulled down a key rebound as the clock ran out that night to secure the victory.
Tuesday night in the Joyce Center, that streak came to an end.
Once again it was the Wildcats of Villanova topping the Irish 48-45 in both team's regular season finale. And once again a Riley was in the middle of it, this time senior Villanova guard Mimi Riley, who scored Villanova's last eight points to pull the Wildcats ahead after Notre Dame led 43-42 with just under four minutes remaining.
"I thought it put a lot of pressure on us really," Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said of the win streak. "I thought the young kids just really just couldn't take the pressure. We didn't talk about it all year but coming into the final game it had to be on everybody's mind."
Notre Dame (19-8, 13-3 in the Big East) shot just 33.3 percent from the field. Alicia Ratay scored 22 points for the Irish, but the rest of the team combined for just 23 points on the night.
Ratay was the only Notre Dame player to make more than two field goals.
"The whole game, we just never were in sync offensively," McGraw said. "I thought Alicia played a great game, but we forced her to do everything and it was too much for her. She didn't get any help."
Although McGraw said that the team never discussed the home win streak, she thought that it weighed heavily on all the players' minds.
Of the 12 players on the Irish roster only senior forward Ericka Haney — who was honored before the game in Senior Night festivities — had ever experienced a home loss.
"I think it had to be playing on their minds," McGraw said. "I thought that they played like it. They played very, very tense. None of them played the game that they've played all year long. I think that was disappointing, probably more than anything."
In a game that featured nine lead changes and six ties, Notre Dame looked like it could pull it out until the game's final minutes. A Ratay lay-in with 5:24 remaining put the home team up 43-40, before Riley's lay-in pulled the Wildcats within one.
Notre Dame freshman forward Katy Flecky was then fouled, but missed both free-throws.
Riley followed with three unanswered baskets in the next two minutes. The final dagger was a rebound basket of her own miss with 62 seconds left that put the Irish down five.
"A smaller guard couldn't do that," Villanova coach Harry Paretta said. "Her strength enabled her to make that shot. We try to take advantage of that as much as we can."
Ratay hit two free-throws with 48.9 seconds remaining to pull the Irish within three, but Notre Dame couldn't pull any closer. An off-balance 3-point attempt by freshman Allison Bustamante as the clock ran out clanked off the rim.
Riley led Villanova with 15 points while teammate Nicole Druckenmiller added 10, including two 3-pointers. Villanova's 48 points were the fewest ever by an opposing team in a victory against Notre Dame.
"We don't have a real great offensive team," Paretta said. "I thought we played good enough defense to give us a chance to win."
Paretta also said that his team was not concentrating on ending Notre Dame's win streak — they had more important goals in mind.
"We were a little worried about trying to win to try to get into the NCAA tournament," Paretta said. "I think we're probably on the bubble, they're not. The game I think meant a little more to us. I think they talked a little about the win streak but I didn't really think about it. We're trying to get into the NCAA tournament."
Notes:
* Notre Dame, who clinched second place in the Big East regular season standings with a win against Georgetown on Saturday, will play either Syracuse or West Virginia Sunday evening at 6 p.m. The Mountaineers take on the Orangewomen at 6 p.m. Saturday.
* Play was stopped for approximately 10 minutes in the first half as junior cheerleader Hilary Thomas lay still at center court after a fall. Irish trainers as well as athletic director Kevin White examined Thomas, who complained of neck pain.
She was transported to St. Joseph's Medical Center, where x-rays indicated no serious injuries.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 27, 2002
