Last second shot hands Huskies Big East Tourney
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Assistnat Sports Editor
STORRS, CONN.
So they said Sue Bird was injured.
On Monday, Connecticut's point guard sat out her team's Big East semifinal win over Rutgers with a sore back. Tuesday, the junior made a last-second lay-up to give the Huskies (28-2, 15-1) their ninth consecutive Big East Tournament championship, topping the Irish (28-2, 15-1) 76-74.
The Huskies' victory avenged a Jan. 15 loss to the Irish in the Joyce Center, the only time the Irish have ever beaten the Huskies.
With 5.1 seconds remaining, Ruth Riley hit a free throw to tie the game at 74. Bird took the inbounds pass and sprinted the length of the court. She took the ball right at Riley in the lane, letting it fly high above the rim.
Nothing but net.
Who said Sue Bird was injured?
"I saw Ruth stepping up with her hand up and I thought she was going to get a piece and it was going to be an airball," Irish head coach Muffet McGraw said.
Said Bird: "I definitely have a lot of confidence in that type of situation. I caught the ball and I just went."
The shot provided the perfect climax in an exciting game that featured six lead changes and four ties. Connecticut twice led by as many as eight points, but Notre Dame kept storming back.
"We beat a hell of a team," Huskies' head coach Geno Auriemma said. "I think it should have ended when it was 76-all and we all could have gone home."
The victory was bittersweet, however, for the Huskies. Shea Ralph, last season's NCAA Final Four MVP, went down late in the second half with a knee injury. Ralph, who twice has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee, apparently suffered the same injury in her left.
"On the examination, it was clear that the ligaments in the knee are loose," Connecticut team doctor Michael Joyce said. "My strong clinical impression at this time is that she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee."
Ralph had 11 points, six assists and three steals in 14 minutes before hurting her knee.
"Every time I come home and say so-and-so's been practicing great or playing great, I jinx them," Auriemma said. "I came home before the tournament started and I said, 'Shea Ralph's going to be the MVP of the tournament.'"
Without Ralph and All-American Svetlana Abrosimova — who already suffered a season - ending left foot injury on Feb. 7 — Bird stepped to the forefront.
The point guard, who finished with a team-high 15 points on the night, hit more than just the crucial game-winner.
In the closing seconds of the first half, Bird nailed a running three-pointer from just inside the half-court line to put the Huskies ahead 52-46 heading in to the locker room.
"We were trying to go get into man-to-man," McGraw said. "I was really disappointed that she didn't have somebody in front of her when she shot that."
Bird then broke a 73-73 tie in the game's final minute, hitting a three-pointer from the top of the key. Riley countered with a lay-up 10 seconds later to pull the Irish within one.
Bird then dribbled the ball out of bounds, setting up a possible game-winner for the Irish.
UConn center Kelly Schumacher fouled Riley in the lane. The Big East player of the year hit the second free-throw after bouncing the first off the back of the rim.
The crowd went nuts, anticipating a last-second game winning shot. McGraw contends that the loud environment kept her team from properly defending in the game's final seconds.
"I think the crowd was definitely a factor," McGraw said. "At the end of the game we had a foul to give, but we didn't have a timeout left to kind of organize things and tell them that."
Riley was named to the All-Tournament team following the game, along with teammates Kelley Siemon and Alicia Ratay as well Connecticut's Ralph and Asjha Jones. Connecticut freshman guard Diana Taurasi, who scored 14 points, including four three-pointers, on Tuesday, was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Riley led the Irish with 23 points and nine rebounds. She played only 33 minutes as she committed four fouls.
"I think they wanted her on the bench, so they kept going at her," McGraw said. "I think they had some success doing that."
Siemon added 16 points, eight rebounds and two steals for the Irish while Ratay scored 14 points, including three three-pointers. Point guard Niele Ivey touched for 11 points while handing out nine assists.
"We don't play well if Niele Ivey doesn't play well," McGraw said. "She played extremely well today. I think our balance has been really the key for us."
Despite trailing by six at the halftime buzzer, Notre Dame had one of its best shooting halves of the season. The Irish hit 60.7 percent of their field goal attempts in the opening half, while limiting the Huskies to 52.5 percent from the floor.
In the second half, the Irish defense got even better. Connecticut attempted 39 shots from the floor, connecting on only 10.
The Irish shot only 40.7 percent in the second half. McGraw attributes the shooting woes to the fast pace of the game's first 20 minutes.
"Our game is to run," McGraw said. "We played our own game but in the second half I think we paid the price for it. I think they did too, because their shots weren't dropping."
Connecticut backup center Kelly Schumacher, averaging only 6.1 points per contest coming in, came off the bench to score 10 points playing inside against Riley.
"Schu knew I wasn't happy with her, because she wasn't practicing very good," Auriemma said. "She was looking at me with this look on her face like `You're an idiot.' She said, `Put me in." I said, `All right, go in.'" She would never say that before."
The Irish now have a week off before hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in the Joyce Center. Opponents and game times will be announced Sunday.
McGraw hopes to see her team face off against the Huskies for the third time this season in the Final Four.
"We're extremely hopeful that there will be a trilogy," McGraw said. "We're both No. 1 seeds so if it plays out as it should, we will should get another chance to play."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, March 7, 2001
