Irish knock off Wildcats
JOE HETTLER
Sports Editor
MANHATTAN, Kan.
Just when it seemed no one on the court could hit a shot, Alicia Ratay found hers and sent Notre Dame into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight year.
The Irish guard overcame a poor first half of shooting to score 20 points, including three second half 3-pointers, and grabbed nine rebounds to lead 11th-seeded Notre Dame to an upset victory over sixth-seeded Arizona 59-47 Sunday night at Kansas State University. Notre Dame will face host Kansas State for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen Tuesday.
"She played, probably, her most complete game of this season," said Irish coach Muffet McGraw, who picked up her 450th victory as Notre Dame's head coach. "Offensively, we called her number every single time down the floor for awhile there. Rebounding, steals — she did it all tonight. Obviously, it was great to see her step up like that as a senior."
Ratay was the difference on a night when both teams shot the ball in a disgusting manner.
The Irish shot a woeful 19.4 percent (6-for-31) from the field in the first half, just below Arizona's 22.6 percent (7-for-31) shooting.
"That wasn't the prettiest game to watch," Arizona coach Joan Bonvicini said. "Both teams didn't shoot a great percentage and it was pretty much a defensive game."
The Irish held Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Shawntinice Polk to 14 points on just 4-of-14 shooting. Arizona's 6-foot-5 center, who averaged 17 points in the regular season, didn't hit her first field goal of the game until the 18:28 mark in the second half.
"Our goal was to double-down on her anytime she got the ball, whether it was a man or a zone," Irish forward Courtney LaVere said. "I think that really affected her play and got her out of rhythm and made her pass out of the double team."
Notre Dame also limited Arizona to connecting on just 2-of-25 3-point field goals in the game. The Wildcats Dee-Dee Wheeler and Aimee Grzyb combined to make just one of 18 3-pointers. Notre Dame also forced 23 Arizona turnovers.
"That's the best defense we've played in a long time," McGraw said.
The turning point in the game came with the Irish down 37-34, and both teams still struggling with their shooting at the 11:13 mark in the second half. The Irish grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed the ball down the court. LaVere took the ball in the paint, then kicked it out to Ratay who swished an open 3-pointer to tie the game at 37-37.
After sinking one of two free throws on the Irish next possession, Ratay drilled another long ball to extend the Irish lead to 41-37.
The Irish went up 43-37 after Ratay stole the ball from Arizona and passed to Megan Duffy, who eventually assisted LaVere on another field goal. After an Arizona timeout, Ratay drove to the basket and drew contact, then sank two free throws to put the Irish ahead 45-37.
The Irish scored two more field goals to extend their lead to 49-37 before Arizona finally scored. The Wildcats went held scoreless for 8:35 during the Irish 15-0 run.
"We were all just trying to do the best we could because none of us wanted to go home early," Ratay said.
The Irish shot only 29 percent for the game but hit on 41.7 percent of their second half shots. Ratay hit four of her five second half shots and knocked down 5-of-6 free throws.
Meanwhile, Arizona only hit 23.3 percent of their field goals for the game.
"I think when the lead got a little bit bigger later in the game, the basket probably looked a little bit smaller [for Arizona]," McGraw said.. "That's why we stayed with the zone, instead of the man-to-man."
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 24, 2003
