Irish earn trip to Final Four with
NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Editor
DENVER
The sign in the stands said it all.
Halfway up the Notre Dame fan section, a sign bearing the famous football slogan "Play like a champion today" rose above the cheering crowd.
Behind an All-American effort from Ruth Riley the Irish did just that.
With the Midwest Regional championship game knotted 40-40 at halftime, Riley carried the Notre Dame women on her back, scoring 20 of Notre Dame's 32 second-half points to push the Irish (32-2) past the Vanderbilt Commodores (24-10), 72-64.
The senior finished with a game-high 32 to go along with six rebounds to send the Irish to their second-ever Final Four this weekend in St. Louis. Notre Dame takes on Connecticut Friday evening.
"She was absolutely terrific," Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster said. "She played like the best player in the country. I love her demeanor and her makeup. She's a quality kid and it shows in every dimension."
Alicia Ratay also came on strong for the Irish, scoring 15 first-half points, including three 3-pointers. Ratay finished with 17 for the game to go along with five rebounds.
"She kind of got everybody relaxed," Irish coach Muffet McGraw said. "She played really steady and poised. She was hitting some big shots in the first half."
Siemon added 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds for Notre Dame. Ratay, Riley and Siemon were all named to the All-Midwest Regional team, while Riley was named Regional Most Valuable Player.
Notre Dame limited the Commodores to 41.7 percent shooting for the game.
McGraw used a 1-3-1 zone defense throughout much of the game to stifle
Foster's team.
"I think they did a terrific job with their defense," Foster said. "I think for the first time in a long time, we acted young, but I think they had a lot to do with that. They acted very mature and poised."
Zuzana Klimesova led the Commodores with 27 points, including three
3-pointers. The junior from the Czech Republic also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
"We played tentative," Klimesova said. "We gave up a lot of shots we
shouldn't have and our demeanor wasn't what it was since we faced Georgia in the SEC tournament. We were scared, and that's not the way we have been in a long time."
While Riley shined, Vanderbilt's second-team All-American center Chantelle Anderson struggled. The sophomore scored only 14 points and left after collecting her fifth foul inside on Riley with 6:22 remaining.
"We knew getting her out was something that would be to our advantage," Riley said. "The coaches told me to attack."
Anderson admitted that she did not play her best game Monday.
"For the first time in a long time, I played immature and Ruth Riley took advantage of it," Anderson said.
Vanderbilt's 6-foot-6 center collected her third foul as she tagged Riley inside 1:07 into the second half. Naismith Award winner Riley hit both free throws to put the Irish up 42-40.
Notre Dame would never trail again. When Riley scored under the basket with 5:28 remaining, the Irish built their biggest lead of the night, 64-52.
"We're ready to move on," McGraw said. "The first thing our players said when we got back to the locker room was `two more games.' I think they're happy, but not as happy as me. We're ready to get down to business."
The contest started out as a defensive battle. Neither team could find the basket until Ratay hit a 3 at the 2:12 into the game. The teams then traded leads until Vanderbilt held Notre Dame scoreless for a three-minute stretch midway through the half. A Klimesova lay-in with 12:44 remaining put the Commodores up 15-9.
The Irish stormed back, outscoring the Commodores 14-5 over the next four minutes to take a 23-20 lead. The Irish built that lead to 36-29 when Riley scored down low with 3:35 remaining.
But the Commodores wouldn't go quietly into the night. Behind five points by Jillian Danker and four from Klimesova, Vanderbilt outscored Notre Dame 11-4 to end the half. Danker's bank shot with three seconds remaining knotted the contest at 40 heading into the locker room.
It was the first time this season that Notre Dame has entered the locker room with the game tied, and only the third time they failed to lead after the first 20 minutes.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 27, 2001
