Irish defeat Huskies to advance to championship game
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Editor
ST. LOUIS
Niele Ivey gave new meaning to the phrase "Home is where the heart is" Friday.
With the Irish trailing the Huskies by 12 heading into the locker room, St. Louis native Ivey refused to let the Irish go quietly into the night.
The 5-foot-7 guard led the Irish with 21 points as Notre Dame doubled up Connecticut 53-26 in the second half to top the Huskies 90-75. The Irish, who were down by 16 points at various points in the opening half, set a record for the best comeback ever in a Final Four game.
"I think there was a lot of praying going on in the stands at halftime," said Irish coach Muffet McGraw, who may have noticed Notre Dame President Father Edward Malloy in the bleachers. "We showed tremendous character that second half."
Ivey would not allow her hometown fans see her team fall. She finished with three assists and five steals to go along with her team-high 21, marking only the second time this season Ivey surpassed the 20-point mark.
Ivey suffered a sprained ankle with 5:47 remaining, but returned triumphantly with just over three minutes remaining.
"My heart was in my throat, I had knots in my stomach," McGraw said. "I didn't want to move. I was sort of paralyzed on the sideline wanting to run out to comfort her but not wanting to, hoping she would get up and play. And when I saw it wasn't her knee it was definitely a sigh of relief."
Alicia Ratay added 20 for the Irish, while Ericka Haney finished with 15 and a team-high 10 rebounds.
The Irish hit a NCAA semifinal record eight of 11 attempts from the 3-point line. Ratay hit four treys, while Ivey converted on three.
"To Notre Dame's credit, they made every big shot they had to make," said Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma. "I don't think we can play any better than we did that first half. It kind of all fell apart for us in the second half."
While things were falling apart for the Huskies, everything came together for the Irish. Notre Dame scored on 15 of their first 20 possessions to turn a 49-37 halftime deficit into a 72-65 lead with 8:59 remaining.
"There was a lot said by the seniors," Riley said of the locker room during halftime. "We knew this could have been our last game and we wanted to make sure it wasn't."
Connecticut freshman Diana Taurasi, the Huskies' leading scorer through most of the postseason, scored only four points on 1-of-15 shooting from the field.
"Diana has played so well this tournament that when you have a night when you don't shoot well it's tough," said Connecticut point guard Sue Bird. "But it's not all on her. When she's not hitting her shots, someone else has to step up and make theirs."
Bird, whose buzzer-beater gave Connecticut a 78-76 win over the Irish in the Big East Championship game, led Connecticut with 17 points. Center Kelly Schumacher added 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for the Huskies.
While the fans from South Bend chanted "We are ND" and sang the fight song after the victory, things hardly looked so good early.
Notre Dame entered the locker room trailing the defending national champion Huskies 49-37. Riley walked back out carrying two fouls. Ivey had three.
A swarming Connecticut defense shut down Riley almost completely in the first half, limiting the National Player of the Year to only three points on two field goal attempts in just 12 minutes.
"I really didn't feel like I played very well that first half," Riley said. "I put up a couple of bad shots. I needed to post up bigger."
Riley came back with a vengeance in the second. She scored 15 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the Irish romp. Riley's line at games end: 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
The Irish hung in with the Huskies until late in the opening half. Ivey took the ball cross-court to close the Connecticut lead at 28-22.
After the a media timeout, the Irish returned to the floor with backup center Mandy Barksdale rather than Riley, who had two fouls. She would not return until after halftime.
Even without Riley, the Irish stayed close. Two Alicia Ratay free-throws with 4:17 remaining closed the gap to 35-28.
Then the Huskies went on a 15-5 run, leading by as many as 16 points with a minute remaining in the half.
An Alicia Ratay 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining closed the gap to 49-37 at the half.
The victory gave the Irish a 2-1 edge in the season series with the Huskies. Notre Dame topped Connecticut 92-76 on Jan. 15 in South Bend before Connecticut took the Big East Championship on March 6.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 2, 2001
