National Champions: Riley's two free throws with 5.8 seconds seals win
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Editor
ST. LOUIS
Ruth Riley hit the two most important free throws of her life to give Notre Dame a 68-66 victory over state rival Purdue and its first ever women's basketball national championship.
"I can't describe it," said Irish coach Muffet McGraw. "I don't think I've ever been this excited in my life."
Riley reflected on her magical moment like the quintessential Indiana girl. She led the Irish with 28 points and 14 rebounds in the game to go along with a 10-of-14 performance from the free throw line and seven blocked shots.
"I talked all the time about the movie Hoosiers and that was my inspiration," Riley said. "All those free throws you practice for this moment."
Her coach was equally impressed.
"We have been a second half team all tournament long," McGraw said. "For Ruth to make those two free throws for us to come back from halftime deficits two times in the Final Four — I can't say enough about this team."
The Irish overcame a 12-point deficit in their semifinal win against Connecticut.
With four minutes remaining, Irish 3-point specialist Alicia Ratay nailed Notre Dame's first trey of the night to tie the game at 62.
"It was such a big shot for her to make, and she shot it with a lot of confidence," McGraw said of Ratay's basket, her only points of the night. "I was just so pleased that she had the courage to take that shot."
Purdue forward Shereka Wright was then fouled, hitting one of two free throws to put Purdue up 63-62.
A Niele Ivey field goal with 2:06 left put Notre Dame up 64-63. After Notre Dame got the ball back, Katie Douglas answered with a steal. Douglas was fouled driving the lane, but still managed to convert the lay-up. She hit her free throw to give Purdue a 66-64 lead with 1:22 left.
At the one minute mark, Ratay found Riley under the glass to tie the game at 66.
Following a Wright miss, Notre Dame got the ball back and called a timeout with 25.9 seconds remaining.
"I knew it was going to come down to the final seconds," Wright said. "Notre Dame is a great team. We weren't going to back down and we thought we had it."
The Irish let the clock wind down before Kelley Siemon threw a pass high into the air to Riley under the basket. Riley caught the ball and posted up.
The Naismith player of the year drew a foul from Wright with 5.8 seconds remaining, setting up the game-winning shots.
Douglas missed a jumper from the top the key with the clock winding down and Ratay grabbed the rebound to give Notre Dame its first championship in any sport since the 1995 women's soccer team took home a title.
"We just wanted to keep them in front of us," Ivey said. "Katie Douglas took a critical shot and I was willing to do whatever I could for this team."
For Douglas, the game just wasn't meant to go into overtime.
"I had a good look at the basket, the ball just didn't go down for me," Douglas said. "You have to give Notre Dame credit, they made it difficult for us."
Riley was still stuck in her moment as the clock ticked off.
"I really wasn't playing defense on that last play," she said. "I was watching the free throw go in. I looked down the court and Camille Cooper was standing there wide open, and that was my man. I just got lucky that Katie missed a shot."
Riley's teammate on the AP All-American first team, Douglas, led the Boilermakers with 18 points. Freshman forwards Shalacia Hurns and Wright each added 17 points for Purdue. Ivey scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and nabbed six steals for the Irish despite playing on a sore ankle that kept her out of practice Saturday.
"This is my team, I'm the captain, I'm the leader," Ivey said. "This is my hometown and I was willing to do whatever I could for this team."
Hurns, Wright and Douglas joined Ivey and Riley on the All-Tournament team.
Forward Ericka Haney scored 13 crucial points for the Irish, putting the ball in from the top of the key as often as below the hoop. Siemon added 10 points for Notre Dame.
Just as Connecticut came out strong in the opening half of their semifinal game against Notre Dame, the Boilermakers opened up in force Sunday. Purdue grabbed 29 first-half rebounds to Notre Dame's 17, including a 13-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Six minutes into the first half, Douglas hit a 3-pointer to give Purdue their largest lead of the game — 16-5.
Then Riley took over.
Notre Dame's All-American center scored 13 of her team's next 17 points, pulling the Irish within 25-22 with 6:15 left in the half.
Then, with 4:14 remaining before the half, Riley committed her second foul of the game when she tagged Hurns on a drive to the basket. McGraw kept her star senior on the bench for the remainder of the half.
Without Riley on the floor, Notre Dame managed to keep the gap at six points. Two Ivey lay-ins provided Notre Dame's four points, while Douglas and Wright each hit one field goal for Purdue to close the half with a 32-26 lead.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 2, 2001
