Ratay leads Irish past All-Stars
By KERRY SMITH
Sports Writer
While it was close at times, the Notre Dame women's basketball team proved why its this year's team to beat, upending the Premier All-Stars, 94-85, in an exhibition game Sunday.
Freshman guard Alicia Ratay and sophomore forward Ericka Haney combined for 42 points, while all starters registered double figures in points in the come-from-behind victory, showing that on a team rich with upperclass talent, youth will also be an asset in the coming season.
Ratay scored a game-high 22 points in her first career game with the Irish as Haney and center Ruth Riley added 20 and 18 points, respectively.
The Irish were put to the test against the All-Stars, a team of players who graduated college between 1989 and 1999.
The Irish took control of the ball from the start, capitalizing on some loose balls and sloppy ball-handling by the All-Stars. Taking the ball to the hoop repeatedly in the opening minutes of the first half, the Irish quickly jumped out to a 26-8 lead. Haney connected on a jumper with 12 minutes remaining to give the Irish squad its largest lead of the game at 18 points.
"We were playing with a lot of emotion at the beginning of the game," said Ratay. "It was our first game playing together this season and we got out to a strong start and just kept building up the lead. They weren't taking good care of the ball at times and we took advantage of that."
The All-Stars, who were 3-0 entering Sunday's game settled down as the final minutes of the half drained away, managed to cut the Irish lead to seven by halftime.
Notre Dame posted impressive numbers in the first half, connecting on 18 of 36 field goal attempts for a .50 shot percentage. The All-Stars couldn't match the accuracy of the Irish and ended the half with a .323 shot percentage, as they were 10 for 31 from the court.
The opening minutes of the second half brought a less organized and less potent Irish squad to the court. Sloppy play and weak defense by the Irish led to a 15-1 run by the All-Stars in the first six minutes, as the Ohio-based team quickly chipped away at the Irish lead and took its first lead of game. All-Star center Mindy Smith-Hutchinson drove down the lane for a quick lay-up, bringing the score to 47-46.
Hutchinson came up big for the All-Stars again with 12 minutes remaining in the game when her outside jumper gave her team their biggest lead at 54-48.
"We played sloppy at the beginning of the second half," said Ratay. "The other team was more mature and played better as a team, but we were able to come from behind and get the lead back."
As the final 10 minutes ticked off the clock, the Irish and the All-Stars swapped the ball back and forth several times. Irish guard Niele Ivey knocked in a key three-pointer that put the Irish up 58-57 with 9:50 remaining.
"Defense was our main focus in the final minutes," said Ratay. "We started playing more like a team on defense which helped us get control of the ball. We came up with some big steals that led to baskets that gave us the lead."
Capitalizing on some All-Star mistakes and bringing down some key rebounds in the final minutes, the Irish quickly extended the lead to 94-85 for the win.
Riley's 10-for-10 performance at the line was key in keeping the Irish close in final minutes. The junior center finished the day with six rebounds and six blocked shots.
Ivey's appearance on the court marked her return for the Irish since suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the semifinal round of the Big East tournament in March.
Ivey and forward Kelley Siemon each added 12 points for the Irish.
All Sports Stories for Monday, November 8, 1999
