Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Alicia Ratay Chosen To Participate In WBCA All-Star Challenge

March 14, 2003

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame senior guard Alicia Ratay (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich H.S.) has been selected to play in the sixth annual Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Star Challenge on Friday, April 4 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta. The game will be part of a doubleheader at the WBCA’s “Night of All-Stars”, which also will feature the WBCA High School All-America Game. The all-star event, which will tip off at 6 p.m. (EST) with the high school game, is being held as a prelude to the 2003 NCAA Women’s Final Four later that weekend.

Ratay is one of 20 college seniors from around the country who have been chosen to play in this elite event. Seventeen of those student-athletes are from the NCAA Division I level and were selected based on a vote of Division I head coaches. Besides Ratay, two other BIG EAST Conference players were tapped to play in this year’s game — Trish Juhline of Villanova and Brianne Stepherson of Boston College. In addition, the top vote-getters on the State Farm Player of the Year ballots at the NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA levels have been invited to take part in this year’s event. A complete list of the participants in the 2003 WBCA All-Star Challenge may found on the WBCA website (www.wbca.org).

Ratay holds numerous Notre Dame career records, including all-time marks for three-point field goal percentage (.476), three-point field goals made (256), free throw percentage (.872) and games started (126). She also stands fourth on the Irish career scoring list (1,715 points) and is one of only five players to school history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists in her career. Furthermore, her three-point percentage is on target to rank as the best in NCAA history, while her free throw percentage is the sixth-best career total in NCAA annals. If she maintains her current pace, she will be the only player in NCAA history to rank in the top 10 in both career categories.

This season, Ratay leads the BIG EAST and ranks 11th nationally with an .884 free throw percentage. She also stands second on the team in three-point percentage (.458), and third in scoring (11.7 ppg.) and rebounding (4.7 rpg.). After posting a 19-10 record this year, Ratay and her Notre Dame teammates will learn their postseason fate at 5 p.m. (EST) Sunday when the 64-team field for the 2003 NCAA Tournament is revealed on ESPN. The Irish have qualified for the NCAA Tournament nine times in school history, including each of the last seven seasons.

— ND —