Feb. 18, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame junior guard Alicia Ratay (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich HS) has been selected as a co-recipient of the BIG EAST Conference Player of the Week award, the league office announced Monday. It is the first player-of-the-week award of Ratay’s three-year Irish career, although she was a six-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week during the 1999-2000 season. She shared this week’s honor with Connecticut guard Diana Taurasi.
Ratay averaged 19.5 points and nine rebounds per game last week, shooting 58.3 percent from the field (14-of-24) as No. 23 Notre Dame extending its winning streak to a season-high seven games with wins over St. John’s and Rutgers. Ratay notched her first double-double of the season (and the fourth of her career) Wednesday against SJU, finishing with 14 points and a season-best 10 rebounds. She topped that performance on Saturday night at Rutgers, scoring a season-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting in a 57-52 win over the Scarlet Knights. Ratay tallied 16 of her points in the second half, including 10 in a span of 3:21 which helped the Irish claim their third victory in the last four visits to Rutgers.
For the season, Ratay ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 13.9 points per game, and she leads the conference with a .867 free throw percentage. She also stands 11th on Notre Dame’s career scoring list with 1,246 points, having passed Mary Beth Schueth (1,233 from 1981-85) with her 25-point night at Rutgers.
Notre Dame (17-7, 11-2 BIG EAST) will look to continue its recent success Tuesday when it plays host to West Virginia in a 7 p.m. (EST) contest at the Joyce Center. The Irish currently own the nation’s longest active home winning streak, and the 10th-longest string in NCAA history at 50 games.
– ND –