Feb. 6, 2001
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(#1 AP/#1 ESPN/USA Today) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-0, 10-0)
vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (9-11, 3-6)
TODAY’S GAME
The top-ranked Notre Dame women’s basketball team returns home when it plays host to Pittsburgh this evening at the Joyce Center where the Irish have won a school-record 33 straight games. The Irish enter the game with a 21-0 record and 10-0 mark in the BIG EAST. After holding its previous highest-ever ranking of third for six consecutive weeks, Notre Dame climbed to the top rankings on Jan. 22, as the last remaining unbeaten team in the country following wins over Connecticut and Seton Hall that week. The Irish enter tonight’s game after breaking the school record for consecutive wins by defeating Boston College 81-65 on Saturday for their 21st straight victory — eclipsing the previous record of 20 straight wins set just last year.
Tonight’s game will mark the ninth meeting between the teams in a series that began in 1996 when the Irish joined the BIG EAST. Notre Dame has won all eight of the previous games between the Irish and the Panthers, including an 81-74 win on Feb. 9, 2000, at the Joyce Center in the last game of the series.
All five of Notre Dame’s starters average double-figure scoring, and the Irish are led by three of the best players in the country at their respective positions. Senior All-America center and national player-of-the-year candidate Ruth Riley (18.2) leads the BIG EAST in scoring and was the only player in the top 20 of the NCAA statistical rankings for blocks (4th at 3.05) and field-goal percentage (3rd at .652) according to the most recent NCAA statistics. All-America candidate and fifth-year point guard Niele Ivey (13.1) stands eighth in the country in assists (7.14) and has scored or assisted on 42 percent of Notre Dame’s 596 field goals. Sophomore shooting guard Alicia Ratay (13.7) leads the nation in three-point shooting (48-85, .565).
A large part of Notre Dame’s success this season also is due to the play of its other two starters, junior Ericka Haney and senior Kelley Siemon, who returned to the lineup against Boston College after missing the three previous games. Haney (11.9) has scored 17 points in three of the last seven games (Va. Tech, Seton Hall and Providence). Siemon (10.1) stands second on the team in rebounding (6.6) and sixth in the BIG EAST in defensive rebounds. Playing with a broken left hand, Siemon scored 15 points and had eight rebounds vs. Connecticut.
The Irish enter the Pittsburgh game ranked No. 1 for the third consecutive week with a 21-0 record — their first 21-0 start in the history of the program, far surpassing the previous best start of 6-0 from the 1998-99 team. The 21-game winning streak currently stands as the longest active in the country and the longest in school history.
With the top field-goal percentage defense (.339) and the third-best shooting team in the country (.500), Notre Dame has won its 21 games by an average of 23 points — second best in the country — and has outscored its opponents by an average of 16 points in the first half. The Irish have shot better than 50 percent from the field in 11 of 21 games, better than 46 percent in 17 of 21 games and better than 40 percent in all but one game. Notre Dame’s defense has held its opponents to under 40 percent in 17 of 21 games — including 13 games under 35 percent.
The hot shooting of Ratay, strong point guard play of Ivey (150 assists, 58 steals) and dominating defensive presence and shooting touch of Riley (62 blocks, 140-217 FG, .645) have led the Irish to big early leads. Forwards Siemon and Haney have given the Irish timely contributions. Notre Dame stands as the only team ranked among the top 10 NCAA leaders in both field-goal percentage and field-goal percentage defense according to the latest NCAA statistics.
Head coach Muffet McGraw is in her 14th year at Notre Dame with a 309-115 (.729) record and in her 19th as a collegiate coach with a 397-156 (.718) mark. She has led the Irish to the No. 1 ranking for the first time ever, to eight consecutive 20-win seasons and to five straight NCAA tournament appearances and seven overall. McGraw was named a finalist for the Naismith Women’s Basketball and AP coach-of-the-year awards last year.
BOSTON COLLEGE REVIEW Senior All-America center Ruth Riley posted her second consecutive double-double, scoring a game-high 24 points with 13 rebounds, as the top-ranked Irish eased past Boston College 81-65 on Saturday in front of 5,429 fans at Conte Forum. Notre Dame built a nine-point halftime lead on the strength of 10 points and eight rebounds from Riley. The Irish led for almost 19 minutes of the first half but never were winning by more than five points until senior Kelley Siemon scored to put Notre Dame ahead by seven points with four minutes before halftime. The Eagles pulled within five points at 18:08 of the second half before Notre Dame scored nine of the next 15 points to build a 50-40 lead at 13:37. Boston College never got closer than nine points and trailed by as many as 19 points late in the game. Notre Dame shot 47.4 percent from the field and made 20 of 27 free throws, while the Eagles became just the fourth team to shoot better than 40 percent against the Irish (44.6). Notre Dame’s nine turnovers tied the 16-year old school record for fewest in a game.
IRISH SET SCHOOL WINNING STREAKS Notre Dame’s victory over Boston College marked its 21 straight win, breaking the school record for consecutive wins. The win over Providence on Jan. 31, matched the school-record 20-game winning streak set just last year — after the previous 15-game mark stood for nine years. The 1999-2000 Irish won 20 consecutive games from Dec. 11-Feb. 26.
- The Boston College victory also marked Notre Dame’s 11th consecutive road win, breaking the previous school record of 10 straight wins away from the Joyce Center set during the 1993-94 season.
- The Providence win marked Notre Dame’s third consecutive January (1999, 2000, 2001) without a loss — a streak that currently stands at 25 and dates back to Jan. 31, 1998.
- Notre Dame has become the first team since both Stanford and Connecticut (1995-96 and 1996-97) and just the seventh in NCAA history to string together consecutive seasons with a pair of winning streaks of at least 20 games.
IVEY SETS STEALS RECORD Fifth-year point guard and All-America candidate Niele Ivey had four steals against Providence to bring her career total to 309, breaking current Irish assistant coach Coquese Washington’s Notre Dame career steals record of 307. She enters the Pittsburgh game with 312 career steals. Ivey (630) recently moved ahead of Washington (554) for fourth place on the Irish career assist list and moved into third place with seven assists vs. Rutgers.
NOTRE DAME-PITTSBURGH SERIES Tonight’s game marks the ninth meeting between the teams with the Irish having won all eight of the previous meetings, including four games at the Joyce Center. The contest marks the first of two between the Irish and Panthers, and the teams are scheduled to play again in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 27 in Pittsburgh.
NOTRE DAME AT NO. 1 The 92-76 Irish win over previously top-ranked and undefeated Connecticut on Jan. 15, left Notre Dame as the only unbeaten team in the country — positioning the Irish for their ascension to the No. 1 ranking in the Jan. 22 polls for the first time in the 24-year history of Notre Dame women’s basketball. The Irish had been ranked third for six consecutive weeks, the highest-ever ranking for Notre Dame before taking over the top spot.
- Notre Dame becomes the 19th school to hold the No. 1 ranking in the 25-year history of the AP poll. Connecticut fell one spot to second, marking the first time in seven seasons one conference held the top two spots.
- The Irish women’s basketball team becomes the second Notre Dame team to hold the No. 1 ranking in 2000-01. The Irish women’s soccer squad took over the No. 1 ranking on Sept. 18, and held the top spot for 11 weeks, finishing the regular season unbeaten and ranked first with a 20-0-1 record.
- The BIG EAST Conference became just the third conference — joining the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences — to boast a pair of No. 1 teams in the same season. Two top-ranked conference teams in the same year had happened in just four previous seasons with Auburn and Tennessee in both ’87-88 and ’88-89, Maryland and Virginia in ’91-92 and Tennessee and Vanderbilt in ’92-93. Tennessee and Vanderbilt were ranked first and second, respectively, on Nov. 16, 1993, the last time two conference teams were one-two in the AP poll.
- In addition to the Irish and Huskies holding the top two spots in women’s basketball, Georgetown and St. John’s were the first BIG EAST men’s basketball teams to be ranked first and second. Fifteen years ago both were ranked first during the season and spent a large part of the 1984-85 season holding the top two spots in the polls.
- As has been tradition at Notre Dame since 1974, an eight-foot lighted numeral #1 sign — designed to be lit anytime an Irish team is ranked first — has been illuminated atop Grace Hall, a former men’s residence hall.
- While the “#1” on the roof of Grace Hall represents an established tradition at Notre Dame, a new one started at the Joyce Center on Jan. 24. A five-by-seven-foot blue flag with a gold number sign and numeral one went up the far south flagpole in front of the Joyce Center at noon on Jan. 24 — Notre Dame first game as the No. 1 women’s basketball team. It flies just below a similar blue flag with the interlocking gold ND on it. The “#1” flag will be flown any time a Notre Dame varsity athletic team is ranked number one in the country.
THE RUTH IS ON FIRE… Senior All-America center Ruth Riley turned in a season-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds to pace the Irish in their win over Connecticut — the fifth of seven 20-point performance in the last 11 games. She also had 24 points vs. Boston College, 28 points vs. West Virginia, 23 points vs. St. John’s, 22 points vs. Rutgers and 27 points at Virginia Tech (Jan. 3). The BIG EAST’s leading scorer has averaged 22 points in Notre Dame’s last nine games and was selected as the BIG EAST player of the week for the third time in four weeks on Jan. 22. Riley ranks among the BIG EAST top four in both conference scoring (18.2) and rebounding (7.6).
…WITH IVEY PROVIDING THE SPARK All-America candidate and fifth-year point guard Niele Ivey has had a hand in nearly half of Notre Dame’s 596 field goals this season. She stands third on the team with 99 field goals and has assisted on 150 field goals (eighth in the NCAA at 7.14 assists/game) to account for 249 of the 596 Irish FGs (42 percent) this season. Of Ivey’s 99 FGs, 40 have been three-point FGs (40-78 for 51.3). Also, the school recordholder for career steal, Ivey moved into Notre Dame’s top-10 career scoring list during the Seton Hall game and currently has 1,271 points. Ivey is the only Notre Dame player ever to score over 1,200 points and record over 600 assists. Ivey also has more than 300 steals and 400 rebounds in her Irish career.
IRISH FACE RARE DEFICIT When Providence build a seven-point lead in the first half and were winning for 16:34 of the first half, Notre Dame found itself trailing for more than five minutes in a game for just the fifth time this season and facing its largest opponent lead. The Irish had been behind in games for just a total of 22:59 entering the Providence contest, an average of just 1:13 per game. Overall in its 21 games this season, Notre Dame has led for 774 of 840 minutes (92 percent), has been behind for 40 minutes (5 percent) and has been tied for 26 minutes (3 percent).
IRISH LEAD NCAA WITH RECORD-SETTING DEFENSIVE PACE While Notre Dame has boasted one of the country’s most potent offensive attacks over the past few seasons, the Irish defense remains on pace to break modern school records for fewest points allowed per game and the lowest opponent field-goal and three-point field-goal percentages. Notre Dame’s defense has limited its opponents to 55.0 points per game on 33.9 FG percentage and 26.0 3PT FG percentage, currently better than the modern school records of 55.1 points per game in 1981-82, 35.5 FG percentage in 1999-2000 and 28.4 3PT FG percentage in 1996-97. Only four opponents have shot better than 40.0 percentage vs. the Irish in 21 games — Georgia (42.0), Purdue (46.2), Virginia Tech in the first meeting (41.0) and Boston College (44.6).
THE RILEY REPORT National player-of-the-year candidate Ruth Riley has been at her dominating best this season — making her presence felt on both ends of the court as the only player ranked among the top 20 NCAA leaders in both field-goal percentage and blocked shots. In addition to her offensive efficiency (140-217 FG, 64.5 percentage first in BIG EAST, third in NCAA), Riley leads the BIG EAST and is fourth in the country with 62 blocked shots (2.95/game), while committing just 53 personal fouls (2.52/game). The two-time BIG EAST defensive player of the year is averaging one blocked shot every 9.5 minutes she plays and just one foul every 11.1 minutes of action. Riley had five blocks vs. St. John’s to become just the 19th player in NCAA Division I history to break the 300 blocked-shot milestone. She enters the Pittsburgh game with 319 blocked shots — currently 15th best in NCAA history and two behind USC’s Lisa Leslie for 14th.
33 AND COUNTING The Irish extended their home winning streak to a school-record 33 straight wins at the Joyce Center with the victory over Providence. The streak currently is the third longest active streak in the country, behind Kent (40) and Texas Tech (40 wins, with the last loss coming to Notre Dame in the 1998 NCAA second round). The Irish have not lost at home in over two years since a loss to top-ranked Connecticut on Dec. 8, 1998. Notre Dame also has a 46-3 (.939) record in BIG EAST games at the Joyce Center, with Connecticut being the only BIG EAST team to beat the Irish at home.
20-WIN SEASONS Notre Dame’s win over Providence on Jan. 31, brought its record to 20-0 — marking the eighth consecutive year the Irish have had a 20-win season and the 12th in 14 seasons under head coach Muffet McGraw. The 2000-01 Irish have been the quickest to 20 wins in terms of both the number of games needed to reach 20 wins and the calendar date.
RILEY, RATAY ON RECORD FREE THROW PACE Senior All-America center Ruth Riley and sophomore guard Alicia Ratay are pace to break a pair of Notre Dame school records. Riley has made 439 free throws in her career on 581 attempts, just eight short of matching the school record 447 free throws made by Beth Morgan from 1993-97 on 549 attempts. Ratay currently sports an 87.2 free-throw percentage (41-47), just slightly better than the single-season record 87.1 free-throw percentage set by Sheila McMillen in 1998-99.
CONFERENCE CALL Notre Dame raced through its first 12 games, beating opponents from seven major conferences. The Irish have posted wins vs. the ACC (North Carolina), Atlantic 10 (Fordham), Big 10 (Purdue, Wisconsin), Conference USA (Marquette), Pacific-10 (Arizona, USC), SEC (Ga.) and Western Athletic (Rice).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS Life outside of the BIG EAST Conference has been good to Notre Dame over the past four years. The Irish sport a 45-9 (.833) overall record vs. non-conference teams in the last four-plus seasons and a 36-5 (.878) record in the regular season. The Irish finished the non-conference portion of their 2000-01 schedule with an 11-0 record — their second unbeaten record vs. their non-conference regular-season opponents in the last three years after an 8-0 mark vs. non-BIG EAST teams during the 1998-99 regular season. Notre Dame also has a four-year old, 21-game non-conference winning streak at the Joyce Center — a streak that includes wins over Purdue in 1997 and 2000 and a pair of sixth-ranked teams (UCLA and Duke) and 25th-ranked Illinois in 1998-99. Notre Dame’s last non-conference loss at the Joyce Center came over four years ago when 19th-ranked Wisconsin beat the Irish on Dec. 9, 1996.
McGRAW WINS 300TH AT NOTRE DAME Notre Dame’s win over Rice on Dec. 31, marked Muffet McGraw’s 300th win at Notre Dame in her 14th season as head coach of the Irish. She has a 309-115 (.729) record at Notre Dame and a 397-156 (.718). Her 309 wins at Notre Dame equal more than 65 percent of the total wins in the 23-plus seasons of varsity Irish women’s basketball. McGraw also needs just three victories to reach the 400-win plateau in her 19-plus seasons as a head coach — and to become the fourth BIG EAST coach and the third this season to reach 400 victories.
RECORD-SETTING DAY Notre Dame’s win over top-ranked Connecticut on Jan. 15, marked a number milestones for the Irish:
- The Irish posted their first win over Connecticut in 12 meetings.
- Notre Dame defeated a top-ranked team for the first time in 10 games, including its first in four games at the Joyce Center.
- The crowd of 11,418 marked the first Joyce Center sellout for a women’s basketball game and the largest crowd in school history, surpassing the 8,134 fans at the 1992 Tennessee game.
- Ruth Riley went 13-13 from the free throw line for the best single-game performance in Irish history and the sixth-best in the country this season.
- The 46 free throws Notre Dame attempted tied the school record, while Connecticut’s 33 three-point attempts stand as the most ever by an Irish opponent.
SEEING DOUBLE All-America center Ruth Riley (24 points, 13 rebounds) paced the Irish in the win at Boston College with game high for points and rebounds and recorded her second consecutive and sixth double-double of the season. Notre Dame has totalled 15 double-doubles in 21 games by six different players. Other double-double performances for the Irish this season include Ruth Riley (vs. Villanova, Marquette, St. John’s, Connecticut, Providence), Niele Ivey (vs. Valparaiso, Arizona, Villanova and Connecticut), Alicia Ratay (vs. Va. Tech) Ericka Haney (vs. North Carolina and Rice), Kelley Siemon (vs. Georgia) and Meaghan Leahy (vs. Fordham).
DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR DOUBLE “3” Fifth-year point guard and All-America candidate Niele Ivey entered the season with seven career double-doubles (four in ’99-’00 and three in ’98-’99) and has four in ’00-01. She had a pair of double-doubles in the first two games of the season and a third vs. Villanova. Ivey scored 12 points and had 10 assists and five steals vs. Valparaiso in the season opener and then recorded 11 assists against just one turnover to go along with 14 points against Arizona. She had 11 points, 10 assists, six steals and six rebounds vs. just four turnovers vs. Villanova. Ivey scored 14 points and had her fifth double-figure assist game vs. Connecticut against just five turnovers.
RATAY TOPS NCAA THREE-POINT SHOOTERS Sophomore Alicia Ratay has established herself as the best three-point shooter in the country with her 56.5 three-point shooting percentage — the highest percentage in the country. Niele Ivey had stood second in the country behind Ratay earlier in the season but does not meet the minimum requirements (2.0/game) to be included in the NCAA rankings. Ratay has connected on 48 of her 85 attempts and her 56.5 percentage is higher than Irish opponents are hitting from the field (33.9) and from three-point range (26.0). Ratay had 11 three pointers in the first two games on just 15 attempts, a percentage of .733. In the season opener vs. Valparaiso, Ratay scored 20 points on 7-12 shooting (6-9 3PT) and nailed four three-pointers in a span of 3:47 late in the first half. She was a perfect 4-4 (3-3 3PT) in the first half of the Arizona game before finishing 8-10 FG, 5-6 3PT and 5-5 FT for 26 points. Ratay was 2-3 vs. Georgia, 3-3 vs. Fordham, 2-4 vs. North Carolina, 1-1 vs. Villanova, 5-8 vs. Purdue, 3-3 vs. Western Mich., 2-3 vs. Marquette, 1-1 vs. USC, 1-3 vs. Va. Tech, 2-3 vs. Rutgers, 3-7 vs. St. John’s, 3-4 vs. Va. Tech, 2-4 vs. Conn., 3-6 vs. Seton Hall, 2-4 vs. West Va. and 1-4 vs. Providence and Boston College.
IRISH VS. TOP 10 Following the victory over top-ranked Connecticut, the Irish improved to 4-0 this season vs. top-10 opponents. Notre Dame has a 9-5 record vs. all top 10 teams (including 5-0 vs. non-conference opponents) since the start of the 1998-99 season. The Irish have won six straight games vs. top-10 non-conference opponents (#6 Purdue on Dec. 9, #6 Georgia on Nov. 24, #9 North Carolina in ’99-’00, #6 UCLA and #6 Duke in ’98-99, #6 Texas Tech in ’97-98) and nine of their last 11 (also beating #8 Alabama, #8 North Carolina State and #6 Iowa in ’96-97 and falling to Tennessee twice (ranked second and 10th in ’96-97).
IRISH VS. UNRANKED OPPONENTS In addition to its success vs. top-10 teams, Notre Dame has won 55 consecutive games vs. unranked opponents, including a 24-0 mark last year. The last unranked team to defeat the Irish was Boston College on Dec. 30, 1998 (Notre Dame beat a ranked Eagle team later that season).
SIEMON CONTINUES STRONG START Playing with a broken left hand suffered two days earlier vs. Virginia Tech, senior Kelley Siemon sparked the Irish in their win over Connecticut by scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds — her third-highest point total of the season. She had a season-high 21 points vs. Wisconsin — including 15 in the second half. She continued her strong play with a double-double in the championship game vs. Georgia (13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds). Siemon had her fourth consecutive double-figure scoring vs. Fordham with 14 points. She also had 10 rebounds to go along with seven points vs. Purdue and 16 points against Western Michigan. She sat out the Marquette game — the first game in her career in which she did not play — with a knee injury before returning to the starting lineup vs. USC. She currently is averaging 10.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game — the 11th-highest rebounding average in the BIG EAST — but missed the Seton Hall, West Virginia and Providence games due to her injured left hand. She returned to the starting lineup against Boston College.
HANEY HELPING OUT While Notre Dame has been led by its three All-America caliber players in Ruth Riley, Niele Ivey and Alicia Ratay, junior forward Ericka Haney has proven to play a large role in Notre Dame’s successful start to the season. Among the team’s most athletic and best defensive players, she enters today’s game averaging 11.9 points — markedly higher than her 6.8 average as a sophomore and 6.0 as a freshman. With Notre Dame’s other starting forward Kelley Siemon out of the Marquette game lineup with an injury, Haney turned in the best offensive performance of her career. She made her first 10 field goals before missing her final two and made one of two free throws to finish with a career-high and game-high 21 points. Against Seton Hall with Siemon out of the lineup again, Haney scored 15 first-half points on her way to a game-high 17 points. Other strong offensive performances for Haney this season include double-doubles vs. Rice (18 points, 12 rebounds) and North Carolina (14 points, 13 rebounds) game-high 17 points vs. Virginia Tech, 17 points vs. Providence, 16 points vs. sixth-ranked Purdue and 13 points and seven rebounds vs. Connecticut. She has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 18 games.
POLL POSITION The week of Dec. 3 began with the University of Notre Dame as the only Division I-A institution ranked among the top 10 teams in Associated Press standings in the sports of football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. Notre Dame stood 10th in the final regular-season football poll (9-2 record), the first time since 1995 the Irish have finished the regular season ranked in the top 10. The Irish men’s basketball team also broke into the top 10 that week for the first time since 1986. The Irish women’s basketball team had its highest-ever ranking at fourth in the AP before moving up to third following the win over Purdue. It marked the first time in Irish athletic history all three of those Notre Dame teams have been ranked in the top 10 in the same week.
IVEY NAMED COACHES VS. CANCER MVP, BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fifth-year point guard Niele Ivey was named the MVP of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Challenge as she helped the Irish win the event with her strong play. She totaled 41 points on 14-21 shooting (7-9 3PT, 6-6 FT) in 71 minutes of action along with 13 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals vs. just 10 assists. Ivey recorded game-high scoring vs. both Wisconsin (22) and Georgia (19). She was named BIG EAST player of the week (Nov. 27) for her efforts for the fourth time in her career.
HEAD COACH McGRAW INKS FIVE-YEAR CONTRACT Muffet McGraw is in her 14th season with the Irish and 19th as a collegiate coach. She recently signed a five-year contract to continue as coach of the Fighting Irish women’s basketball program through the 2004-05 season. McGraw has guided Notre Dame to five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and seven of the last nine. The last four years have comprised the most successful period in the history of the program, thanks to a combined 106-26 record. The Irish followed up their 1997 NCAA Final Four appearance and 31-7 record with an NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in ’98. Then came 26-5 and 27-5 marks the last two years that represent the top two seasons ever at Notre Dame in terms of winning percentage. Prior to coming to Notre Dame, she spent five seasons at Lehigh where she compiled an 88-41 record for a .683 winning percentage. McGraw has been named a finalist for the Naismith Women’s Basketball coach-of-the-year award the last two seasons.
COACHES VS. CANCER RECAP Seniors Ruth Riley and Niele Ivey both scored a game-high 19 points and were named to the all-tournament team to the Irish to a 75-73 win over sixth-ranked Georgia in the championship game of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Challenge on Nov. 24. The Bulldogs erased an early 11-point deficit before taking their first lead four minutes into the second half. Georgia built a six-point lead with 9:29 before Ivey ignited a 11-0 run in a span of 2:21 for a 68-65 Irish lead. The Bulldogs scored six straight to lead 71-70 before Alicia Ratay gave Notre Dame a 72-70 lead. After a pair of Ivey free throws and a Georgia basket, Kelley Siemon made one of two free throws for the 75-73 final after the Bulldogs missed a desperation three pointer as time expired.
In the first game of the event vs. host Wisconsin, Ratay and Riley both were held to single-digit scoring in the same game for the first time, and Ivey and Siemon poured in a combined 43 points. Junior Ericka Haney added 14 points to lead fifth-ranked Notre Dame to an 83-56 win. The Irish built a 41-26 halftime lead on the strength of 17 first-half points from Ivey and pulled away from the Badgers with the help of 15 second-half points from Siemon.
RILEY, RATAY NAMED NAISMITH CANDIDATES Senior All-America center Ruth Riley and sophomore guard Alicia Ratay are among the 30 preseason candidates listed for the 2000-01 Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. Riley was one of 15 finalists for the Naismith Award a year ago. The women’s Naismith Award was first presented in 1983 and honors the outstanding college basketball player in the United States. The award program was founded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, an organization dedicated to recognizing the achievements of student-athletes in basketball. The candidates were selected by a vote of the Board of Selectors comprised of leading basketball coaches, journalists and basketball analysts.
OTHER IRISH HONORS In addition to Riley’s accolades, senior point guard Niele Ivey has been named by Beth Mowins of ESPN.com one of the top five point guards in the country, while Mowins also has rated the Irish backcourt as one of best in the country. Sophomore guard Alicia Ratay has been named preseason All-America by Women’s Basketball Journal as a sixth-team pick. She is one of only three sophomores on the six-team, 30-player list. Freshman Jeneka Joyce has been listed as one of the top freshmen according to Athlon Sports.
IVEY REACHES 1,000-POINT PLATEAU Fifth-year PG Niele Ivey scored five points in the first four minutes against Valparaiso to surpass the 1,000-point milestone in her career. She joined the list of 16 other Irish players (including Ruth Riley) who have scored at least 1,000 points. Ivey scored 15 points in five games as a freshman in 1996-97 before a knee injury ended her season. She then scored 254 points in ’97-98, 369 in ’98-99 and 358 in ’99-’00 to reach 996 points entering the season.
In overall games, Ruth Riley’s 29 points vs. Connecticut stands as the third-highest point total in overall and BIG EAST games, while her 11 field goals vs. both Virginia Tech and St. John’s are tied for fourth in overall and BIG EAST games. Riley’s 13-13 free-throw performance vs. Connecticut is tops in overall and BIG EAST games. Alicia Ratay’s six three pointers vs. Valparaiso in the season opener are tied for the most by a BIG EAST player in a single game this season. Ratay also has the second best three-point shooting game by a BIG EAST player with her 5-6 (.833) vs. Arizona. Meaghan Leahy’s 12 free throws vs. Fordham are tied for second most in the league. Niele Ivey’s six steals vs. both North Carolina and Villanova are tied for third most in a single game. Amanda Barksdale’s six blocks vs. Fordham and Riley’s six vs. Virginia Tech are the two best blocks games.
As a team, the Irish also shot 62.3 percent (38-61) vs. Arizona for the best shooting game of the season by a BIG EAST team. Their 38 field goals in that game are tied for second most of the season. The Irish shot .750 (6-8) from three-point range vs. Marquette for the best three-point shooting percentage in a game. Notre Dame’s 31 assists vs. Arizona are second most in a single game by a BIG EAST team, and its 13 blocks vs. St. John’s are the most in a game.
EXCITEMENT, SEASON-TICKET SALES AT ALL-TIME HIGH Season-ticket sales for the 2000-01 Irish home season have more than doubled from a year ago, going from 940 in 1999-2000 to more than 2,700 for the season. Notre Dame’s average home attendance has jumped from a per-game figure of 1,747 in 1996-97 (the year the Irish played in the NCAA Final Four in Cincinnati) to 1,914 in 1997-98, then 2,996 in 1998-99 and finally to a 3,392 total in 1999-2000 to rank 26th nationally. Notre Dame is averaging 5,153 fans through its nine home games this season. Irish women’s basketball tickets remain on sale and can be purchased by contacting the Notre Dame ticket office at 219-631-7356. Fans are encourage to purchase single-game tickets in advance to avoid waiting in line on gameday.
NOTRE DAME IN OPENERS Notre Dame improved to 16-8 in its 24 season-opening games and have won their last six openers after the Valparaiso victory. Notre Dame has an 11-3 record under Muffet McGraw in its first games of the season with the only losses coming to third-ranked Penn State in 1991, at Marquette in 1992 and the SHU loss in 1994.
IVEY AMONG BIG EAST ALL-STARS Niele Ivey spent part of her summer with the BIG EAST Women’s Basketball All-Stars, averaging 11.8 points and 3.7 rebounds on the six-game competitive tour of Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. in June. The All-Stars, led by West Virginia head coach Alexis Basil, went 5-1 on the tour with wins over Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. Ivey scored in double figures in four of the six contests and registered a personal tour-high 17 points in the squad’s first meeting with Simon Fraser. She scored a team-high 16 points in the All-Stars’ final game.
IRISH IN BIG EAST OPENERS Following the win over Villanova, the Irish have a 4-2 record in BIG EAST season-opening games in their sixth season in the conference, including a 4-2 mark in conference home openers. Connecticut defeated the Irish in their conference home openers in 1997 and 1998, while a loss at Rutgers in 1997 marked the only time Notre Dame began BIG EAST play on the road.