July 25, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s basketball team, which advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years last season, will meet Wisconsin in the first round of the 2000 Coaches vs. Cancer Women’s Basketball Challenge on Wednesday, November 22 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. In the other first-round matchup, Georgia will face Oklahoma. The consolation and championship contests of the tournament will be played on Friday, November 24.
The Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge is a collaboration of the American Cancer Society, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The money raised has gone to the research in finding a cure for cancer.
The 1999 event — which featured tournament and eventual national champion Connecticut, along with Old Dominion, Kentucky and Clemson — raised more than $90,000. Since 1995, more than $1 million has been raised from the Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic and the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge.
The Irish, coming off a 27-5 campaign, finished fifth in the Associated Press ranking a year ago. Notre Dame return three starters from that squad, including All-Americans Ruth Riley and Alicia Ratay, and one of the nation’s top point guards, Niele Ivey. Wisconsin won the WNIT championship for the first time in its school history last March to end the season with a 21-12 record. This will mark the fifth meeting between the Irish and the Badgers with the series tied at 2-2.
Georgia, one of the perennial powerhouses of the Southeastern Conference, finished fourth in the AP Poll with a 32-4 record. The Sooners made their first-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 as they ended their season with a 25-8 mark, losing in the East regional semifinal to Connecticut.
Game times and television coverage for the tournament have yet to be determined. Ticket information also will be announced in the near future.