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"Run It Back" Episode 2 - Notre Dame Women's Basketball vs. UConn (2001)

The second episode of “Run It Back” is live! Tony Simeone will be joined by head coach Muffet McGraw, and former standouts Ruth Riley and Niele Ivey.

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If anyone knows about top-notch point guard play, it's first-year Irish assistant coach Niele Ivey, who was an All-American point in 2001 when she led Notre Dame to its first NCAA national championship.

What happened?

Another basketball winning streak came crashing down at Notre Dame on Jan. 15, 2001.

Responding to the largest home crowd in school history, No. 3 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Connecticut 92-76 to end the Huskies’ 30-game winning streak and hand UConn its worst loss in more than seven years.

The Irish played almost perfectly on a momentous day in the same building where the Notre Dame men ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak with a 71-70 victory on Jan. 19, 1974.

“I’m still kind of shocked,” said Notre Dame guard Niele Ivey. “I think someone hit me upside my head or something. It’s just a great feeling. UConn’s a great team and to come out there and have a total team effort is just incredible.”

In a showdown between the nation’s only unbeaten Division I teams, the Irish ended an 0-for-9 drought against top-ranked teams and defeated Connecticut for the first time in 12 tries.

Ruth Riley, showing no ill effects from a sprained ankle two days earlier against Virginia Tech, had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Notre Dame (17-0, 6-0 Big East).

Connecticut (13-1, 4-1) missed six of its first seven shots and never led in losing for the first time since Feb. 2, 2000 — 72-71 against Tennessee. It was their first Big East loss since Boston College beat them on Jan. 23, 1999.

When Notre Dame’s Imani Dunbar hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer, fans rushed from the stands to join the players and cheerleaders celebrating at midcourt as the UConn players trudged dejectedly off the floor.

A sellout crowd of 11,418 saw Notre Dame win for the 32nd straight time at the Joyce Center. The largest crowd previously for a women’s game at Notre Dame was 8,134 for Tennessee on Jan. 12, 1992.

Notre Dame, which used only six players until the final 19.5 seconds, did everything it needed to win. The Irish handled Connecticut’s press, shot 57 percent, stayed out of foul trouble and got inspired play from Riley and their other injured starter, Kelley Siemon.