January 11, 1999

Notre Dame, Ind. – Irish basketball standouts Ruth Riley (Macy, Ind.) and Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) have been selected as the BIG EAST Player of the Week and co-BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, respectively, for their performances last week.

Riley, a 6-5 center, earns the honor for the second time this season as she averaged 29.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in leading Notre Dame to two victories last week versus West Virginia (111-90) and Providence (79-56). Riley netted a career-high 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season and 16th of her career against Providence. The 36 points were the second highest single-game point-total in Irish womens basketball history equalling that of Beth Morgan who scored 36 points in Notre Dames win over Alabama in the 1997 East Regional semifinal game. She also had 23 points and seven rebounds in the win over West Virginia.

Riley, a three-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week a year ago, shot 75.9 percent from the field in the two contests and was 15-for-18 from the freethrow line.

For the fourth time in five weeks, and the fifth time this season, Murphy claimed the leagues rookie of the week as he shared the honor with Dahntay Jones of Rutgers. The Irish freshman averaged 20.0 points and 8.3 rebounds in Notre Dames 2-1 week. He has led or tied Notre Dame in scoring in eight of the last 12 games and in 12 of 16 contests.

Murphy notched his fifth double-double of the season when he scored 30 points (tying his personal best) and grabbed 10 rebounds versus Pittsburgh. He registered 17 points and seven rebounds against Villanova and scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Miami game.