|
|
|
Monday, March 26, 2001
Irish rely on Riley to reach Final Four
Associated Press
|
DENVER – When her All-America counterpart headed to the
bench with foul trouble, Notre Dame's Ruth Riley turned ruthless.
Riley scored a season-high 32 points as top-seeded Notre Dame
beat third-seeded Vanderbilt 72-64 Monday night to advance to the
women's Final Four.
|  | | Ruth Riley season-high 32 points helped propel the Irish to the Midwest Regional title. |
Riley, a first-team All-America center, had 22 of her points in
the second half as Vanderbilt's Chantelle Anderson, a
second-teamer, sat out much of the half in the Midwest Regional
final.
Abandoning the sharp passing game she exhibited in a regional
semifinal win over Utah, Riley was intent on scoring – and forcing
Anderson into foul trouble in the process.
"My team always gets it to me," Riley said, "Fortunately, I
was able to connect tonight. I was a little frustrated in the way I
played in the first half. I felt I needed to be more aggressive in
the second half. I felt it was my job to step it up.
"Her (Anderson) not being on the floor makes them a lot
shorter. They're a different team without her."
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said Riley, the Naismith college
player of the year, "was amazing for us."
Vanderbilt coach Jim Foster called Riley "an absolutely
terrific player and difficult to guard. She was dominant and played
like the best player in the country. Her maturity as a player and
her basketball IQ were significant tonight."
Comparing Riley, a senior, to Anderson, a sophomore, Foster
said, "She took advantage of us in the post. I think it was a good
lesson for a young post player to learn, that you can't commit a
couple of fouls early that really aren't necessary and be there at
the end. Chantelle will learn from the experience."
Anderson agreed. "For the first time in a long time, I acted
young and immature," she said. "And Ruth Riley definitely
took advantage of that. She is very strong, holds her position well
and has a lot of post moves. Hopefully, I can be that strong and
that mentally tough as I grow older."
Anderson, saddled with four fouls for much of the second half,
fouled out with 6:22 left and the third-seeded Commodores trailing
61-52. Vandy could get no closer than eight points after that.
"She's a great player," Riley said of Anderson, "and we knew
that getting her out the game would be a benefit to us. The coaches
told me to attack and go at her."
Alicia Ratay had 17 points, and Kelley Siemon added 16 for Notre
Dame (32-2), which set a school record for victories in a season.
Zuzana Klimesova led the Commodores (24-10) with 27 points and
12 rebounds. Anderson had 14 points, and guard Ashley McElhiney
added 12.
Following a 40-40 halftime tie, the Fighting Irish outscored
Vandy 32-24 in the second half, shooting 48 percent in the half
compared to Vandy's 29 percent.
Notre Dame, which battled for the nation's No. 1 ranking all
season before finishing second to Connecticut, shot 56 percent for
the game while Vandy was at 42 percent.
The Irish will meet Connecticut in the national semifinals on
Friday in St. Louis (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Ratay and Vanderbilt's Jillian Danker traded 3-pointers to start
the game.
With Anderson hitting two straight layups, Vanderbilt fashioned
a 7-0 run to open up a 15-9 lead with 12:43 left in the half.
Over the next nine minutes, however, Notre Dame outscored
Vanderbilt 27-14, producing a 36-29 lead with 3:34 to go.
Niele Ivey, initially given a 2-point basket, was awarded a
3-pointer after referees consulted video replay, and the Irish led
21-20 with 9:31 left.
Riley's layup gave the Irish their seven-point lead, but Danker
responded with a 3-pointer and the Commodores scored the last six
points of the half, including a rebound layup and a hook shot by
Klimesova, for a 40-40 halftime tie.
Anderson, who fouled out of her seventh game of the season,
picked up her second foul with 8:52 left in the half and played
only 15 minutes of the half.
Ratay and Klimesova each had 15 points in the half. Riley and
Anderson each had 10.
Both coaches, determined to keep their standout centers in the
game and avoid fouls, experimented with various defensive
combinations. Riley and Anderson went head-to-head only sparingly
in the first half.
In the second half, however, the centers dueled each other, with
Riley getting the upper hand.
After Anderson exited with her fourth foul with 14:42 left,
Riley hit three baskets, two of them over Klimesova. Riley's
three-point play made it 59-50 with 9:17 remaining.
Anderson returned but fouled out less than three minutes later
while trying to stop Riley on an inside move, and Riley responded
by scoring Notre Dame's next 11 points.
Riley was voted the regional's most outstanding player. Joining
her on the all-region team were Anderson, Klimesova, Ratay and
Siemon. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|
|
|
|
