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Title game delivered more than expected

By ANTONYA ENGLISH

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 3, 2001

ST. LOUIS -- The talk heading into the Final Four was about how the semifinal game between Notre Dame and Connecticut should have been the title game, based on the closely contested regular-season meetings between the two.

So much for that theory.

Sunday night's nationally televised game was a thriller, producing just the fourth two-point margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history. It was the closest women's title game since 1994. In the past five years, the average margin has been 16 points.

"I thought this game was very entertaining," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "To watch a game like that had to be exciting. I think that will be a game that we will point to as one of our greatest games."

HEY, YOU TAKE IT: That old adage about wanting to be the one with the ball with the game on the line didn't apply to every Notre Dame player. Seniors Kelley Siemon and Niele Ivey readily admitted they wanted teammate Ruth Riley on the free-throw line with the game on the line.

"I was glad it was Ruth on the line," Ivey said. "I know this is my hometown and everything, but I wanted to get the ball in Ruth's hands. I would have stepped up and taken that shot (if she had been fouled), but I was very confident for her."

OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS: Two Purdue freshmen, Shereka Wright and Shalicia Hurns, were selected to the All-Tournament team. They joined Katie Douglas, Ivey and Riley (the tournament's Most Outstanding Player who scored 139 in the tournament, fourth-highest ever).

SORE LOSERS: Students lighted fires around the Purdue campus after the loss, and while no injuries were reported, Purdue spokeswoman Jeanne Norberg said five people were arrested. State police used tear gas to break up crowds who threw rocks and launched bottle rockets at officers. The largest group numbered about 1,000.

ODDS AND ENDS: The Big East is the first conference to have two schools win the NCAA championship in consecutive seasons. ... This was the third straight appearance by a Big East team in the championship. ... Notre Dame won a school record six consecutive tournament games. ... Riley scored 20 in four of six tournament games. ... Purdue coach Kristy Curry and assistant Kelly Curry are the first wife/husband team to play for the national title. ... Douglas is the only Purdue player to rank in the top 10 in five career categories: points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks. ... Camille Cooper finished her Purdue career playing in a school record 137 games, never missing one. ... Notre Dame's 11 blocked shots tied Connecticut's NCAA championship game record set last season. ... Notre Dame set a school record for fewest losses in a season (2).

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