Dec. 9, 2000
By TOM COYNE
Associated Press Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Alicia Ratay scored 19 points, including a pair of 3-pointers late in the second half to spark a 14-5 run, as No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 6 Purdue on Saturday night to extend its school-record home winning streak to 27 games.
With the Irish (8-0) leading 58-56, Ratay hit a 3-pointer with 6:35 left. She missed her next 3-point attempt, but the Irish got the rebound and Ratay immediately hit another 3 to give Notre Dame a 64-57 lead.
Katie Douglas hit a 3-pointer for Purdue (8-2). The Irish then hit 5-of-7 free throws in the final two minutes and Ericka Haney added a fast-break layup on a missed free throw by Douglas.
It was the first win for Notre Dame over Purdue since 1997, and only its third win against the Boilermakers in 12 tries. The Irish also extended their home non-conference winning streak to 19. The Irish, who had never started the season with eight straight wins, last lost at home to a non-conference team against No. 19 Wisconsin on Dec. 9, 1996.
The crowd of 7,330 was the third largest for a Notre Dame women's home game.
The 61 points were a season low for Purdue, which had scored 80 or more points in five games this season. The Boilermakers were hurt by poor free-throw shooting, making just 9-of-19. The Irish made 11-of-18.
Haney had 16 points for the Irish, Ruth Riley had 15 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots and Kelley Siemon had 10 rebounds as the Irish had a 34-31 rebounding advantage.
Douglas led Purdue with 20 points, although she had eight turnovers. Camille Cooper had 11 points and eight rebounds, before fouling out with all five fouls coming in the second half.
The Boilermakers opened the second half with a 6-0 spurt to take a 39-34 lead. With Riley sitting with foul trouble, Cooper scored six straight points for the Boilermakers to open a 47-44 lead. But Ratay hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 47 and start a 10-2 run.
The Boilermakers came back with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 58-56.
The Irish led for much of the first half, using an 8-0 run to open a 13-5 lead. But the Boilermakers ended the first half by scoring seven points in the final 61 seconds to cut the halftime lead to 34-33 as the Irish made several mental mistakes, including a turnover in their own end, letting the Boilermakes getting an offensive rebound and making a bad pass.