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2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

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2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions
Big East regular season co-champions
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 2
Record34–2 (15–1 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaEdmund P. Joyce Center
Seasons
← 1999–2000
2001–02 →
2000–01 Big East Conference women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Notre Dame 15 1   .938 34 2   .944
No. 1 Connecticut 15 1   .938 32 3   .914
No. 11 Rutgers 13 3   .813 23 8   .742
Villanova 11 5   .688 22 9   .710
Virginia Tech 11 5   .688 22 9   .710
Seton Hall 9 7   .563 16 12   .571
Boston College 7 9   .438 14 15   .483
Georgetown 6 10   .375 17 15   .531
Miami (FL) 6 10   .375 13 15   .464
Syracuse 6 10   .375 12 15   .444
Providence 4 12   .250 11 17   .393
Pittsburgh 3 13   .188 9 18   .333
St. John's 3 13   .188 8 20   .286
West Virginia 3 13   .188 5 22   .185
2001 Big East Tournament winner
As of April 2, 2001
Rankings from AP poll

The 2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2000–01 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish, led by fourteenth-year head coach Muffet McGraw, played their home games at Edmund P. Joyce Center as members of the Big East Conference. The Irish finished the season 34–2, 15–1 in Big East play to earn a share of the regular season championship. They defeated Virginia and Florida State before losing to UConn in the Big East Women's Tournament championship. Notre Dame received an at-large bid as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest (Denver) region. They defeated Alcorn State and Michigan to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they defeated Utah and Vanderbilt to advance to the Final Four. The Fighting Irish exacted some revenge over the No. 1 UConn Huskies in the Final Four,[1] then defeated the No. 3 seed from the Mideast region, 9th ranked Purdue, in the national championship. The Irish edged the Boilermakers 68–66 to capture the program's first national title.[2]

The Fighting Irish opened the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. After 18 wins without a defeat, including a comfortable win over No. 1 UConn, Notre Dame rose to the No. 1 ranking. The team went on to win their first 23 games before losing 54–53 at Rutgers.

Senior center Ruth Riley was named Big East Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year, and earned her second straight First-team All-American honor.

Roster

[edit]
2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
C 00 Ruth Riley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) RS Sr North Miami Macy, IN
G 22 Alicia Ratay 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS So Lake Zurich  
G 33 Niele Ivey 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Sr Cor Jesu Academy St. Louis, MO
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 5, 2000*
No. 6 Ohio All-Stars W 91–56 
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
November 14, 2000*
No. 6 Tapiolan Honka W 98–53 
Joyce Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Regular season
November 17, 2000*
No. 6 at Valparaiso W 71–46  1–0
Athletics–Recreation Center (2,018)
Valparaiso, Indiana
November 20, 2000*
No. 5 Arizona W 95–65  2–0
Joyce Center (3,082)
Notre Dame, Indiana
November 22, 2000*
No. 5 at No. 19 Wisconsin W 83–56  3–0
Kohl Center (6,943)
Madison, Wisconsin
November 24, 2000*
 ESPN
No. 5 vs. No. 6 Georgia W 75–73  4–0
Kohl Center (6,851)
Madison, Wisconsin
November 27, 2000*
No. 4 Fordham W 89–44  5–0
Joyce Center (3,107)
Notre Dame, Indiana
December 3, 2000*
 ESPN2
No. 4 vs. North Carolina W 78–55  6–0
 (1,972)
Orlando, Florida
December 6, 2000
No. 4 Villanova W 64–33  7–0
(1–0)
Joyce Center (3,168)
Notre Dame, Indiana
December 9, 2000*
No. 4 No. 6 Purdue W 72–61[3]  8–0
Joyce Center (7,330)
Notre Dame, Indiana
December 18, 2000*
No. 3 Western Michigan W 84–54  9–0
Joyce Center (3,108)
Notre Dame, Indiana
December 21, 2000*
No. 3 at Marquette W 75–56  10–0
U.S. Cellular Arena (2,412)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
December 28, 2000*
No. 3 at USC W 70–61  11–0
L.A. Sports Arena (2,178)
Los Angeles, California
December 31, 2000*
No. 3 Rice W 80–40  12–0
Joyce Center (4,060)
Notre Dame, Indiana
January 3, 2001
No. 3 at Virginia Tech W 75–64  13–0
(2–0)
Cassell Coliseum (3,418)
Blacksburg, Virginia
January 6, 2001
No. 3 No. 9 Rutgers W 67–46[4]  14–0
(3–0)
Joyce Center (5,227)
Notre Dame, Indiana
January 9, 2001
No. 3 St. John's W 75–55  15–0
(4–0)
Carnesecca Arena (385)
New York, New York
January 13, 2001
No. 3 Virginia Tech W 75–55  16–0
(5–0)
Joyce Center (5,873)
Notre Dame, Indiana
January 15, 2001
No. 3 No. 1 Connecticut W 92–76[5]  17–0
(6–0)
Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, Indiana
January 21, 2001
No. 3 at Seton Hall W 72–47  18–0
(7–0)
Walsh Gymnasium (1,273)
South Orange, New Jersey
January 24, 2001
No. 1 at West Virginia W 87–64  19–0
(8–0)
WVU Coliseum (364)
Morgantown, West Virginia
January 31, 2001
No. 1 Providence W 64–44  20–0
(9–0)
Joyce Center (6,131)
Notre Dame, Indiana
February 3, 2001
No. 1 at Boston College W 81–65  21–0
(10–0)
Conte Forum (5,429)
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
February 7, 2001
No. 1 Pittsburgh W 72–58  22–0
(11–0)
Joyce Center (7,025)
Notre Dame, Indiana
February 14, 2001
No. 1 at Syracuse W 75–61  23–0
(12–0)
Manley Field House (1,627)
Syracuse, New York
February 17, 2001
No. 1 at No. 11 Rutgers L 53–54  23–1
(12–1)
Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,587)
Piscataway, New Jersey
February 20, 2001
No. 2 Miami (FL) W 81–43  24–1
(13–1)
Joyce Center (6,533)
Notre Dame, Indiana
February 24, 2001
No. 2 Georgetown W 65–53  25–1
(14–1)
Joyce Center (11,418)
Notre Dame, Indiana
February 27, 2001
No. 1 at Pittsburgh W 82–63  26–1
(15–1)
Fitzgerald Field House (2,050)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Big East tournament
March 4, 2001*
No. 1 vs. Georgetown
Quarterfinals
W 89–33  27–1
Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
March 5, 2001*
No. 1 vs. Virginia Tech
Semifinals
W 67–49  28–1
Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
March 6, 2001*
No. 1 at No. 2 Connecticut
Championship game
L 76–78  28–2
Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
NCAA women's tournament
March 17, 2001*
(1 MW) No. 2 (16 MW) Alcorn State
First round
W 98–49  29–2
Joyce Center (8,553)
Notre Dame, Indiana
March 19, 2001*
(1 MW) No. 2 (8 MW) Michigan
Second round
W 88–54  30–2
Joyce Center (9,597)
Notre Dame, Indiana
March 24, 2001*
(1 MW) No. 2 (5 MW) No. 17 Utah
Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 69–54  31–2
Pepsi Center (10,559)
Denver, Colorado
March 26, 2001*
(1 MW) No. 2 (3 MW) No. 10 Vanderbilt
Regional Final – Elite Eight
W 72–64  32–2
Pepsi Center (8,422)
Denver, Colorado
March 30, 2001*
 ESPN
(1 MW) No. 2 vs. (1 E) No. 1 Connecticut
National Semifinal – Final Four
W 90–75  33–2
Savvis Center (20,551)
St. Louis, Missouri
April 1, 2001*
 ESPN
(1 MW) No. 2 vs. (1 ME) No. 9 Purdue
National Championship
W 68–66  34–2
Savvis Center (20,551)
St. Louis, Missouri
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=Spokane Region.
All times are in Eastern.

Source[6] [7]

Rankings

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP6654433333311112212Not released
Coaches55544333333111122111

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "The Irish Throw a Wake for Connecticut". The New York Times. March 31, 2001. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "Riley's Free Throws Lift Notre Dame". The New York Times. April 1, 2001. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "No. 4 Women's Basketball Tops No. 6 Purdue, 72-61". Notre Dame Athletics. December 9, 2000. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  4. ^ "No. 3 Women's Basketball Throttles No. 9 Rutgers, 67-46". Notre Dame Athletics. January 6, 2001. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "No. 3 Notre Dame 92, No. 1 UConn 76". Hartford Courant. January 16, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "2000–01 Women's Basketball Schedule". Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "2000-2001 Notre Dame Women's Basketball Stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.