The Purdue Exponent


Monday, 4/02/2001	5 day quick link 3/30 \| 3/29 \| 3/28 \| 3/27 \| 3/26

Boilers can't overcome foul trouble, Irish center

Liz Nicol/Senior Photographer

TOUGH FINISH: Seniors Candi Crawford and Mo-nique Langston comfort fellow senior Katie Douglas after Purdue’s 68-66 loss to Notre Dame in the NCAA championship on Sunday in St. Louis. The Boiler seniors compiled a Big Ten record 111 wins during their four years at Purdue.

By Kyle Charters
Senior Writer

ST. LOUIS — Purdue’s five seniors couldn’t overcome two final obstacles — Irish center Ruth Riley and foul trouble.

As a result, the Boilers lost their bid for two national championships in three years as Notre Dame (34-2) beat Purdue (31-7) 68-66 in the NCAA Championship game in front of 20,551 fans in the Savvis Center on Sunday.

The Boilers’ last foul may have been their most costly. With the score tied at 66, the Irish had the ball with 31.9 second left. After running the clock down to about eight seconds, Notre Dame senior guard Niele Ivey passed the ball into center Ruth Riley. As the AP player of the year turned to shoot, she was fouled by Purdue freshman Shereka Wright.

"I just can’t talk about the call," said Wright, who finished with 17 points and four rebounds. "They made the call. You’ve just got to accept it."

Riley hit both of her free throws to give the Irish a two-point lead with 5.8 seconds left. Purdue inbounded the ball to junior guard Kelly Komara who threw it upcourt to center Camille Cooper. Cooper tossed the ball to senior guard Katie Douglas who shot an off-balance jumper from the top of the key. The ball hit the front of the rim and the backboard before falling to the floor.

"We designed a play, got out there and didn’t run it like we wanted," said Douglas, who finished with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting. "I really don’t know what happened out there. I had a good look at the basket; the ball just didn’t go down for me."

Douglas said the last play was designed for her to get a shot near the top of the key.

"But the pass went to Camille," said Douglas. "It just wasn’t what we had really designed, but you’ve got to give Notre Dame credit because they were on us and making it difficult for us."

Most of Purdue’s difficulty centered around Riley, especially considering the Boilers’ frontline of Cooper and backup center Candi Crawford was in foul trouble for much of the night. Cooper, who had six points and six rebounds, picked up her fourth foul with 15:09 left in the game. Crawford got her fourth a minute later.

"I’m very frustrated," said Cooper. "Like I said, it’s my last game and I would have liked to have played more. But as in any game, there are questionable calls."

Purdue’s foul trouble allowed Riley to dominate inside. The 6-foot-5 center had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks and was named the Final’s Most Outstanding Player.

"The game plan every game is really going to Ruth," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. "We need her to get the other team’s players to get into foul trouble."

Despite the foul trouble, Purdue lead for much of the second half. With 2:37 left in the game, the Boilers held a 63-62 advantage after a free throw by freshman forward Shereka Wright. Notre Dame answered, though, on a basket by Irish senior guard Niele Ivey, who is a native of St. Louis.

"To play well and win, I don’t think she could have scripted it any better," said McGraw.

On Notre Dame’s next possession Douglas stole the ball and ran down the court for a layup. She was fouled on the play and hit the ensuing free throw to make the score 66-64 with 1:22 left. The Irish tied the game again, though, on a layin by Riley 25 seconds later.

After a Purdue timeout, Wright drove toward the basket for a layup, but the ball glanced off the front of the rim. The miss set up Riley’s game-winning free throws.

"(Riley) played a great game," said Douglas, who had seven rebounds and five assists. "If she wasn’t blocking a shot, she was altering a shot. She got a lot of rebounds too."

With Cooper and Crawford in foul trouble, Purdue freshmen Shalicia Hurns and Shereka Wright had solid games. The forwards finished with 17 points each.

NOTES: The all-tournament team included Notre Dame’s Riley (Most Outstanding Player) and Ivey, along with Boilers Douglas, Hurns and Wright. ... Purdue’s seniors finished with 111 career wins, which is the most in Big Ten history. ... The Boilers held a 32-26 halftime lead. The Irish came back from a 12-point halftime deficit to beat Connecticut in the semifinal on Friday. ... Notre Dame’s victory marks the first time that two different teams from the same conference won in consecutive years. ... Fellow Big East squad Connecticut beat Tennessee for the 2000 championship. ... The two-point win also marked the second-closest outcome in NCAA finals’ history. The closest final was in 1994 when North Carolina beat Louisiana Tech 60-59.

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