February 10, 1999
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) - No. 6 Notre Dame has been dominating opponents for the
last seven games. It took Ruth Riley in the second half for the Irish to take
control of Villanova.
After defeating the Wildcats 74-52 Wednesday night, the Irish have won six
of their last seven games by more than 20 points and outscored their opponents
by an average of 30 points per game.
The victory was the 11th straight for Notre Dame, the longest winning streak
for the Irish since they won a school-record 15 straight during the 1990-91
season.
"We're really playing well offensively and we have started to take a lot of
pride in our defense," said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. "I'm very pleased
at where we are right now. We've worked very hard to be here."
Riley had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Notre Dame (20-2 overall, 12-2
Big East). Danielle Green added 17 points for Notre Dame.
Jenea Skeeters scored eight of her 12 points from the free-throw line to
pace Villanova (11-11, 7-7), while Jenn Sliwa had 10.
Riley scored her final nine points, six from the free-throw line, during a
14-3 Notre Dame run at the beginning of the second half that gave the Irish a
47-33 lead with 15:31 remaining. Riley, who leads the nation in field goal
percentage, made 7 of 9 shots and 9 of 13 from the free-throw line.
Villanova coach Harry Perretta felt that his young inside duo of freshman
Stephanie Baker and sophomore Brandi Barnes were too inexperienced to handle
the talented Notre Dame center.
"We handled her at Notre Dame, but we played a lot smarter there, and Baker
and Barnes are just not ready yet," Perretta said. "We just didn't play very
intelligently tonight."
Skeeters pulled the Wildcats within nine points when her three-point play
cut the lead to 51-42 with 12:22 left, but Villanova never got any closer.
Notre Dame scored 11 of the final 13 first-half points to take a 31-28 lead
into halftime. Ericka Haney gave the Irish an 18-12 lead, its biggest to that
point, with 9:39 left in the half.
But Villanova answered with a 13-2 run over the next 6:27, capped by Brandi
Barnes' driving layup with 3:12 left in the half, to take its largest lead of
the game, 25-20.
Riley made five of her six attempts in the first half for 12 points. She
also grabbed five rebounds. The Irish outrebounded the Wildcats 18-9 in the
opening period, but Villanova stayed in the game by shooting 54.5 percent
(12-22) from the field. Villanova made just 8 of 26 attempts in the second half
though to finish at 41.7 percent for the game.
