February 28, 1999
By TOM CANAVAN
AP Sports Writer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) - The last time No. 10 Notre Dame played at Rutgers,
they left the court to chants of "overrated," so there is no doubt they
wanted a rematch.
But if they were looking past Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East
Conference tournament, the Irish didn't show it.
Niele Ivey scored 19 points and hit two consecutive 3-pointers to ignite an
early 16-3 spurt that led Notre Dame to an 83-53 victory Sunday and the rematch
it wanted.
"We took it pretty personal," said Notre Dame center Ruth Riley, who only
played 13 minutes in this blowout. "We weren't looking past Villanova but
we're all real excited to be playing Rutgers again.
"We didn't think we brought our game the first time," she said of the
77-57 loss, the only one for Notre Dame in its last 16 games.
The third-seeded Irish (24-3) had their A game going against Villanova. They
led by 19 points at halftime and poured it on in the second half in getting
ready for Monday night's semifinal against No. 7 Rutgers, which beat Miami
79-53.
No. 6 Connecticut (25-4) will play Georgetown (18-10) in the other
semifinal.
"We used our special plays right at the beginning and missed four layups,"
Villanova coach Harry Perretta said after losing to the Irish for the third
time this season. "We're getting easy shots and we don't make them. They
adjusted and now we are not getting easy shots anymore."
The Wildcats shot themselves out of the game in the first half, hitting six
of 25, or 24 percent. They finished 18 of 52, or 35 percent.
Riley, the conference's leading scorer at 16.7 points, finished with nine
points. Reserve Sherisha Hills was the only other Irish player in double
figures with 10, although guard Danielle Green almost had a double-double with
nine points and 12 rebounds.
Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said beating Rutgers won't be easy.
"Rutgers is very motivated right now," she said. "They are playing at
home which is a huge advantage. They are peaking and they have a good chance to
host a first-round game, so they have a lot of things to motivate them."
Jenea Skeeters had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Villanova (14-14).
Ivey's two straight 3-pointers gave Notre Dame a 15-7 lead and before the
spurt was over Green added two layups and a free throw. Sheila McMillen's
3-pointer capped the run and gave the Irish a 25-10 lead.
"I was pleased with the way we shot the ball today," said McGraw, whose
team hit 30 of 55 shots, or 55 percent. "Niele Ivey came out and really got us
going early, especially when they were focusing on Ruth."
Notre Dame's biggest lead was 72-37 on a basket by Meaghan Leahy with 6:11
to play.
