April 1, 2001
By TOM COYNE
Associated Press Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Notre Dame fans sang and leaped with joy as the
Irish claimed their first national basketball title.
In another Indiana college town to the southwest, Purdue fans sat in stunned
silence as the Boilermakers' last shot missed.
The cheering continued for more than a minute. It didn't subside until
students saw University president Rev. Edward A. Malloy hug coach Muffet
McGraw. Soon the whole crowd was singing the Notre Dame anthem.
"This is great. This is awesome," said Mark Jarotkiewicz, an engineering
freshman from Chicago who was wearing a "Beat Purdue" T-shirt he had made for
the regular-season game. "It was great having everybody together like this."
More than 200 people packed a large room at the Notre Dame student union to
watch the game on two big-screen TVs. A similar-sized crowd watched in a room
upstairs.
When Alicia Ratay hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 62, the stomping of feet
could be heard on the first floor. And when All-American center Ruth Riley hit
a free throw with 5.8 seconds left, the crowd roared and chanted, "The Ruth,
The Ruth, The Ruth is on fire."
There were whoops and cheers after the game, but the celebration was
peaceful.
The quiet was too much for one Irish student who yelled out, "We won! Where
is everybody?"
It was the first celebration of a national championship in a high-profile
sport for Notre Dame since the football team went undefeated in 1988 under Lou
Holtz. The 12-year drought is the second longest ever for the Irish, but no one
was thinking football on Sunday.
Notre Dame was transformed into a basketball school this season - a women's
basketball school.
A crowd of fans was expected to greet the team bus in front of Notre Dame's
famed Golden Dome as a celebration was planned for the wee hours Monday morning
as the Irish returned from St. Louis.
"It's just amazing they can do it for the program and for themselves,"
said Jim Madden, and engineering sophomore from New Bedford, Mass. "They
showed they deserved a national championship.
