Dec. 19, 1999
MIAMI (AP) – Alicia Ratay scored 27 points and Ruth Riley added 20 as 11th-ranked Notre Dame defeated Florida International 68-62 in the second game Sunday of the Orange Bowl Women’s Basketball Fab Four.
The scored was tied at 57-57 with 2:43 to play, but Ratay hit a 3-pointer, then connected on two foul shots to give Notre Dame a five-point lead with 2:05 to go.
The Fighting Irish (6-2) hit 6-of-10 free throws, including 3-of-4 from Danielle Green, over the last two minutes to preserve the victory.
Gergana Slavtcheva had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Anita Heller added 12 points and five assists for Florida International (2-3).
The Golden Panthers shot 51.7 percent from the field in the first half, but then shot just 30.6 percent in the second half.
Notre Dame led most of the game and had its largest lead at 43-37 with 16:17 left in the game, before the Golden Panthers went on a 10-1 run to take a 47-44 lead with 11:56 still to go.
FIU jumped up by five points on Cheryl Moody’s jumper, giving the Golden Panthers a 53-48 lead with 8:49 to go.
The Fighting Irish stormed back, scoring the next seven points, led by Riley’s four points.
Riley, who also added nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals, scored the 1,000th point of her career and now has 1,012 career points.