Feb. 7, 2001
Postgame Audio
Head Coach McGraw | Center R. Riley
By TOM COYNE
Associated Press Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Ruth Riley was nearly perfect for three-quarters of the game against Pittsburgh, making her first eight shots.
Her teammates weren’t, however, which is why Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw wasn’t pleased despite a 29-point, 12-rebound performance by Riley and a 72-58 victory by the No. 1 Irish on Wednesday night.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” she said. “We made so many mistakes. We played like freshmen out there.”
The Irish (22-0, 11-0 Big East) have won all four of their games since taking over the No. 1 spot after upsetting Connecticut last month, but have struggled at times in three of those victories.
“I don’t know if it has anything to do with being No. 1. I really don’t know,” McGraw said.
Even Pittsburgh guard Laine Selwyn noticed the difference.
“I think they played a lot better against UConn,” she said. “I think we match up well with them besides the inside game.”
No one matches up well with Riley, though, who matched the season-high she scored against Connecticut. It was Riley’s third straight double-double and the 10th time in the past 14 games she has led the Irish in scoring.
Kelley Siemon, who had 12 rebounds, said the Irish have to learn from their recent complacency.
“I think if we played tomorrow, we’d kill a team by 70. That’s how mad I feel and most of the team feels.”
Niele Ivey, who had 11 points and eight assists, said the Irish need to regain their consistency.
“It’s frustrating to see how much talent we have and not to show it some nights. Every game is important to us. We don’t want to look back and regret anything that we’ve done.”
McGraw’s biggest complaint Wednesday was Notre Dame’s defense, even though Pittsburgh shot only 32.2 percent. But Selwyn scored 23 points, her second highest point total this season for Pittsburgh (9-13, 3-8).
“Defensively we couldn’t find the shooter,” McGraw said. “They had one shooter in the game and we couldn’t find that one shooter.”
Notre Dame really only had one shooter Wednesday night, too. Pittsburgh had no trouble finding her. They did have trouble stopping her, though. Riley didn’t miss her first shot until midway through the second half, and she was all alone when she missed the 8-foot jumper.
“She was the only one playing well. She was the offense,” McGraw said.
Riley scored seven points during a 9-0 run that put Notre Dame ahead for good and the Irish turned to her every time Pittsburgh appeared ready to make a run.
Riley, who also had seven blocked shots, said she wasn’t happy.
“Any time you come out and don’t play as well as you’re capable of playing, you can’t be happy with that performance,” she said. “We realize that we made a lot of mistakes.”