Feb. 27, 2001
By ANDY LEFKOWITZ
Associated Press Writer
PITTSBURGH – Kelley Siemon wasn’t slowed a bit by an upset stomach.
Siemon overcame nausea to score 17 points and pull down eight rebounds as No. 2 Notre Dame clinched a share of the Big East regular season title with an 82-63 victory over Pittsburgh in the regular-season finale for both teams Tuesday night.
“I couldn’t keep anything down,” said Siemon, who arrived in Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon and settled for soup to keep her strength up.
Notre Dame (26-1, 15-1) will share the title with Connecticut, but the Fighting Irish will be the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament because of a win over the then top-ranked Huskies on Jan. 15.
The Irish, however, didn’t seem to excited despite having a share of the conference title for the first time since joining the Big East.
“It means we get better game times,” coach Muffet McGraw. “It gives us a little more rest … that’s important right now.”
Alicia Ratay scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half and Niele Ivey had 15 points and nine assists for Notre Dame
Laine Selwyn scored 15 points and added six assists for Pittsburgh (9-18, 3-13), which ended the season on a seven-game losing streak and will not be going to the conference tournament that starts Saturday.
“It’s over and we have to move on,” Pittsburgh coach Traci Waites said.
The Panthers also fell to 0-10 all-time against Notre Dame.
Notre Dame gave up the first basket of the game before going on a 12-0 run behind four points each from Siemon and Ruth Riley.
The Irish then took advantage of poor defense by the Panthers later in the half. Notre Dame scored six points on layups during a 10-0 run, extending their lead to 33-11 with just under five minutes to play.
Notre Dame shot 59 percent (16-of-27) from the floor in the first half and scored 19 points off turnovers en route to a 36-18 lead at the break
“We can’t spot the No. 2, or No. 3, or anyone else in the country that many points and expect to recover,” Waites said.
Using reserves for much of the second half, the Irish still shot 68 percent (17-of-25) from the floor.