Nov. 7, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Freshman Alicia Ratay (Lake Zurich, Ill.) and sophomore Ericka Haney (Toledo, Ohio) combined for 42 points with all five Notre Dame starters in double figures as the Irish earned a 94-85 come-from-behind victory over the Premier All-Stars.
Ratay, also had a game-high 11 points, six assists and five steals in her collegiate debut. The freshman guard was eight-of-16 from the field and five-of-11 from three-point range. Haney was equally impressive as she connected on nine-of-her 13 shot attempts and collected five rebounds.
Junior All-America center Ruth Riley (Macy, Ind.) has 18 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots, while junior Kelley Siemon (Edina, Minn.) and Niele Ivey (St. Louis, Mo.) each chipped in 12. For Ivey, it was her first return to the court after suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament last March. In addition to her 12 points, the Irish poing guard added 10 assists and played 32 minutes.
The Premier All-Stars, which were 3-0 heading into today’s matchup, had three players in double figures. Angela Drake came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, while Dawn Heideman and Amy Sherry tossed in 17 and 13, respectively.
Notre Dame jumped out to an early lead in the contest and led by as many as 18 (26-8) on Haney’s jumper with 12:23 left in the first half. The Premier All-Stars trimmed to seven points over the next seven minutes when Tez Kraft’s three-pointer cut the lead to 34-27 with 5:42 remaining before intermission.
The Irish led 42-35 at halftime as Notre Dame capitalized on its 50.0 percent shooting in the first half connecting on 18-of-36 field goal attempts, while the visitors managed just 32.3 percent, hitting 10-of-31 from the field.
The All-Stars opened the second half by outscoring the Irish 15-1 in the first six minutes. Premier took the lead for the first time in the game at 47-46 on Mindy Smith-Hutchinson’s layup. Hutchinson, who finished nine points on the afternoon, helped the All-Stars extend that lead to six points on a jumper that provided the visitors with a 54-48 lead with 12:02 remaining the contest.
Notre Dame regained the lead on Ivey’s three-pointer that gave the Irish a 58-57 lead with 9:50 remaining. The lead change hands several times until Haney’s jumper with 3:56 left to play in the game put the Irish ahead for good at 80-79.
Notre Dame finished the game hitting 47.9 percent from the field and 80.0 percent from line. Riley was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the game to lead the Irish.
The Irish return to action on Monday, November 15 at 7:00 p.m. against EOS Malbas from Malmo, Sweden in the final exhibition tuneup before the season opener at Toledo on Saturday, November 20.