Marquette University
Notre Dame
Women's Basketball Falls to #8 Notre Dame
1/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 2, 2000
South Bend, Ind. - The Marquette women's basketball team dropped its final non-conference game of the regular season this afternoon, losing to eighth-ranked Notre Dame 75-60 in the Joyce Center. All-American center Ruth Riley had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Irish, but it was the backcourt of Niele Ivey and Danielle Green, which combined for 34 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, which sparked a 20-7 second-half run that put the Golden Eagles away for good. Heidi Bowman had 15 points for Marquette, which is now 9-3. Notre Dame improves to 9-2.
"It was an outstanding game in the first half," Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. "We had a major lapse in the second half, where, for five minutes we weren't running our offense and weren't getting back on defense. For five minutes. Going into someone else's (gym) and playing against a Top 10 team - you can't have that lapse."
Riley paced Notre Dame to an early lead, hitting the first six points for the Irish. However, a back-and-forth first half saw Marquette race back from a 12-4 deficit in the opening minutes by relying on forwards Lisa Oldenburg and Heidi Bowman. With Abbie Willenborg on the bench with foul trouble, Oldenburg did the work inside, Bowman outside to help the Golden Eagles come back to take a 28-26 lead. Oldenburg tallied eight points and six boards in the opening frame, while Bowman, who has rediscovered her three-point shot following the holiday break, poured in 10 points, including a pair of threes. Ivey gave the Golden Eagles a sign of what was to come in the first half's waning minutes, though, hitting her first three of the game to send Notre Dame into the break up 31-28.
The game remained tight until Riley picked up her third foul with 17:48 remaining. That's when Notre Dame shifted from a half-court team into a fast-breaking squad led by Ivey and Green. Ivey, a senior point guard, scored the next six Irish points and capped off 23-10 run with back-to-back threes that gave Notre Dame a 17-point advantage. The Golden Eagle offense sputtered during this time and wound up shooting 26% after the intermission. Though the Golden Eagles were able to shut down Notre Dame's leading scorer, holding Alicia Ratay to five points, the nationally-ranked Fighting Irish had too many other options.
"We take pride in our defense," Mitchell said. "And obviously Ratay was a point of emphasis. But they have so many weapons that it's hard to focus on any one, because one, or two, or three other players will step up. Ivey changed the game in the second half. She hit some threes and attacked the basket and we couldn't answer."
Ivey finished with game-highs of 19 points and 12 assists to go along with five rebounds. Green had 15 points and five boards. Along with Bowman, both Oldenburg (13points) and Willenborg (11) reached double-figures. The Golden Eagles were hurt by 4-18 shooting from the backcourt and a 12-rebound disadvantage that proved to be their downfall.
With its non-conference schedule finished, Marquette jumps back into Conference USA play next weekend, when it hosts a pair of league games in the Milwaukee Arena.
#8 NOTRE DAME 75, MARQUETTE 60
MARQUETTE (9-3) Oldenburg 5-11 3-5 13, Bowman 5-11 3-5 15, Willenborg 3-12 4-6 11, Johnson 1-7 0-0 2, Oliver 3-8 2-3 8, Gales 0-3 2-2 2, Williams 1-3 1-2 3, Seffern 0-0 2-2 2, Zawodny 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 19-58 19-27 60.
NOTRE DAME (9-2) Haney 1-8 1-2 3, Siemon 2-7 0-0 4, Riley 9-12 0-0 18, Ratay 1-7 2-2 5, Dunbar 0-1 1-2 1, Swanson 0-2 0-0 0, Green 6-14 3-5 15, Hernandez 2-3 0-0 4, Barksdale 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 1-2 2-3 4, Ivey 6-10 4-4 19, Leahy 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 29-68 13-18 75.
Halftime_Notre Dame 31, Marquette 28. Three-pointers_Marquette 3-13 (Bowman 2-3, Willenborg 1-2, Johnson 0-5, Oliver 0-1, Gales 0-2), ND 4-13 (Ratay 1-5, Swanson 0-1, Ivey 3-7). Rebounds_Marquette 36 (Willenborg 8), ND 48 (Riley 9). Assists_Marquette 9 (Johnson 2, Williams 2), ND 26 (Ivey 12). Turnovers_Marquette 18, ND 19. Fouled Out_ND (Riley). Total Fouls_Marquette 16, ND 20. Att._2,291.
