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Monday, April 2
Purdue comes oh-so-close to national title
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS – There were just seconds left, so the play
didn't come together quite right, except that Purdue – with a
national title on the line – got the ball to its All-American.
And Katie Douglas missed.
"I had no idea how much time was on the game clock and I was
off balance," Douglas said. "It looked good, though."
But the 18-footer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and
bounced against the backboard before falling away, leaving Notre
Dame ahead 68-66 and holding the women's NCAA championship trophy a
few minutes later.
"Our goal was to make them go 94 feet and not throw it in
long," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "They took a couple
of dribbles and threw a long pass, but it seemed like an eternity
to me."
The Boilermakers probably had the same feeling moments before,
when Irish All-American center Ruth Riley hit two free throws with
5.8 seconds remaining. Her shots left the outcome to Douglas.
"Didn't run it as well as we wanted to. Didn't execute,"
Douglas said of the final play. "And, I don't know what really
happened and took place. I just thought I kind of had a good look
as the basket and it just didn't go down for me."
The Boilermakers almost didn't need Douglas to make that last
shot. Purdue succeeded – at first – in shutting down Alicia Ratay
and Niele Ivey, two key players in the Irish's Final Four-record
comeback against Connecticut in the semifinals.
But Ivey, the St. Louis native who Notre Dame coach Muffet
McGraw said was on a mission to the Final Four in her hometown,
came on after shooting 2-of-9 in the first half to score eight of
her 12 points in the second half.
"I'm glad it was Ruth on the free-throw line," Ivey said. "I
knew it was my hometown, but I wanted Ruth to have the ball last."
And Ratay, who sat out much of the game in foul trouble, hit a
key 3-pointer with 4:01 left to tie it at 62. It was the only
3-pointer of the night for Notre Dame, which finished 1-of-10 from
behind the arc.
Douglas, who lost both parents to cancer during her playing days
with the Boilermakers, finished 6-of-15 – 3-of-6 from 3-point range
– for 18 points. The senior played all 40 minutes, touching the
ball on 60 of the Boilermakers' 73 possessions, but had six
turnovers to go with her five assists.
"We didn't execute the way we wanted, but then again, you have
to credit the Irish on that last possession," Purdue coach Kristy
Curry said. "But she got a look at the basket. It's a high
percentage shot for her."
Riley, The AP's player of the year, finished with 28 points and
seven blocks.
"Is there a more fitting way, being from Indiana, than ending
like a scene from the movie Hoosiers?" Riley said. "My favorite
scene is the winning shot. What was going through my mind was what
if someone had to ask how I felt about missing those free throws."
Instead, that kind of tough question was left for Douglas.
"Not a lot of people expected us to be in this position,"
Douglas said. "There's no point in hanging our heads. I'm proud of
this team and what we've done."
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