2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

Intercollegiate basketball season

2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball

NCAA tournament National Champions Big East regular season co-champions
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	34–2 (15–1 Big East)
Head coach	Muffet McGraw (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Kevin McGuff (5th season) Coquese Washington (2nd season) Carol Owens (1st season)
Home arena	Edmund P. Joyce Center
Seasons← 1999–20002001–02 →

2000–01 Big East Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Notre Dame	15	–	1	.938	34	–	2	.944
No. 1 Connecticut †	15	–	1	.938	32	–	3	.914
No. 11 Rutgers	13	–	3	.813	23	–	8	.742
Villanova	11	–	5	.688	22	–	9	.710
Virginia Tech	11	–	5	.688	22	–	9	.710
Seton Hall	9	–	7	.563	16	–	12	.571
Boston College	7	–	9	.438	14	–	15	.483
Georgetown	6	–	10	.375	17	–	15	.531
Miami (FL)	6	–	10	.375	13	–	15	.464
Syracuse	6	–	10	.375	12	–	15	.444
Providence	4	–	12	.250	11	–	17	.393
Pittsburgh	3	–	13	.188	9	–	18	.333
St. John's	3	–	13	.188	8	–	20	.286
West Virginia	3	–	13	.188	5	–	22	.185


† 2001 Big East Tournament winner As of April 2, 2001 Rankings from AP poll

The 2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 2000–01 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish, led by fourteenth-year head coach Muffet McGraw, played their home games at Edmund P. Joyce Center as members of the Big East Conference. The Irish finished the season 34–2, 15–1 in Big East play to earn a share of the regular season championship. They defeated Virginia and Florida State before losing to UConn in the Big East Women's Tournament championship. Notre Dame received an at-large bid as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest (Denver) region. They defeated Alcorn State and Michigan to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they defeated Utah and Vanderbilt to advance to the Final Four. The Fighting Irish exacted some revenge over the No. 1 UConn Huskies in the Final Four, then defeated the No. 3 seed from the Mideast region, 9th ranked Purdue, in the national championship. The Irish edged the Boilermakers 68–66 to capture the program's first national title.

The Fighting Irish opened the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll. After 18 wins without a defeat, including a comfortable win over No. 1 UConn, Notre Dame rose to the No. 1 ranking. The team went on to win their first 23 games before losing 54–53 at Rutgers.

Senior center Ruth Riley was named Big East Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year, and earned her second straight First-team All-American honor.

Roster

2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
C	00	Ruth Riley	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	RS Sr	North Miami	Macy, IN
G	22	Alicia Ratay	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	RS So	Lake Zurich
G	33	Niele Ivey	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	RS Sr	Cor Jesu Academy	St. Louis, MO

Head coach

Muffet McGraw (Saint Joseph's)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 5, 2000*	No. 6	Ohio All-Stars	W 91–56	–	Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana
November 14, 2000*	No. 6	Tapiolan Honka	W 98–53	–	Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana
Regular season
November 17, 2000*	No. 6	at Valparaiso	W 71–46	1–0	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,018) Valparaiso, Indiana
November 20, 2000*	No. 5	Arizona	W 95–65	2–0	Joyce Center (3,082) Notre Dame, Indiana
November 22, 2000*	No. 5	at No. 19 Wisconsin	W 83–56	3–0	Kohl Center (6,943) Madison, Wisconsin
November 24, 2000* ESPN	No. 5	vs. No. 6 Georgia	W 75–73	4–0	Kohl Center (6,851) Madison, Wisconsin
November 27, 2000*	No. 4	Fordham	W 89–44	5–0	Joyce Center (3,107) Notre Dame, Indiana
December 3, 2000* ESPN2	No. 4	vs. North Carolina	W 78–55	6–0	(1,972) Orlando, Florida
December 6, 2000	No. 4	Villanova	W 64–33	7–0 (1–0)	Joyce Center (3,168) Notre Dame, Indiana
December 9, 2000*	No. 4	No. 6 Purdue	W 72–61	8–0	Joyce Center (7,330) Notre Dame, Indiana
December 18, 2000*	No. 3	Western Michigan	W 84–54	9–0	Joyce Center (3,108) Notre Dame, Indiana
December 21, 2000*	No. 3	at Marquette	W 75–56	10–0	U.S. Cellular Arena (2,412) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
December 28, 2000*	No. 3	at USC	W 70–61	11–0	L.A. Sports Arena (2,178) Los Angeles, California
December 31, 2000*	No. 3	Rice	W 80–40	12–0	Joyce Center (4,060) Notre Dame, Indiana
January 3, 2001	No. 3	at Virginia Tech	W 75–64	13–0 (2–0)	Cassell Coliseum (3,418) Blacksburg, Virginia
January 6, 2001	No. 3	No. 9 Rutgers	W 67–46	14–0 (3–0)	Joyce Center (5,227) Notre Dame, Indiana
January 9, 2001	No. 3	St. John's	W 75–55	15–0 (4–0)	Carnesecca Arena (385) New York, New York
January 13, 2001	No. 3	Virginia Tech	W 75–55	16–0 (5–0)	Joyce Center (5,873) Notre Dame, Indiana
January 15, 2001	No. 3	No. 1 Connecticut	W 92–76	17–0 (6–0)	Joyce Center (11,418) Notre Dame, Indiana
January 21, 2001	No. 3	at Seton Hall	W 72–47	18–0 (7–0)	Walsh Gymnasium (1,273) South Orange, New Jersey
January 24, 2001	No. 1	at West Virginia	W 87–64	19–0 (8–0)	WVU Coliseum (364) Morgantown, West Virginia
January 31, 2001	No. 1	Providence	W 64–44	20–0 (9–0)	Joyce Center (6,131) Notre Dame, Indiana
February 3, 2001	No. 1	at Boston College	W 81–65	21–0 (10–0)	Conte Forum (5,429) Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
February 7, 2001	No. 1	Pittsburgh	W 72–58	22–0 (11–0)	Joyce Center (7,025) Notre Dame, Indiana
February 14, 2001	No. 1	at Syracuse	W 75–61	23–0 (12–0)	Manley Field House (1,627) Syracuse, New York
February 17, 2001	No. 1	at No. 11 Rutgers	L 53–54	23–1 (12–1)	Louis Brown Athletic Center (8,587) Piscataway, New Jersey
February 20, 2001	No. 2	Miami (FL)	W 81–43	24–1 (13–1)	Joyce Center (6,533) Notre Dame, Indiana
February 24, 2001	No. 2	Georgetown	W 65–53	25–1 (14–1)	Joyce Center (11,418) Notre Dame, Indiana
February 27, 2001	No. 1	at Pittsburgh	W 82–63	26–1 (15–1)	Fitzgerald Field House (2,050) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Big East tournament
March 4, 2001*	No. 1	vs. Georgetown Quarterfinals	W 89–33	27–1	Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
March 5, 2001*	No. 1	vs. Virginia Tech Semifinals	W 67–49	28–1	Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
March 6, 2001*	No. 1	at No. 2 Connecticut Championship game	L 76–78	28–2	Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
NCAA women's tournament
March 17, 2001*	(1 MW) No. 2	(16 MW) Alcorn State First round	W 98–49	29–2	Joyce Center (8,553) Notre Dame, Indiana
March 19, 2001*	(1 MW) No. 2	(8 MW) Michigan Second round	W 88–54	30–2	Joyce Center (9,597) Notre Dame, Indiana
March 24, 2001*	(1 MW) No. 2	(5 MW) No. 17 Utah Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 69–54	31–2	Pepsi Center (10,559) Denver, Colorado
March 26, 2001*	(1 MW) No. 2	(3 MW) No. 10 Vanderbilt Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 72–64	32–2	Pepsi Center (8,422) Denver, Colorado
March 30, 2001* ESPN	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Connecticut National Semifinal – Final Four	W 90–75	33–2	Savvis Center (20,551) St. Louis, Missouri
April 1, 2001* ESPN	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (1 ME) No. 9 Purdue National Championship	W 68–66	34–2	Savvis Center (20,551) St. Louis, Missouri
*Non-conference game. Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=Spokane Region. All times are in Eastern.

Source

Rankings

Main article: 2000–01 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	6	6	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	2	Not released
Coaches	5	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1

References

"The Irish Throw a Wake for Connecticut". The New York Times. March 31, 2001. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
"Riley's Free Throws Lift Notre Dame". The New York Times. April 1, 2001. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
"No. 4 Women's Basketball Tops No. 6 Purdue, 72-61". Notre Dame Athletics. December 9, 2000. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
"No. 3 Women's Basketball Throttles No. 9 Rutgers, 67-46". Notre Dame Athletics. January 6, 2001. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
"No. 3 Notre Dame 92, No. 1 UConn 76". Hartford Courant. January 16, 2001. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
"2000–01 Women's Basketball Schedule". Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
"2000-2001 Notre Dame Women's Basketball Stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.

v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball 2000–01 NCAA champions
00 Ruth Riley (MOP) 33 Niele Ivey Head coach Muffet McGraw Assistant coaches Kevin McGuff Coquese Washington

Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball 2000–01 NCAA champions

00 Ruth Riley (MOP)
33 Niele Ivey

Head coach: Muffet McGraw

Assistant coaches: Kevin McGuff; Coquese Washington

v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball
Venues	Joyce Center (1977–present)
Rivalries	UConn
Culture & lore	Notre Dame Leprechaun Bird at the Buzzer
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

v t e NCAA Division I women's basketball champions
1982 Louisiana Tech 1983 USC 1984 USC 1985 Old Dominion 1986 Texas 1987 Tennessee 1988 Louisiana Tech 1989 Tennessee 1990 Stanford 1991 Tennessee 1992 Stanford 1993 Texas Tech 1994 North Carolina 1995 Connecticut 1996 Tennessee 1997 Tennessee 1998 Tennessee 1999 Purdue 2000 Connecticut 2001 Notre Dame 2002 Connecticut 2003 Connecticut 2004 Connecticut 2005 Baylor 2006 Maryland 2007 Tennessee 2008 Tennessee 2009 Connecticut 2010 Connecticut 2011 Texas A&M 2012 Baylor 2013 Connecticut 2014 Connecticut 2015 Connecticut 2016 Connecticut 2017 South Carolina 2018 Notre Dame 2019 Baylor 2020 No tournament 2021 Stanford 2022 South Carolina 2023 LSU 2024 South Carolina

NCAA Division I women's basketball champions

1982: Louisiana Tech
1983: USC
1984: USC
1985: Old Dominion
1986: Texas
1987: Tennessee
1988: Louisiana Tech
1989: Tennessee
1990: Stanford
1991: Tennessee
1992: Stanford
1993: Texas Tech
1994: North Carolina
1995: Connecticut
1996: Tennessee
1997: Tennessee
1998: Tennessee
1999: Purdue
2000: Connecticut
2001: Notre Dame
2002: Connecticut
2003: Connecticut
2004: Connecticut
2005: Baylor
2006: Maryland
2007: Tennessee
2008: Tennessee
2009: Connecticut
2010: Connecticut
2011: Texas A&M
2012: Baylor
2013: Connecticut
2014: Connecticut
2015: Connecticut
2016: Connecticut
2017: South Carolina
2018: Notre Dame
2019: Baylor
2020: No tournament
2021: Stanford
2022: South Carolina
2023: LSU
2024: South Carolina

Categories: