[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5328-5329]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  COMMENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM FOR 
         WINNING THE 2001 NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Aderholt). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2001, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ROEMER. Mr. Speaker, the famous sports writer Grantland Rice once 
wrote these words: ``Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the four 
horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, 
pestilence, destruction and death.''
  These famous words name the four horsemen with the University of 
Notre Dame football team. With the women's national championship win, 
with the Notre Dame basketball program Sunday night, we have at least 
four new names in Irish legend and in ``Hoosier Hysteria.'' They are 
Ratay and Ivey, Riley and Siemon, players that fought with tenacity and 
heart to come back from a 16-point deficit against the defending 
champs, the University of Connecticut, in a semifinal game and win by 
15 points. They are the team that came back from 12 points down in the 
national championship game against the respected intrastate rivals, the 
Purdue Boilermakers with all-American Katie Douglas, and won the 
national championship by 2 points Sunday night.
  I have to say to my colleagues in the House of Representatives, this 
was a flat-out exciting game that was one of the best national 
championships fought between men or women's games in the history of 
national basketball tournaments. This was a game that was exciting to 
watch in person or in one's living rooms for men and women and boys and 
girls across the country, to see Ruth Riley, the all-American star for 
the University of Notre Dame, score 28 points, rip down 13 rebounds and 
block 7 shots, all-American standards by any definition.
  When we talk about high-caliber standards, nobody sets them better 
than the coach, Muffet McGraw, who has been at the helm of the 
University of Notre Dame for 14 years. This past year, she won three 
coach of the year awards, the Naismith Award, the Associated Press 
Award, and the WBCA National Coach of the Year Award, for her stellar 
coaching performance, in a 34 wins and 2 losses season. She did not do 
it by herself. Coach Owens, Coach McGruff, Coach Washington all helped 
her and these great teammates to win the national championship.
  They had a lot of talent on this stellar team, not just the four 
names that I mentioned that go down in Irish lore, but the entire team 
dedicated to high academic standards and playing their hearts out on 
the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to conclude by recognizing their outstanding 
season. I was privileged enough to attend their very first practice on 
October 15 and talk to the team and try to encourage them on to have a 
successful season. Those are high standards that we live up to in 
Indiana, where we have the legend of Larry Bird, where we have high 
school gyms that see 10,000 and 12,000 people for great games at the 
high-school level, and where tiny, small, little Milan High School won 
the State championship in 1954, creating the legendary Hoosiers movie. 
We now have the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2001 national 
champions to enter into the lore, the legend, and the ``Hoosier 
Hysteria.'' Congratulations. We are proud of you. Congratulations to 
the continuing ascendancy of women's basketball in America.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the University of Notre Dame 
Women's Basketball Team. The Fighting Irish claimed the 2001 NCAA 
Women's Basketball National Championship on April 1 in St. Louis, 
Missouri against intrastate rival, the Purdue University Boilermakers, 
in a classic Hoosier contest that will be long remembered as one of the 
best championship games in history.
  By winning the national championship on Sunday, the Fighting Irish 
provided a fitting end to an extraordinary season. Their record was an 
outstanding thirty-four wins and only two defeats. This team embodied 
the true spirit of college athletics and the two hard fought games in 
the Final Four serve as a testament to their heart. In the semifinal 
game against the defending national champion and Big East Conference 
rival, University of Connecticut, the Irish staged a remarkable come 
from behind victory thanks to the dominant play of Naismith National 
Player of the Year, Ruth Riley, and the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award 
winner, Niele Ivey. As the second half commenced, the Irish trailed the 
Connecticut Huskies by as many as sixteen points. The Irish refused to 
quit, however. Riley, Ivey, sharp shooter Alicia Ratay and the rest of 
the Irish scored on 15 of their next 20 possessions. Thanks to a 14-0 
run, the Irish avenged a heart-breaking loss to the Huskies in the Big 
East Conference Tournament Final and ended up with a triumphant 90-75 
victory. The comeback was the biggest in NCAA Final Four history. The 
Irish also made eight of their 11 three-point attempts, a national 
semifinal record.
  The Irish saved more heroics for the National Championship game 
against intrastate rival Purdue. Trailing by as many as twelve points, 
the Irish responded with grit and determination. Notre Dame relied on 
balanced scoring. Junior Ericka Haney contributed thirteen points, Ivey 
had twelve points, and senior Kelley Siemon tallied ten points. Ratay 
tied the game at 62 with a three point shot with four minutes to play 
in the game. But it was Riley who provided the heroics fitting of a 
champion. Riley erased Purdue's final lead of the game with a layup off 
a pass from Ratay. The game was tied at 66 with less than one minute to 
play. With 5.8 seconds to play, Riley was fouled and headed to the foul 
line with the national championship literally on the line. Riley made 
both free throws to seal the victory and the championship for the 
Fighting Irish. Riley finished the game with 28 points, 13 rebounds, 
and 7 blocked shots and was awarded the distinction of Most Outstanding 
Player.
  In Muffet McGraw's fourteen years as head coach of the Women's 
Basketball team at Notre Dame, fans have grown accustomed to watching 
the Irish win with class. Coach McGraw has elevated the program to the 
pinnacle of college basketball while demanding academic excellence and 
exemplary sportsmanship from her players. McGraw's savvy coaching 
skills and dedication to playing with class are shining examples of why 
she was honored with three National Coach of the Year awards (Naismith, 
Associated Press, and the WBCA National Coach of the Year) this season. 
In winning her first national championship and reaching her second 
Final Four, Coach McGraw has proven that you can win with class and 
with the highest of academic standards. Coach McGraw's assistant 
coaches, Carol Owens, Kevin McGuff, and Coquese Washington (Notre Dame 
'92) must also be honored for their dedication to the team and to Notre 
Dame.
  Coach McGraw's expectation to win with class was put into practice by 
this year's seniors. The strong character and the fierce determination 
of Riley, Ivey, Kelley Siemon, Meaghan Leahy, and Imani Dunbar set the 
tone for this season. They were able to end their illustrious 
collegiate careers with a victory and a championship.
  Ruth Riley excelled as a student-athlete. She became Notre Dame's 
first player to win the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year and 
she was a unanimous Associated Press first team All-American. Riley 
became the first person in Big East Conference history to sweep all 
three of the major awards: Big East Player of the Year, Big East 
Defensive Player of the Year, and the Big East Scholar Athlete of the 
Year. The Macy, Indiana native has certainly found a place in Indiana's 
rich basketball lore, known as ``Hoosier Hysteria.''
  Niele Ivey was considered the heart and soul of the team. In her 
determination to lead the Irish to the Final Four in her hometown of 
St. Louis, Missouri, Ivey provided valuable focus during the Midwest 
Regional games against Alcorn State, Michigan, Utah, and Vanderbilt. A 
consummate champion, Ivey earned Associated Press All-American honors. 
She was also the recipient of the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award 
presented to the nation's outstanding female collegian 5-feet-8 and 
under who excelled athletically and academically.
  Kelley Siemon teamed with Riley to make a formidable front court. 
Siemon won the Big

[[Page 5329]]

East Most Improved Player award and she was also voted to the honorable 
mention all-Big East team.
  Junior Ericka Haney served as valuable and versatile starter for the 
Irish. Haney helped spark the Irish comeback against Connecticut in the 
semifinal game. Sophomore Alicia Ratay proved to be one of the nation's 
top perimeter shooters and she was a candidate for All-American honors. 
Ratay led the nation in three point shooting percentage and was honored 
with a third-team all-Big East distinction.
  Sophomore reserve players, Amanda Barksdale, Monique Hernandez, and 
Karen Swanson, and freshmen Jeneka Joyce and Le'Tania Severe provided 
valuable minutes throughout the season. With such young talent, the 
Irish basketball program has a promising future.
  Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, the 2001 Notre Dame Women's Basketball 
Team deserves to be recognized for their Championship caliber play, 
their tenacity and their exemplary sportsmanship. I am proud and deeply 
honored to recognize this magnificent achievement. Go Irish!

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