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Jet, April 23, 2001

The Notre Dame women's basketball team recently won the first NCAA women's title in the school's 159-year history.

The Fighting Irish touched off a wild celebration from fans when the team overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half to triumph in a 68-66 victory over in-state rival Purdue (31-7) during the final seconds of the game.

"It's definitely euphoria," coach Muffet McGraw said. "It's the greatest moment in our basketball history at Notre Dame."

Notre Dame trailed most of the game, but since the Irish are experts at comeback victories--the team made the biggest comeback in the history of the women's Final Four when it rallied from 16 points to win the semifinal--the fans stayed on their feet waiting for Notre Dame to make the trademark turnaround.

The Irish (34-2) found its stride when Jeneka Joyce's free throws tied the game at 55 with 7:55 to play.

From there, it was back and forth to the end.

Niele Ivey, Notre Dame's 5-foot-8 guard, powered the team with her 12 points and 4 assists. Her clutch lay-up shot late in the game put the Irish up 64-63.

Purdue then answered with a 3-point play, putting them up by two.

Ivey's teammate, All-American Ruth Riley, wrapped up the game by scoring Notre Dame's last 4 points with ease.

At the end of the game, St. Louis-native Ivey said, "I always dreamed of this moment; then to have it happen in my hometown."

Fans waited hours for the team's arrival in South Bend, IN, lining the streets around the Golden Dome.

The members of the team sprinted through the crowd, slapping high-fives on the way, as Ivey made her way to the stage carrying the national title trophy over her head.

The team kicked off the campus celebration by asking the band to play the "Irish Jig." As the band played, the Irish players formed a circle and did the jig, a custom for the team before big games.