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

Intercollegiate basketball season March 2026 August 2023 women's basketball 2000–01 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo.svg 150 Big East Conference Big East 1 2 34–2 15–1 Muffet McGraw 14th Kevin McGuff 5th Coquese Washington 2nd Carol Owens 1st Edmund P. Joyce Center NCAA tournament National Champions Big East regular season co-champions 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,The Irish Throw a Wake for Connecticut https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/31/sports/college-basketball-the-irish-throw-a-wake-for-connecticut.html The New York Times March 31, 2001 July 14, 2024 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.Riley's Free Throws Lift Notre Dame https://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/01/sports/rileys-free-throws-lift-notre-dame.html The New York Times April 1, 2001 March 9, 2024 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 w 2000 Notre Dame Fighting Irish y y w Ruth Riley 00 C 6 5 SR y Macy, IN North Miami y w Alicia Ratay 22 G 6 0 SO y Lake Zurich w Niele Ivey 33 G 5 8 SR y St. Louis, MO Cor Jesu Academy y Muffet McGraw (Saint Joseph's) Kevin McGuff Coquese Washington Carol Owens (Northern Illinois) http://www.und.com/sports/w-baskbl/mtt/nd-w-baskbl-mtt.html Schedule and results 2000-01 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings 2000 YES yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish|Exhibition November 5, 2000 yes 6 Ohio All-Stars Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 91–56 – November 14, 2000 yes 6 Tapiolan Honka Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 98–53 – |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish| Regular season November 17, 2000 yes yes 6 2000 women Valparaiso Crusaders Valparaiso Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, Indiana 71–46 2,018 1–0 November 20, 2000 yes 5 2000 women Arizona Wildcats Arizona Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 95–65 3,082 2–0 November 22, 2000 yes yes 5 2000 women Wisconsin Badgers Wisconsin 19 Kohl Center Madison, Wisconsin 83–56 6,943 3–0 November 24, 2000 ESPN yes yes 5 2000 none Georgia Lady Bulldogs Georgia 6 Kohl Center Madison, Wisconsin 75–73 6,851 4–0 November 27, 2000 yes 4 2000 women Fordham Rams Fordham Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 89–44 3,107 5–0 December 3, 2000 ESPN2 yes yes 4 2000 women North Carolina Tar Heels North Carolina Orlando, Florida 78–55 1,972 6–0 December 6, 2000 4 2000 women Villanova Wildcats Villanova Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 64–33 3,168 7–0 1–0 December 9, 2000 yes 4 Purdue 6 Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 72–61No. 4 Women's Basketball Tops No. 6 Purdue, 72-61 https://fightingirish.com/no-4-women-s-basketball-tops-no-6-purdue-72-61/ Notre Dame Athletics December 9, 2000 March 14, 2024 7,330 8–0 December 18, 2000 yes 3 2000 women Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 84–54 3,108 9–0 December 21, 2000 yes yes 3 2000 women Marquette Golden Eagles Marquette U.S. Cellular Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin 75–56 2,412 10–0 December 28, 2000 yes yes 3 2000 women USC Trojans USC L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California 70–61 2,178 11–0 December 31, 2000 yes 3 2000 women Rice Owls Rice Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 80–40 4,060 12–0 January 3, 2001 yes 3 2000 women Virginia Tech Hokies Virginia Tech Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, Virginia 75–64 3,418 13–0 2–0 January 6, 2001 3 2000 women Rutgers Scarlet Knights Rutgers 9 Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 67–46No. 3 Women's Basketball Throttles No. 9 Rutgers, 67-46 https://fightingirish.com/no-3-women-s-basketball-throttles-no-9-rutgers-67-46/ Notre Dame Athletics January 6, 2001 March 14, 2024 5,227 14–0 3–0 January 9, 2001 3 2000 women St. John's Red Storm St. John's Carnesecca Arena New York, New York 75–55 385 15–0 4–0 January 13, 2001 3 Virginia Tech Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 75–55 5,873 16–0 5–0 January 15, 2001 3 Connecticut 1 Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 92–76No. 3 Notre Dame 92, No. 1 UConn 76 https://www.courant.com/2001/01/16/no-3-notre-dame-92-no-1-uconn-76/ Hartford Courant January 16, 2001 March 11, 2024 11,418 17–0 6–0 January 21, 2001 yes 3 2000 women Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall Walsh Gymnasium South Orange, New Jersey 72–47 1,273 18–0 7–0 January 24, 2001 yes 1 2000 women West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia 87–64 364 19–0 8–0 January 31, 2001 1 2000 women Providence Friars Providence Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 64–44 6,131 20–0 9–0 February 3, 2001 yes 1 2000 women Boston College Eagles Boston College Conte Forum Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 81–65 5,429 21–0 10–0 February 7, 2001 1 2000 women Pittsburgh Panthers Pittsburgh Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 72–58 7,025 22–0 11–0 February 14, 2001 yes 1 2000 women Syracuse Orange Syracuse Manley Field House Syracuse, New York 75–61 1,627 23–0 12–0 February 17, 2001 yes 1 Rutgers 11 Louis Brown Athletic Center Piscataway, New Jersey 53–54 8,587 23–1 12–1 February 20, 2001 2 2000 women Miami Hurricanes Miami (FL) Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 81–43 6,533 24–1 13–1 February 24, 2001 2 2000 women Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana 65–53 11,418 25–1 14–1 February 27, 2001 yes 1 Pittsburgh Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 82–63 2,050 26–1 15–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish| Big East tournament March 4, 2001 yes yes 1 Georgetown Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut Quarterfinals 89–33 10,027 27–1 March 5, 2001 yes yes 1 Virginia Tech Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut Semifinals 67–49 10,027 28–1 March 6, 2001 yes yes 1 Connecticut 2 Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut Championship game 76–78 10,027 28–2 |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish| NCAA women's tournament March 17, 2001 yes 2 1 MW 2000 none Alcorn State Lady Braves Alcorn State 16 MW Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana First round 98–49 8,553 29–2 March 19, 2001 yes 2 1 MW 2000 women Michigan Wolverines Michigan 8 MW Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana Second round 88–54 9,597 30–2 March 24, 2001 yes 2 1 MW 2000 women Utah Utes Utah 17 5 MW Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado Regional Semifinal Sweet Sixteen 69–54 10,559 31–2 March 26, 2001 yes 2 1 MW 2000 women Vanderbilt Commodores Vanderbilt 10 3 MW Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado Regional Final Elite Eight 72–64 8,422 32–2 March 30, 2001 yes yes 2 1 MW Connecticut 1 1 E Savvis Center St. Louis, Missouri National Semifinal Final Four ESPN 90–75 20,551 33–2 April 1, 2001 yes yes 2 1 MW Purdue 9 1 ME Savvis Center St. Louis, Missouri National Championship ESPN 68–66 20,551 34–2 AP Poll Eastern S Spokane Region Source https://fightingirish.com/sports-w-baskbl-archive-062701aab-html/ 2000–01 Women's Basketball Schedule Notre Dame Athletics March 9, 2024 https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/WBB1/Women's%20Basketball_Women's_Division%20I_2001_513_University%20of%20Notre%20Dame.pdf 2000-2001 Notre Dame Women's Basketball Stats NCAA Career Statistics Rankings 2000–01 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings AP 0 18 6 6 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 Coaches 0 19 5 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 References 2 Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball seasons Notre Dame Notre Dame Category:NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Category:NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship seasons Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Fighting Irish