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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin did a great job containing Notre
Dame's two best scorers, Ruth Riley and Alicia Ratay. The Badgers
forgot about the Irish's third, fourth and fifth options.
Niele Ivey had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as
fifth-ranked Notre Dame beat No. 19 Wisconsin 83-56 in the second
game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge.
Kelley Siemon added 21 points and Ericka Haney 14 for the Irish
(3-0), who play sixth-ranked Georgia (2-1) in the championship game Friday. Georgia advanced with a 94-70 victory over No. 12
Oklahoma.
"I think we have great balance," Notre Dame coach Muffet
McGraw said. "That's the kind of balance you need to succeed and
go far in the NCAA Tournament."
Wisconsin (1-2) plays in the third-place game Friday against
Oklahoma.
Ivey and Siemon combined to go 14-for-19 from the floor for Notre Dame, which saw Riley held to nine points and Ratay to eight.
Ivey made three of her four 3-pointers in the first half and
scored 17 points as Notre Dame built a 41-26 halftime lead.
"I just felt confident in the first half," Ivey said.
"Tonight I was concentrating a lot more than I did in the past."
Wisconsin coach Jane Albright said Ivey was the difference.
"I think Ivey hit some really, really tough shots," she said.
Notre Dame scored the first six points of the game and led 10-3
before Wisconsin put closed to 13-11. Ivey then made two consecutive 3-pointers.
Wisconsin later closed to 29-24 before Notre Dame ended the
first half on a 12-2 run, going 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
LaTonya Sims scored 20 points to lead Wisconsin. Jessie Stomski,
who had 10 points, was the only other player in double digits for
the Badgers.
"We did score in spurts," Albright said. "Sometimes we made
it look very easy. It looked painless, but sometimes it looked
painful."
Both of Wisconsin's defeats this season have come against ranked
opponents. The Badgers opened their season with a 71-57 defeat to
then-No. 24 Oregon last Saturday.
Dating to the 1998-99 season, Wisconsin has lost 16 of its last
17 games against ranked opponents.
Still, Albright says she's not discouraged.
"It's not the end of the world," she said.
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ALSO SEE
Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
Notre Dame Clubhouse
Wisconsin Clubhouse
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