ST. LOUIS — In the Notre Dame game plan, Ruth Riley is always the first, second and third option.
That never was more evident than in the all-Indiana NCAA final.
Notre Dame went to the women's player of the year all night, and the 6-foot-5 center from tiny Macy, Ind. — the school's lone in-state player — didn't disappoint. Riley had 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the Irish's 68-66 victory over Purdue on Sunday night.
"I know my teammates are looking for me," Riley said. "I just wanted to finish my career with a win. I was in the zone a little bit there."
More than a little bit. For the capper, Riley hit the clinching free throws with 5.8 seconds to go that produced the Fighting Irish's first NCAA women's title.
Notre Dame point guard Niele Ivey, a St. Louis native, said it was a fitting way to end it.
"I was glad Ruth was on the line, even though it is my hometown," Ivey said. "She had an awesome game."
Purdue ran post players at Riley in waves in an all-out effort at damage control. The Boilermakers collapsed on her whenever she got the ball and tried their best to get Riley into foul trouble by forcing the ball inside on the offensive end.
None of it affected the tournament's most outstanding player, a consistent scoring and rebounding machine for four seasons at Notre Dame. Riley finished with school career records for blocked shots (370) and rebounds (1,007), and she also holds the school record for field-goal percentage (63 percent).
"She played a great game," Purdue All-American Katie Douglas said. "If she wasn't blocking a shot, she was altering a shot. It was just her night."
Notre Dame made it to the final on the strength of 8-for-11 3-point shooting in the semifinals against Connecticut. In the final, the Irish were 1-for-10, which made Riley's performance that much more important.
Alicia Ratay, Notre Dame's second-leading scorer with a 13-point average, was off her game and in foul trouble all night. Ratay, who had 20 points on 4-for-5 3-point shooting in the semifinals, was 1-for-6 and scored only three points, although her lone 3-pointer tied it at 62.
"I was thinking 'Hallelujah!' " coach Muffet McGraw said. "We probably shot a few too many. We were just off tonight."
Riley was a constant threat in the lane. She scored 11 points in a span of about four minutes to rally Notre Dame from an early 12-point deficit, and took over at the end.
First, she tied it at 66 with 1:01 to go. Then, with the score still tied, she was fouled with 5.8 seconds to go after catching a lob pass.
"I thought my teammates were going to be looking for me and coach always said 'Just throw it up,' and we practiced going after it," Riley said. "It was all heart at the end."
The first free throw bounced in as she contorted her body, and she also bounced in her second shot.
Riley had been in this spot before, in the final of the Big East tournament against Connecticut, and she made only one of two attempts with 5.1 seconds to go to tie it in a game Notre Dame lost on Sue Bird's buzzer-beating shot.
"As crazy as this might sound, I wasn't really nervous," Riley said. "I was in this situation against Connecticut, and I didn't really come through, so you can say I shot a lot of free throws in between that game and today."
Notre Dame expected nothing less in the clutch.
"I felt really confident, actually," teammate Kelley Siemon said. "I thought was going to make both of them. I know Ruth's a great player who comes through in big situations, and obviously none bigger than this."
Riley was out of position when Purdue tried to tie it at the buzzer. She was a bystander when Douglas' shot from the top of the key bounced off the rim.
"I really wasn't playing defense on that last play," Riley said. "I looked down the court and Camille Cooper was standing there wide open, and that was my man.
"I just got lucky that Katie missed a shot."