Former Irish star Ruth Riley selected for Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Nearly a year after winning its second national championship, Notre Dame women's basketball is celebrating an honor for the leader of its first title team.

Earlier this week, Ruth Riley was selected as part of the 2019 class for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Riley, who starred for the 2001 Irish and sank two game-winning free throws in the championship win over Purdue, was a three-time All-American during her time in South Bend. She was named the Big East and National Player of the Year in her senior season, in which she became the only Notre Dame player to tally both 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds (current senior Jessica Shepard also accomplished that feat, but transferred from Nebraska before her junior season).

After turning pro, Riley added both a WNBA title and an Olympic gold medal to her NCAA championship.

“What better representative for our program?" asked head coach Muffet McGraw. "With the things she’s done after she left here: national champion, [Finals] MVP of the WNBA and she wins a gold medal in the Olympics. She did so many great things on the basketball court, but she’s also a global humanitarian. She’s interested in so many different causes and she’s always fighting for women. Just so excited for Ruth, for everything she’s meant to us and our program.”

The 2019 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame class will be inducted on June 8 in Knoxville, Tenn.