At the end of a classic defensive struggle, Notre Dame needed some "O" in a big way and found it in a big player.

Two clutch free throws by 6-5 Ruth Riley with five seconds remaining gave the Fighting Irish a 68-66 win over Purdue and the school's first NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship title April 1 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis.

In the final minute of play, Riley tied the score at 66 with a basket in the lane. She then grabbed a defensive rebound to give the Irish a chance at the lead with just over 30 seconds remaining. The Notre Dame offense then turned to the national player of the year as the clock ran down. After being fouled, Riley sandwiched successful free throws around a Purdue timeout to give Notre Dame the edge.

"We designed a play and got out there and didn't execute it," Douglas said. "I had a good look at the basket, and it didn't go down for me."

The Irish had to rebound from an early 19-7 deficit. It was familiar territory for the Irish, to be sure, who posted the biggest comeback in Women's Final Four history (16 points) to beat Connecticut in the semifinals. The Irish confidently chipped away at the Purdue lead and cut the difference to six by the half.

Notre Dame then opened the second half with an 8-0 run to take its first lead at 34-32. The lead and the momentum were never secure, though, as the score seesawed until the final minute of play.

"I don't think I've ever been this excited in my basketball life," said Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw. "What can I say about this team? We have been a second-half team all tournament long. For Ruth to make those two free throws, for us to come back from halftime deficits two times in the Final Four, I can't say enough about this team."

Riley, the tournament's most outstanding player, finished the game with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Notre Dame point guard Niele Ivey finished with 12 points and joined Riley on the all-tournament team. Douglas, who finished with 18 points, Shereka Wright and Shalicia Hurns were named to the all-tournament team for Purdue.

The all-Indiana final was the first time in the 20-year history of the Women's Final Four that both the contending teams were from the same state. The scenario was set up by Notre Dame's 90-75 win over defending champion Connecticut and Purdue's 81-64 semifinal win over Southwest Missouri State.

SEMIFINALS

Purdue 81, Southwest Mo. St. 64

Purdue: Kelly Komara: 3-13, 6-8, 3, 13; Katie Douglas 8-15, 6-9, 7, 25; Camille Cooper 7-10, 2-4, 10, 16; Shalicia Hurns 4-8, 1-2, 12, 9; Shereka Wright 4-9, 2-4, 6, 11; Lindsey Hicks 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Shinika Parks 2-4, 0-0, 3, 4; Beth Jones 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Candi Crawford 1-4, 1-2, 3, 3; Monique Langston 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Mary Jo Noon 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 29-65, 18-29, 47, 81.

Halftime: Purdue 47, Southwest Mo. St. 30. Three-point field goals: Southwest Mo. St. 4-11 (Stiles 0-3, Mitchem 1-3, Deer 3-5); Purdue 5-11 (Komara 1-4, Douglas 3-5, Wright 1-2). Disqualifications: Campbell, Cooper.

Notre Dame 90, Connecticut 75

Connecticut: Diana Taurasi 1-15, 2-3, 3, 4; Swin Cash 2-4, 4-8, 10, 8; Kelly Schumacher 5-13, 2-3, 17, 12; Sue Bird 7-21, 0-0, 4, 18; Asjha Jones 1-2, 5-8, 5, 7; Maria Conlon 3-6, 1-1, 2, 8; Morgan Valley 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kennitra Johnson 2-9, 3-3, 2, 8; Tamika Williams 5-7, 0-0, 6, 10. TOTALS: 26-77, 17-26, 51, 75.

Half time: Connecticut 49, Notre Dame 37. Three-point field goals: Connecticut 6-30 (Taurasi 0-11, Schumacher 0-1, Bird 4-11, Conlon 1-3, Johnson 1-4); Notre Dame 8-11 (Ratay 4-5, Ivey 3-5, Joyce 1-1). Disqualifications: Taurasi, Jones.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Notre Dame 68, Purdue 66

Purdue: Katie Douglas 6-15, 3-3, 7, 18; Shalicia Hurns 7-13, 3-5, 7, 17; Shereka Wright 6-15, 3-5, 4, 17; Camille Cooper 3-9, 0-0, 6, 6; Kelly Komara 3-9, 0-0, 2, 8; Candi Crawford 0-2, 0-2, 4, 0; Lindsey Hicks 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Mary Jo Noon 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Shinika Parks 0-3, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 25-67, 9-15, 41, 66.

Notre Dame: Kelley Siemon 5-11, 0-0, 9, 10; Ruth Riley 9-13, 10-14, 13, 28; Niele Ivey 5-13, 2-3, 5, 12; Ericka Haney 6-11, 1-2, 5, 13; Alicia Ratay 1-6, 0-0, 4, 3; Amanda Barksdale 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Janeka Joyce 0-2, 2-2, 0, 2; Le'Tania Severe 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Imani Dunbar 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 26-56, 15-21, 38, 68.

Halftime: Purdue 32, Notre Dame 26. Three-point field goals: Purdue 7-17 (Douglas 3-6, Wright 2-4, Komara 2-5, Parks 0-2); Notre Dame 1-10 (Ivey 0-4, Ratay 1-4, Joyce 0-2). Disqualifications: none.