Nice Girls Finish First: The Remarkable Story of Notre Dame's Rise to the Top of Women's College Basketball [Paperback]

Mark Bradford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2001

With impressive skill, irrepressible spirit, and more than a touch of class, the 2000-01 Notre Dame women's basketball team reached the pinnacle of college basketball and forever secured a place in the storied sports history of the university and in the hearts of thousands of fans. The senior leadership of Naismith Award winner Ruth Riley, Niele Ivey, and Kelley Siemon combined with the exciting and capable play of underclassmen such as Alicia Ratay and Ericka Haney emphatically spells C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N-S. These Lady Irish practiced and played with relentless resolve, endured injuries and setbacks, balanced emotions and studies, and nurtured bonds—on and off the court—giving new meaning to the words "dedication" and "teamwork." Nice Girls Finish First is the behind-the-scenes story of this remarkable group of young women who, with a goal firmly in mind, set a shining and enduring example of how to achieve in college athletics with grit and grace.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is an inspiring tale about the Notre Dame women's basketball team who, in the 2000-01 season, came together to win the NCAA championship by defeating Purdue 68-66 in a thrilling, heart-stopping final. Bradford, a sports writer since 1977, covers the University of Notre Dame football team and the men's/women's basketball squads for the South Bend Tribune. Here he takes the reader behind the scenes, focusing on what it takes to be a winner. There are the ups and downs, the injuries and setbacks, the emotions and academic studies, plus a coach who changed her style to enable the team to succeed. All of this was tempered by the players' resolve to be the best they could be. This work is a testimony to dedication, perseverance, and teamwork. A good story that includes the White House congratulatory speech and year-by-year statistics. Recommended where demand warrants. Larry R. Little, Penticton P.L., BC
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is an inspiring tale about the Notre Dame women's basketball team...This work is a testimony to dedication, perserverance, and teamwork. A good story... (Library Journal )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing (November 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888698470
• ISBN-13: 978-1888698473
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A MUST for women's b-ball fans!, November 16, 2002

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nice Girls Finish First: The Remarkable Story of Notre Dame's Rise to the Top of Women's College Basketball (Paperback)

We're just beginning to see books about women's basketball, and this is one that should not be missed. Nice Girls Finish First is the story Notre Dame's championship year.
As the title hints, Notre Dame attracts athletes who are all-around people. Everybody goes to class and many athletes take a full, demanding schedule. One athlete chooses Notre Dame because "it's even better on the inside" than its shiny image on the outside.

The team consists of hardworking over-achiever. Like most basketball players, many girls came from difficult homes and overcame obstacles to get to college, let alone play on a championship team.

So here is the story of how a college team that has always been in the background can step up to the championships. It's a story of each player and a coach with a thoroughly modern marriage who wants to gain a bigger place for her team -- and respect for women's basketball everywhere.

The book delivers basketball suspense -- but heart-warming scenes too. The team returns to South Bend after the championship game -- and the whole school is waiting to greet them in the middle of the night. And after winning a game, there's Ruth Riley, talking quietly with her mother in an empty gym. After watching a semi final on television, a male crowd from the sports bar decides to drive all night to see the finals.

I wish this book were more widely distributed. Women's basketball fans are ready! When will the movers and shakers of the book world catch on?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great story lost in poor writing, January 5, 2005

By 

Beth (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nice Girls Finish First: The Remarkable Story of Notre Dame's Rise to the Top of Women's College Basketball (Paperback)

The book is illogically split up, causing confusion, repetition, and destroying any suspense. The writing is often, at best, cheesy.

Most frustrating of all is the presence editing errors on almost every page, including obvious misspellings, such as the "Big Eat" Conference, "Stoors, Connecticut," and "Diana Taurisi."

This story is about the 2001 Final Four Champions; however, the writing would have been knocked out of the first round of the NIT.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God, Country and Notre Dame, what a great story!, January 28, 2003

By 

Go Irish! (Granger, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nice Girls Finish First: The Remarkable Story of Notre Dame's Rise to the Top of Women's College Basketball (Paperback)

Cheer Cheer for old Notre Dame!

The tag line is, "You can't handle the Ruth"!

This is a very uplifting book that will keep you turning the pages and leaving you with a wonderful feeling as you do.

It's a great story that everyone should read. It's a story of true student athletes that live in non- athletic dormitories and must attend class.

Notre Dames 2nd trip to the Final Four under Coach McGraw, the first trip was in 1997 with 7 healthy players. With a healthy team for this trip, she vows that the results would be different!

Mark and Muffet did a great job of giving us a real feeling of being there for that wonderful ride to the top. This is a story about a team that comes together for one unbelievable run to the title. A point guard who is granted a 5th year, an academic All-American at center whose talent is only surpassed by her brains on and off the court , and maybe the best 3 point shooter of all time whose talent is accentuated by this team, and the daughter of a NFL linebacker who has tremendous strength and quickness. It is a story of a true team where everyone understands that team goals come first. Finally a Coach who has the vision to see this teams strengths and puts together an offense and defense to make them almost unstoppable.

Coach McGraw maximized her teams strength with the precision of a surgeon making the right adjustments at every turn and keeping this juggernaut going. What comes across in that she has a wonderful and caring relationship with her players and truly cares for them as if she was their mother.

The story on Ratay, the best 3 point shooter in America, getting ready for the UCONN game at Notre Dame is priceless.

The story finishes with Ruth Riley hitting 2 free throws to win the game as Purdues final shot falls short. It was just like Hoosiers when Ollie needed to hit 2 free throws to win the game for Hickory. Only three weeks earlier Riley missed one free throw against UCONN in the Big East Championship and vowed that it would never happen again.

Niele Ivey in her career at Notre Dame suffered through two knee surgeries and could not understand why her basketball career had seemingly gone so far of course. In Gods plan Niele was granted a fifth year of eligibility which allowed her to play for the National Championship in her town of ST. Louis, there is always a plan.

Imani Dumbar was all set to attend a small college when a very late call came from Notre Dame. If only she know what the future would hold for her. She was the ultimate team player.

I liked the story of Murphy, Muffets son going home with his dad after they arrived back with the team from St. Louis and having his dad stop the car on the way home to be sure that Grace Hall had the #1 lit up to celebrate the National Champs.

As Purdue final shot falls short, and the buzzer sounds chaos takes over and Nice girls finish first. Relive the final buzzer and Father Malloy hugging the winning Coach, this book tells a great story. When you finish reading this book you will feel the urge to sing "CHEER CHEER FOR OLD NOTRE DAME"!