1. Ruth Ellen Riley Hunter was born on August 28,1979 and is a retired American professional basketball player, playing most recently for the Atlanta Dream in the Women's National Basketball Association.
28 Facts About Ruth Riley
1. 2.
Ruth Riley has played on teams that won the National Women's Basketball League championship, the gold medal at the Olympic Games, and the 2010 EuroCup Championship.
3.
In 2019, Ruth Riley was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.
4.
Ruth Riley was born in Ransom, Kansas and grew up in Macy, Indiana.
5.
Ruth Riley has always been tall, measuring 25 inches at birth, and six feet by the time she was 12 years old.
6.
Ruth Riley averaged 26 points a game as a senior, and had her jersey number retired by the high school.
7.
Ruth Riley was a mainstay of the team in all four years, and consistently ranked high in the nation among women basketball players in field goal percentage and blocked shots.
8.
The only player in Notre Dame women's basketball history to score 2,000 career points and grab 1,000 career rebounds, Ruth Riley was a two-time first-team Academic All-American in both 2000 and '01.
9.
Ruth Riley graduated from Notre Dame in 2001 with a degree in psychology, having made the Dean's List every semester.
10.
Ruth Riley came off the bench for the first 12 games.
11.
Ruth Riley returned, playing with a splint on her hand, but lost her starting spot.
12.
In Ruth Riley's first season with the Shock, she was a key member of the team.
13.
Ruth Riley bettered each of her previous WNBA season totals in points, rebounds, blocked shots, and assists.
14.
Ruth Riley continued to play for the Shock in the 2004,2005, and 2006 seasons.
15.
On June 18,2013, Ruth Riley signed with Atlanta after a roster spot opened up when Sancho Lyttle was suspended following her departure to play six games for her national team.
16.
Ruth Riley played in the last four regular-season games, all of which the Chill won to finish tied for the regular-season championship.
17.
In January 2010, the Athinaikos club in the Greek league announced that Ruth Riley would join it for the remainder of its season.
18.
Ruth Riley was selected for the 2004 US Women's Olympic Team.
19.
Since its inception in December 2006, Ruth Riley has been a spokesperson of the UN Foundation's Nothing But Nets, a global campaign that saves lives through the strategic prevention of Malaria.
20.
Ruth Riley was introduce to Share Our Strength at the NBA All-Star Jam Session.
21.
Ruth Riley offered to help in any way she could and was asked to speak at their at the official launch.
22.
Ruth Riley wrote a children's book, The Spirit of Basketball, with co-author Paul Hickey and illustrator Christopher Hiller, that was published in 2005.
23.
On January 26,2005, Ruth Riley made her debut as a color commentator for a Notre Dame women's basketball game.
24.
In 2015, Ruth Riley was awarded the Moose Krause Distinguished Service Award by the Notre Dame Monogram Club.
25.
Ruth Riley is not related to Pat Riley, the president of the Heat.
26.
Ruth Riley has said that she is "six-foot-four and a half to be exact".
27.
In 2001, while playing for the Sol, Ruth Riley bought a home in South Beach, and returned to the area in the offseason even when playing for other organizations.
28.
Ruth Riley married Benjamin Hunter, another Notre Dame alum and varsity football player, on New Year's Day 2018.