Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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March 4 (96-87), and then on March 12 got a steal by senior guard Skylar Diggins that led to a fast-break layup by junior center Natalie Achonwa with 1.8 seconds left for a 61-59 triumph to capture the Big East Championship in Hartford, Conn. Yet in the end, all that ultimately mattered was the April 7 result. It was akin to a student getting straight A's the entire semester in a class on nearly 40 tests and pop quizzes … but then being told that his below-average performance on the final exam would entail most of his final grade. Fourth Time The Curse National Freshman of the Year Jewell Loyd averaged 16.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in five NCAA Tournament games. photo by joe raymond than them, and we were." For the second time in three years, the women's college basketball national champion was 1-3 against a specific opponent. Two years ago, Texas A&M was 0-3 versus Baylor before vanquishing the Bears in the NCAA Tournament and defeating Notre Dame 76-70 in the title game. This year, Notre Dame won in Storrs, Conn., on Jan. 5 (73-72), made a couple of dramatic comebacks during a triple-overtime thriller at home on With defending national champion and No. 1 Baylor stunned in the Sweet 16 by Louisville, the Notre DameConnecticut semifinal matchup was considered the de facto national title contest. The Cardinals had a one-in-a-thousand "given day" shooting night against the Brittney Griner-led Bears while drilling 16 of 25 from three-point range, but they were obliterated by Connecticut 93‑60 in the championship game. Notre Dame had also thumped Louisville by scores of 93-64 and 83-59 during the season — making it 5-1 against the national title game contestants. Connecticut won its eighth national title since 1995, tying it with Tennessee for the most since the first women's NCAA Tournament in 1982. Against Notre Dame on April 7, it appeared that another down-to-thewire classic was in the works during