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Today marked the second time the NCAA title
game has been played on Easter Sunday. Ironically, the only
other time was April 1, 2001, Notre Dame’s first NCAA
Championship.
Tonight’s matchup marked the 37th NCAA Women’s
Basketball Championship contest. Notre Dame becomes the seventh
women’s basketball program to win multiple NCAA Championships.
Tonight’s game marked Notre Dame’s sixth NCAA Title game
appearance, which ties Louisiana Tech for the third most.
The Irish are 2-4 all-time in the NCAA Final.
Sunday’s contest marked the first meeting between Notre Dame and
Mississippi State. Today’s victory gives Coach McGraw win No.
800 at Notre Dame and No. 888 overall.To earn the 2018 NCAA
National Title, Coach McGraw defeated the three other Naismith
Coach of the Year Finalists in Coach Graves of Oregon, Coach
Auriemma of UConn and now Coach Schaefer of Mississippi State.
Irish are 7-1 when trailing at the half this
season. Notre Dame trailed at the midway point in the final four
games of the NCAA Tournament. The Irish were down 13 points
(30-17) to Mississippi State. The 15-point comeback was the most
in an NCAA title game and tied for the second most in the Final
Four.The 13-point comeback ties the second largest of the season
and marked the second time they came back down 13 points in the
NCAA Tournament, previously doing so against Texas A&M in the
Sweet 16.
[by Phil Bertoni]
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