Notre Dame Wins a Taut Game and Returns to the Final - New York Times

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Notre Dame Wins a Taut Game and Returns to the Final - New York Times Apr 2nd 2012, 01:09 Eric Gay/Associated Press Notre Dame guard Natalie Novosel shot against Connecticut during overtime of an N.C.A.A. women's Final Four game in Denver on Sunday. DENVER — Eight times they have played in the past two seasons, a Big East women's rivalry so familiar that Connecticut and Notre Dame can finish each other's plays, the way a husband and wife finish each other's sentences. Kelly Faris and the rest of the UConn Huskies faced tough defense from the likes of Notre Dame's Kayla McBride, left, and Devereaux Peters. Strategy had less effect on Sunday night's N.C.A.A. tournament semifinal than the celluloid basics right out of "Hoosiers": hustle, defense, rebounding, free-throw shooting. Desperation played its part, too, as did the necessary selfishness of individual brilliance that elevated both teams' aspirations. The game was too close to be resolved in regulation. Finally, Notre Dame prevailed in overtime, 83-75, advancing to the national championship game Tuesday against Baylor. The Irish finished as runners-up to Texas A&M last year. Notre Dame (35-3) will relish the small moments that made the difference Sunday, and UConn (33-5) will regret those same moments as the game slipped away. In a wild finish to regulation, UConn's Kelly Faris had 2 steals and 6 points as the Huskies recovered from a 65-59 deficit to take a 67-65 lead. But Faris missed a layup after her second steal and had to settle for two free throws instead of a basket and a free throw. Notre Dame did not succumb. A reverse layup by Natalie Novosel (20 points) with 4.6 seconds left forced overtime at 67-67. In the extra period, Notre Dame's Brittany Mallory hit a 3-pointer to give the Irish a 73-70 lead. Skylar Diggins (19 points) followed with a 3-pointer, then was stripped of the ball, only to hustle downcourt and block a shot. "My teammates kept saying they're going to fall," said Mallory, who did not hit a 3-pointer during regulation. "I took a deep breath and I was thinking, 'It's going in, it's going in.' " Another 3-pointer by Mallory followed to put the Irish ahead, 76-72. With 55 seconds left, Mallory dived on the floor and stole the ball from Faris. A free throw by Mallory made it 77-72, and UConn had no response. Notre Dame shot only 29 for 72 from the field, but made it to the free-throw line 27 times; the Irish hit 20 shots, doubling UConn's 10 for 13. Notre Dame passed the ball crisply and forced the Huskies into 21 turnovers with a disruptive press. Forward Devereaux Peters had 17 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. There was no end to decisive moments. With 17 minutes 19 seconds left in regulation, Notre Dame guard Kayla McBride missed a shot beneath the basket, outhustled UConn center Stefanie Dolson to the rebound and lured Dolson into her fourth foul. A year ago, McBride missed the N.C.A.A. tournament to work out personal problems. Now she helped send UConn's most effective player — Dolson contributed 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks — to the bench for more than seven minutes. The victory gave Notre Dame a 4-4 split with UConn over the past two seasons. But the Fighting Irish have won the most important games, in the national semifinals Sunday and in 2011. Notre Dame also prevailed in 2001 in the national semifinals against the Huskies on the way to a national championship. Until recently, Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw said, this was less a rivalry for the Irish than "an exercise in futility." UConn had the upper hand and had seven national championship banners hanging in its arena, to one for Notre Dame. Last season, the Irish lost three times to UConn, then prevailed at the Final Four. A kind of awakening occurred. Confidence swelled. UConn was no longer the superior team. "A lot of people get lost in the history of the program and the jersey, and that can intimidate you," said Diggins, Notre Dame's point guard. The threat of Notre Dame became apparent in the elevated rhetoric of UConn Coach Geno Auriemma. Last October, he blamed Notre Dame's refusal to join the conference in football for the musical-chairs realignment of the Big East. He later took a dig at the Irish women's basketball team for running up the score in a 120-44 victory over Pittsburgh. UConn also accused the former Notre Dame player Becca Bruszewski of taunting the Huskies after the 2011 national semifinal matchup in Indianapolis. Bruszewski denied making inflammatory remarks. And McGraw did not let Auriemma's gibes unnerve her. Like Auriemma, she is from the Philadelphia area. They have known each other for more than 30 years. Both know that sarcasm and brashness are common in the Philadelphia coaching fraternity, and should be ignored as harmless verbal sparring. "He likes to get in people's heads, and I don't," McGraw said. "I don't look for reasons to get involved in that. And we continue to have a pretty good relationship." One that has turned in Notre Dame's favor in the biggest games. A version of this article appeared in print on April 2, 2012, on page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: Notre Dame Wins a Taut Game and Returns to the Final. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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