April 1, 2012; Denver, CO, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Skylar Diggins (left) defends against Connecticut Huskies forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (23) during the second half in the semifinals of the 2012 NCAA women

The Women’s Basketball Team took care of business tonight in Denver as they squeaked out a close win against the Connecticut Huskies 83-75.   The Huskies took the lead with only eleven seconds left in regulation, but Notre Dame’s Natalie Novosel was able to score with only four seconds left on the clock!  It was a spectaular game, Brittany Mallory hit a couple huge three point shots to put the Irish ahead in the waning minutes of overtime.  Thiss was the first game of the tournament the Irish did not win by double-digits.  Skylar Diggins once again had a huge game with 20 points, but game honors has to go to Deveraux Peters who had a double double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.  The Irish were able to play great defense throughout the game, which lead to the Huskies turning the ball over twenty-one times.  Notre Dame was able to take control of the game in overtime after Connecticut made several mistakes including a turnover by Connecticut’s Kelly Faris.

The Irish will now wait to face the winner of the Stanford-Baylor game in the National Championship.  Either opponent will be a tough matchup for Coach Mcgraw and company, which ever team the Irish face they will have to rebound well.  The National Championship will be televised on ESPN on Tuesday, April 3rd at 8:30 p.m. eastern time. Follow us on Twitter @Slap The Sign and on Facebook (Slap The Sign).

Mar 27, 2012; Raleigh, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate after beating the Maryland Terrapins 80-49 in the finals of the Raleigh region in the 2012 NCAA women

After an amazing performance last night by Skylar Diggins  the Irish Women’s Basketball Team is heading to Denver, Colorado, for the Final Four!  Notre Dame thrashed the Maryland Terrapins by 31 points, lead by Skylar Diggins’ triple double recording 22 points, 10 rebounds,and 11 assists.  The Irish controlled the scoreboard from the eleven minute  mark in first half  all the way to the end of the game.  This comes as no surprise in this tournament since the Irish have won every game by double digits!  This team seems to be on a mission to return to championship game, but this time they plan on coming home with the trophy.  This will not be an easy task as they will have to face a Connecticut team who has been to the Final Four the past 5 years in a row.

Although the Irish have beaten the Huskies twice this year they did lose the last game they played in the Big East Championship Game.  Expect a fight to finish between these two rivals, whoever comes out on top will have to earn it.   Coach Auriemma and Coach McGraw have both been to this stage several times before so expect both teams to be ready for the big stage.  Tune in on Sunday, April 1st, at 6:30 eastern time on ESPN. Follow us @Slap The Sign on Twitter and on Facebook.