Apr 2, 2013; Norfolk, VA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish players celebrate after their game against the Duke Blue Devils in the 2013 NCAA womens basketball tournament at Ted Constant Convocation Center. The Fighting Irish won 87-76. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Muffet McGraw’s Irish defeated the Duke Blue Devils with a 56-39 2nd half to advance to the Final Four for the 3rd year in a row.

After being limited in the first half because of foul trouble, Skylar Diggins scored 24 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Diggins was named Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Notre Dame star Kayla McBride added 18 points and 7 assists as well. Loyd and Achonwa each added 17 points. Achonwa had 13 rebounds.

The Blue Devils were lead by Tricia Liston who scored 19 points and collected 6 rebounds.

Notre Dame will face Connecticut for the fourth time the season. The Irish won each of the three previous meetings. In the first game, the Irish defeated the Huskies in Storrs by the score of 73-72. The season finale saw a 3 OT thriller in which Notre Dame defeated the Irish 96-87. In the third match-up, the Irish beat Huskies to win its first Big East Tournament. Skylar Diggins made a steal and found Natalie Achonwa with 1.8 seconds to give the Irish the lead. It is almost guaranteed that Notre Dame-Connecticut Part IV will go down to the wire.

The game will air at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN on Sunday. Louisville and California will join the Irish and Huskies in New Orleans for the Final Four. They will play the early game at 6:30 p.m.

Notre Dame has never made it to the finals of this particular tournament, and never looked in control of this game. Louisville was ready to play, and their press defense really shook Notre Dame up.

Mar 9, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Peyton Siva (3) goes up between Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Jack Cooley (45) and guard Eric Atkins (0) to score during the second half of the semifinals at the Big East Tournament held at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

Guard Peyton Siva had 13 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists in what was a classic game for the junior guard. He has 11 steals so far in the tournament, and that has helped his team stay motivated in the defensive side.

“Coach P told us before we got in the Big East, just forget about the regular season, that we’re starting a new season now,” Siva said. “Everybody really bought into that. Everybody really bought into defense on this team, and everybody was really feeding off that.” -ESPN.com

For Notre Dame, they were ice cold last night. Jack Coley could not seem to buy a basket, along with the whole team. Notre Dame went 2-17 from the 3- point range, and 19-53 overall from the field. If they shoot like that in the Big Dance (which I don’t think they will), then they will be out in the early rounds.

Here’s the box score from the game.

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Mar 8, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard/forward Pat Connaughton (24) shoots the game winning free throw during overtime in third round at the Big East Tournament against the USF Bulls at Madison Square Garden. Notre Dame won 57-53 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

The Irish hope to continue their remarkable run in the Big East as they face the Louisville Cardinals tonight at 9 eastern time in Madison Square Garden.  Notre Dame Guards, Eric Atkins and Jerian Grant, will have to contain Peyton Siva tonight if the Irish want to advance to the Big East Championship Game.  Siva is coming off an 18 point, 8 rebound, and 6 assist performance against Marquette.  The Irish are coming off a squeaker against South Florida as they won in overtime 57-53.  Notre Dame will have to keep shooting well from beyond the arc if they want to beat Louisville.  Look for the Irish to slow down the tempo of the game in order to keep the transition points by the Cardinals to a minimum.

The two keys to the game for Louisville will be if they can score off turnovers and whether or not they can slow down Jack Cooley (scored 18 points in last meeting).  On the other side of the court the Irish will have to slow down Peyton Siva, but they will also have to limit Kyle Kuric’s three point attempts to a minimum.  Expect another jaw dropper in the Garden do not be surprised if this game goes into overtime as it did earlier in the season when Louisville was defeated by the Irish at home in overtime.  The game will be televised at 9 eastern on ESPN after the Connecticut Cincinnati Game.  Follow us on Twitter @Slap The Sign and on Facebook  at Slap The Sign.