The Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team pulled off a historic victory Monday night, defeating Tennessee, 73-59, to advance to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final four.
Notre Dame (30-7) had been 0-20 in previous meetings with the Lady Volunteers. Notre Dame, the second seed in the Dayton Region, advances to the Final Four in Indianapolis where they will take on the winner of tomorrow’s game between Connecticut and Duke.Tennessee, the top seed in the Dayton Region, finishes the season 34-3. The Lady Vols had a 25-game winning streak snapped with the loss.
The Irish got 24 points from Skylar Diggins, 17 from Natalie Novosel and 13 from Becca Bruszewski. Skekinna Stricklin and Taber Spani each scored 13 points for Tennesee. Glory Johnson added 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Tennessee star point guard Meighan Simmons scored just two points on one-for-11 shooting. Simmons, a freshman, got into early foul trouble and wound up with more turnovers (four) than points.