I feel like that would be the capper to seperate ND to truly elite
The best shot of the five final fours before this season to win it all was probably the 2011 final. The final game vs Texas A&M still stings because ND should have won that one.
We didn't match up well vs Baylor in the 2012 final. UConn knocked ND out in the semis in 2013, after ND had beaten UConn in the three prior meetings that season.
In 2014, ND was 37 - 0 heading into the final game but without Natalie Achonwa, who tore her ACL near the end of elite 8 game vs Baylor. If Ace had been able to play, we would have had a much better chance vs UConn -- not a guarantee, but we would have had a chance.
In the 2015 final, a 36 and 2, ND team squared off against UConn in a defensive battle -- with UConn winning 63 to 53. ND trailed by 8 at the half and could never close the gap in the second half. Jewell Loyd was held to just 12 points on 4 for 18 shooting in her last game at ND. Taya Reimer was 3 for 11 and had 6 turnovers. She did grab 11 rebounds. Lindsay Allen was only 3 for 12 from the field with 5 turnovers to go with 7 assists. Brianna Turner, just a freshman, was ND's best player that night -- 7 for 9 from the field for 14 points and 10 rebounds.
UConn won the game from beyond the arc -- the Huskies hit 8 of 23 threes, while ND only managed 3 for 11. ND had one more two point field goal and went 8 for 8 from the line, while UConn was just 5 for 7.
For the game, ND out rebounded UConn 45 to 34. Breanna Stewart only scored 8 points, but corralled 15 rebounds. UConn shot 41% from the field, ND only managed 33.3%. UConn's 10 steals led to 17 total ND turnovers. UConn only turned the ball over 12 times.
Looking ahead, we should have a great shot for the third title next season -- but nothing is guaranteed and nothing is easy.
What the WBB program has done since 2001 is incredible. As for this year, with all of the obstacles that they had to overcome, I'm still think that I'm going to wake up and find that it was all a dream!
Longest streaks of Final Four appearances:
1. UConn (11) 2008-present
2. UConn (5) 2000-04
LSU (5) 2004-08
Stanford (5) 2008-12
ND (5) 2011-15
6. La Tech (4) 1987-90
Tennessee (4)1995-98
Tennessee (4) 2002-05
BTW, only 3 other teams (Duke, UGA, Maryland) have more than 3 appearances (Duke has 4, UGA and Maryland have 5). LSU's streak consists of all of their appearances.
For the "only 2 missed years out of a span" stretch, UT had a 6 out of 8 year span from 1984-1991 (only missed 1986 and 1990) and 9 out of 11 from 1995-2005 (Only missed 1999 and 2001). La Tech had 7 out of 9 years from 1982-1990 (Only missed 1985 and 1986).
One more thing: Of the teams with more than 5 Final Four appearances, only UConn, ND, and Stanford had have an appearance in the last 10 years. La Tech's last Final Four was in 1999 and Tennessee's was in 2008.
..I learned quite a bit.
-- ND is 3 and 3 against UConn in recent Final Fours, with all three wins in the semi's. That will lead to bracket watching in the future!
-- Mulkey's Baylor teamss with Griner and Sims only got to the final 4 once?
Wow...given the singular nature of Griner and Sim's ability, would've expect more.
Wallace's injury hurt them against OSU when it called for upperclassman leadership and none of the younger guards could give it.
Still, Kim's got to feel the pressure to maximize her twin towers while she has them. A'quira DaCosta will help them athletically, but let's see if any of young guards can guide the ship. Maybe Kim will toughen up the out-of-conference schedule this year.
-- As good as Karen Alston has been recruiting at Texas, I still expect Mulkey to be the primary rep of that conference to the Final Four (if at all).
-- Dawn maximized South Carolina's run, but was helped beyond belief by A'ja Wilson. No A'ja, no title. Will have to see if any one of the good forwards she has left steps up.
He was only talking about recently. ND also beat UConn in the Semis in 2001.
I started my write up with the 2011 Final Four since that's when ND returned after a ten year absence. So, it missed the 2010 Final Four when Baylor made it with Brittany Griner as a freshman. Odyssey Sims joined the team a year later -- but Baylor only made the one trip to the finals when Griner was a junior and Sims a sophomore. They were upset by Louisville the following year.
I remember the infamous "mug until they charge you" game plan that Jeff Walz put together.
It was pretty amazing because Griner/Sims looked awfully strong together.
Still worth noting how Baylor, despite massive talent input, comes up a day late and dollar short in the tourney in recent years. And I believe next year is the last for the twin-tower approach.
Stay tuned..
I had also noticed that your starting point excluded one Baylor FF. Saw Louisville (Elite 8) and TAMU (Sweet 16) beat Baylor. It seems both these schools could have come floe to our performance.
when ND matched Stanford, USC, La Tech & Baylor with the two NC's. Your argument that we have been second only to UConn in the last 8 years certainly is strong. The spreadsheet on the "NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Tournament" Wikepedia page really shows how dominant we are in recent years. It took a while for the contributers to get it accurate after the 2018 season. Still my favorite on this page was Muffet matching Tara of Stanford, Linda Sharp of SC, and especially Kim.
Multiple NCAA championship coaches
Coach School Championships
Geno Auriemma Connecticut 11
Pat Summitt Tennessee 8
Muffet McGraw Notre Dame 2
Kim Mulkey Baylor
Linda Sharp USC
Tara VanDerveer Stanford
I can't wait until she stands alone with at least three NCAA championships behind only Geno and Pat. Let's keep it up for another 8 years and even do better than UConn. We can at least dream.