RALEIGH, N.C. — Skylar Diggins practically did it all for Notre Dame on Tuesday night, and it was more than enough against Maryland.
The Big East Player of the Year finished with 22 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds and 5 steals as the top-seeded Fighting Irish (34-3) earned their second consecutive Final Four berth by beating the second-seeded Terrapins 80-49 in the Raleigh Regional final.
Natalie Achonwa added 18 points while Kayla McBride had 16 and Natalie Novosel finished with 14 for Notre Dame, which had a 46-27 rebounding advantage against low post-oriented Maryland (31-5). A huge run late in the first half essentially ended this one at halftime and propelled them to their fourth Final Four trip and second in a row.
All four No. 1 seeds are headed to Denver - the first time that’s happened since 1989 - so once the Irish arrive in the Rockies, maybe they’ll find a close game there for a change. Only one of Notre Dame’s four tournament victories was closer than 31 points.
A loss in last year’s national championship game provided a season’s worth of focus and motivation for the Irish, who moved two victories away from the title that eluded them last year. A familiar foe awaits: Connecticut, which beat Notre Dame 63-54 earlier this month in the Big East Tournament title game. Notre Dame did beat the Huskies in both meetings in the regular season.
Alyssa Thomas scored 17 points and Tianna Hawkins and Alicia DeVaughn added 10 apiece for Maryland. After rallying from 18 points to beat reigning national champion Texas A&M two days earlier in the regional semifinal, theTerps finally slipped into a deficit they couldn’t overcome.
Notre Dame raced out to a 19-point lead in the first half, wasted little time after halftime pushing it into the 20s and Maryland simply couldn’t recover while being denied its fourth Final Four trip and first since its national title in 2006.
The location and scenario might have made for a disturbing parallel for Maryland’s seniors who were freshmen in 2009 when they won theAtlantic Coast Conference Tournament title and breezed to the Raleigh Regional semifinal, only to come up short against a determined Big East opponent. Back then, it was Louisville.
This time, the Irish broke things open midway through the first half, holding the Terps without a field goal for roughly 5 1/2 minutes during a 26-7 run that pushed their lead well past 10 points. Diggins scored seven points during the run while Achonwa had eight, including a layup off a pick-and-roll that put Notre Dame up 38-19 with 2:15 before the break.
That burst was marked by the strong guard play usually expected from Notre Dame - along with some work underneath, where the Irish made the hustle plays and got to nearly every loose ball and rebound. The rebounding margin was at its widest when the Irish were up 22-9.
Box score
MARYLAND (31-5) Mincy 1-6 0-0 2, Barrett 4-7 0-0 8, DeVaughn 4-6 2-4 10, Hawkins 5-10 0-0 10, Thomas 7-12 3-4 17, Austin 0-0 0-0 0, Moseley 0-1 0-0 0, Townsend 0-1 0-0 0, Kizer 1-9 0-0 2, Rodgers 0-4 0-0 0, Bays 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-56 5-8 49.
NOTRE DAME (34-3) Diggins 9-21 4-7 22, Peters 3-9 0-0 6, Novosel 5-9 3-4 14, Mallory 2-4 0-0 4, McBride 6-12 2-2 16, Holloway 0-0 0-0 0, Achonwa 7-10 4-4 18, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Turner 0-0 0-0 0, Wright 0-0 0-0 0, Braker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-65 13-17 80.
Halftime-Notre Dame 40-21. 3-Point Goals-Maryland 0-8 (Kizer 0-1, Mincy 0-1, Thomas 0-1, Barrett 0-2, Rodgers 0-3), Notre Dame 3-11 (McBride 2-3, Novosel 1-3, Mallory 0-2, Diggins 0-3). Fouled Out- None. Rebounds-Maryland 27 (Thomas 6), Notre Dame 46 (Diggins 10). Assists-Maryland 10 (Barrett 4), Notre Dame 21 (Diggins 11). Total Fouls-Maryland 12, Notre Dame 11. Attendance-2,621.
Sports, Pages 24 on 03/28/2012