Women’s Final Four: Notre Dame Knocks Out UConn Again

TAMPA, Fla. — Notre Dame did it again. The Irish defeated Connecticut, the longtime powerhouse of women’s basketball, 81-76, on Friday in the N.C.A.A. Final Four to advance to their second straight national title game.

A victory over Baylor in the final on Sunday would give Notre Dame its third national championship, and the Irish would become the fourth women’s college basketball team to repeat.

[This is a developing story. A comprehensive article will be published soon.]

With a record 11 championships, UConn has made a habit of repeating. The Huskies won four straight titles from 2013 to 2016, but they have lost in the semifinals three years in a row — falling to the Irish in the last two.

The Huskies, however, won by 18 points in a regular-season December matchup at Notre Dame. UConn leads the overall series, 37-13; Notre Dame has the edge at the Final Four, 5-3. This was the fifth time since 2001 that Notre Dame had defeated the Huskies in the semifinals.