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Notre Dame, Louisville Triumph To Round Off Final Four

Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel (23) shoots in front of Tennessee center Isabelle Harrison (20) in the second half of the regional final in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
Sue Ogrocki
/
AP
Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel (23) shoots in front of Tennessee center Isabelle Harrison (20) in the second half of the regional final in the NCAA women's college basketball tournament in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

And then there were four: Notre Dame rallied to beat Duke 87-76, while giant-killing Louisville beat No. 2 seed Tennessee to earn a trip to the Final Four.

It's the Fighting Irish's third consecutive trip to the Final Four of the women's NCAA Division 1 Basketball championship. They'll play Connecticut in New Orleans on Sunday. The Associated Press reports on Tuesday night's game:

"Skylar Diggins shook off early foul trouble to score 24 points and Notre Dame rallied to beat Duke 87-76 on Tuesday night to earn its third consecutive trip to the Final Four.

"Kayla McBride added 17 points while Jewell Loyd and Natalie Achonwa had 17 each as the Fighting Irish (35-1) won their school-record 30th consecutive game, earning a fourth meeting with Connecticut. Notre Dame has won the first three this season and beaten UConn in the past two Final Fours."

Sunday's women's semifinal game between the rivals will follow Louisville's matchup against California, the Spokane regional champion. On Tuesday night, the Cardinals headed off a challenge from Tennessee. Again, the AP:

"Two nights after taking down Brittney Griner and defending national champion Baylor, the fifth-seeded Cardinals (28-8) built a 20-point lead and then withstood a second-half comeback by the powerhouse Lady Vols (27-8) before celebrating another big victory.

"When it was over, the Cardinals huddled at center court and celebrated. Tennessee headed home with a third straight loss in the regional finals, failing to make the Final Four for a fifth straight year.

"Taber Spani led the Lady Vols with 20 points, and Meighan Simmons and Kamiko Williams chipped in 12 apiece.

"Louisville's win puts both of the school's basketball teams in the Final Four."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.
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