NCAA Women's Championship Game

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Apr 6, 2011

NCAA Women's Championship Game

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Texas A&M and Notre Dame tip off in the 30th Anniversary of the women's NCAA Championship. It was Texas A&M's first title game appearance and Notre Dame's first since winning the 2001 national championship.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Notre Dame's frontcourt players had no answer for Texas A&M's Danielle Adams (23), who scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. Said Notre Dame's Devereaux Peters: "We couldn't guard her."

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Adams fights for another bucket in the paint. She scored 22 of her 30 points in the second half, keeping Texas A&M afloat in the back-and-forth game. She also keyed the late surge that let her club pull away for the victory.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Guard Sydney Carter tallied five points, five boards and four assists for the Aggies. She was one of three A&M starters to play more than 38 (of 40) minutes Tuesday.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Head coach Gary Blair watches from the sideline. Blair, the Aggies' coach since 2003, spent 31 years on the sidelines for four different colleges before reaching -- and winning -- his first title game appearance Tuesday. Blair previously reached the Final Four in 1998 with Arkansas.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Adaora Elonu (21) blocks a shot attempt by Notre Dame's Natalie Novosel. Elonu's defense in Texas A&M's semifinal victory over Stanford was crucial to the Aggies' upset victory.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Adams dives for a loose ball. The All-America shed 40 pounds last summer and took her game to the next level. "I had a little voice in my head that said 'Don't let this team down,'" Adams said. "I just took the game over."

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Notre Dame star Skylar Diggins takes a contested shot attempt. Coming off a 28-point effort in the semifinal upset of Connecticut, Diggins scored 23 against Texas A&M. But the Aggies' pesky defense held her to just 7-for-19 shooting.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Skylar Collins (25), Kristi Bellock and Kelsey Assarian begin the celebration. After Texas A&M extended its lead to five, lockdown defense prevented the Irish from getting off a good look. Free throws down the stretch helped seal the win.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Tears of joy flowed for the Aggies, including clutch-shooting specialist Tyra White (20). After she made the game-winning layup against Stanford in the semifinals, White hit a three-pointer as the shot clock expired to give Texas A&M a 73-68 lead with 1:07 left.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Confetti falls as media member move toward the latest national champion. The second-seeded Aggies beat Baylor for the first time in four tries to reach the Final Four and downed Stanford in the final seconds on their unexpected run.

Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

Associate head coach Vic Schaefer (middle), nicknamed the "Secretary of Defense," has spent 14 seasons working under Blair, dating back to their time at Arkansas. Blair turned over control of his defense to Schaefer, and the unit was crucial to this year's championship run. In the tournament, the Aggies held opponents to 51 points per game.

NCAA Women's Championship Game