Louisville women lose to Notre Dame in BEast semis

"We're close. We're fortunate to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament," he said. "We're close to being able to make a significant run and put things together."

Walz knows for that to happen he'll need to find a third consistent scorer to compliment Shoni Schimmel and Sara Hammond.

The two combined for the first 20 points for the No. 16 Cardinals in the loss. Schimmel finished with 20 and Hammond had 12.

Now Walz needs Antonita Slaughter to step up. She had three points against the Irish and missed all six of her shots, including a 3-pointer at the start of the second half that would have made it a three-point game.

"If that goes in it's a three-point game," he said. "We have some momentum in our favor. She couldn't make it then they started scoring some in transition. They did a really nice job in scoring when they needed to."

Kayla McBride scored 17 points and Skylar Diggins added 14 for Notre Dame, which is back in the Big East title game for the third straight season.

"It would mean a lot for our program," Diggins said. "The first ever would be great. The year we're hoping it would be wonderful to get one for coach (Muffet) McGraw. It's the one thing we're missing besides a national championship."

Notre Dame has now reached the title game seven times since joining the conference in 1995, but the Irish have lost the previous six to perennial Big East powerhouse Connecticut.

"We wanted to play in South Bend," McGraw said laughing. "For us we're going in with the same mindset that we did with both the games this year. It's tough to beat a team three times in a year. It's going to be another battle and war. Regardless of the outcome it will get us ready for the NCAA tournament win or lose."

The top-seeded Irish extended a school record with their 25th straight victory. Only top-ranked Baylor, which handed Notre Dame its only loss this season, has a longer active winning streak.