2011–12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

Intercollegiate basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Women's basketball 2011–12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo.svg Big East Conference Big East 2 4 35–4 15–1 Muffet McGraw 25th Carol Owens Beth Cunningham Niele Ivey Edmund P. Joyce Center Big East regular season champions NCAA tournament Runner-Up The 2011–12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented University of Notre Dame during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish, led by twenty-fifth year head coach Muffet McGraw, played their home games at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center and were 1st year members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season with 35–4 overall, 15–1 in Big East play to win the Big East regular season title. They earned an at-large bid to the 2012 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament where they defeated Liberty in the first round, California in the second round, St. Bonaventure in the Sweet Sixteen, and Maryland in the Elite Eight to make it to their fourth Final Four, where they defeated UConn. In the championship game they lost to Baylor, 80–61. The Lady Bears became the first team to finish a season 40–0. Roster w 2011 Notre Dame Fighting Irish y y w Whitney Holloway n 3 G 5 4 Fr Montini Catholic Plainfield, IL w Skylar Diggins y 4 G 5 9 Jr Washington South Bend, IN w Madison Cable n 5 G 5 11 Fr Mt. Lebanon Mt. Lebanon, PA w Natalie Achonwa y 11 F 6 3 So St. Mary's Catholic Guelph, ON w Fraderic Miller n 12 G 5 10 Sr Marist School Atlanta, GA w Devereaux Peters y 14 F 6 2 5th Fenwick Chicago, IL w Kaila Turner n 15 G 5 8 Jr Marian Catholic Joliet, IL w Natalie Novosel y 21 G 5 11 Sr Lexington Catholic Lexington, KY w Kayla McBride y 23 G 5 11 So Villa Maria Academy Erie, PA w Brittany Mallory n 32 D 5 10 5th McDonogh School Baltimore, MD w Markisha Wright n 34 F 6 2 Fr Des Moines East Des Moines, IA w Ariel Braker n 44 F 6 1 So Grosse Pointe North Grosse Pointe Woods, MI Muffet McGraw Carol Owens Beth Cunningham Niele Ivey https://fightingirish.com/sports/wbball/roster/season/2011-12/ Schedule yes 2011-12 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings 2011 yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish| Exhibition Nov 11, 2011 yes 2 2011 women Akron Zips Akron 81–61 1–0 Nov 13, 2011 yes 2 2011 women Indiana State Sycamores Indiana State 99–34 2–0 Nov 17, 2011 yes 2 Hartford 98–43 3–0 Nov 20, 2011 CBS Sports yes yes 2 Baylor 1 Ferrell Center Waco, Texas 81–94 9,477 3–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish| Regular season Feb 27, 2012 yes 3 Connecticut 4 XL Center Hartford, Connecticut 72–59 28–2 15–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Big East tournament Mar 4, 2012 yes yes 4 2011 women DePaul Blue Demons DePaul XL Center Hartford, Connecticut Quarterfinals 69–54 29–2 Mar 5, 2012 yes yes 4 2011 women West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia XL Center Hartford, Connecticut Semifinals 73–45 30–2 Mar 6, 2012 yes yes 4 Connecticut 3 XL Center Hartford, Connecticut Championship game 54–63 30–3 |- !colspan=9 style=Notre Dame Fighting Irish | NCAA tournament Mar 18, 2012 yes 4 2011 women Liberty Flames Liberty Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana First round 74–43 31–3 Mar 20, 2012 yes 4 2011 women California Golden Bears California Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana Second round 73–62 32–3 Mar 25, 2012 yes yes 4 2011 women St. Bonaventure Bonnies St. Bonaventure 21 RBC Center Raleigh, North Carolina Regional Semifinal Sweet Sixteen 79–35 33–3 Mar 27, 2012 yes yes 4 2011 women Maryland Terrapins Maryland 5 RBC Center Raleigh, North Carolina Regional Final Elite Eight 80–49 34–3 Apr 1, 2012 yes yes 4 Connecticut 3 The Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado National semifinal Final Four 83–75 OT 35–3 Apr 3, 2012 yes yes 4 Baylor 1 The Pepsi Center Denver, Colorado National Championship 61–80 35–4 AP Poll Eastern Time Source2011-12 Women's Basketball Schedule https://fightingirish.com/sports/wbball/schedule/season/2011-12/ Notre Dame Athletics March 9, 2024 Rankings 2011–12 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings See also 2011–12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team References Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball seasons Notre Dame Category:NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish Notre Dame Fighting Irish