1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball
1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 15
Record	31–7 (17–1 Big East)
Head coach	Muffet McGraw (10th season);
Assistant coach	Kevin McGuff (1st season)
Home arena	Edmund P. Joyce Center
	Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Big East Conference women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Connecticut †	18	–	0	1.000	33	–	1	.971
No. 15 Notre Dame	17	–	1	.944	31	–	7	.816
Boston College	13	–	5	.722	16	–	12	.571
West Virginia	11	–	6	.647	19	–	12	.613
Georgetown	9	–	9	.500	17	–	11	.607
Miami (FL)	8	–	10	.444	15	–	14	.517
Villanova	8	–	10	.444	14	–	14	.500
Providence	8	–	10	.444	13	–	14	.481
Rutgers	8	–	10	.444	11	–	17	.393
Seton Hall	7	–	11	.389	10	–	17	.370
Syracuse	4	–	14	.222	6	–	21	.222
Pittsburgh	3	–	15	.167	8	–	22	.267
St. John's	3	–	15	.167	5	–	22	.185


† 1997 Big East Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish, led by tenth-year head coach Muffet McGraw, played their home games at Edmund P. Joyce Center as members of the Big East Conference. The Irish finished the season 31–7, 17–1 in Big East play to earn second-place in the regular season standings. They defeated Rutgers and Georgetown before losing to UConn in the Big East Women's Tournament championship. Notre Dame received an at-large bid as the No. 6 seed in the East (Columbia) region. They defeated Memphis and Texas to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they defeated Alabama and George Washington to advance to the first Final Four in program history. The Irish were beaten by Tennessee, the eventual National champion, 80–66.^[1]

Roster[edit]

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F/C	12	Katryna Gaither	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	Sr
G	21	Beth Morgan	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Bloomington South	Bloomington, IN
G	33	Niele Ivey	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr	Cor Jesu Academy	St. Louis, MO

Head coach

Muffet McGraw (Saint Joseph's)

Assistant coach(es)

Kevin McGuff

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results[edit]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 17, 1996*	No. 20	vs. No. 6 Iowa	W 61–50	2–0
Nov 19, 1996*	No. 20	vs. No. 3 Tennessee	L 59–72	2–1
Nov 21, 1996*	No. 20	vs. No. 8 NC State	W 64–53	3–1
Feb 9, 1997	No. 15	at No. 1 Connecticut	L 49–72	20–5 (12–1)	Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
Feb 25, 1997	No. 14	at West Virginia	W 80–67	25–5 (17–1)	WVU Coliseum Morgantown, West Virginia
Big East tournament
Mar 1, 1997*	(2) No. 14	vs. (7) Rutgers Quarterfinals	W 86–58	26–5	Gambel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
Mar 3, 1997*	(2) No. 13	vs. Georgetown Semifinals	W 83–43	27–5	Gambel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
Mar 4, 1997*	(2) No. 13	at (1) No. 1 Connecticut Championship game	L 68–77	27–6	Gambel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut
NCAA women's tournament
Mar 14, 1997*	(6 E) No. 15	vs. (11 E) Memphis First round	W 93–62	28–6	Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas
Mar 16, 1997*	(6 E) No. 15	vs. (3 E) No. 14 Texas Second round	W 86–83	29–6	Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas
Mar 22, 1997*	(6 E) No. 15	vs. (2 E) No. 8 Alabama Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 87–71	30–6	Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina
Mar 24, 1997*	(6 E) No. 15	vs. (5 E) No. 22 George Washington Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 62–52^[2]	31–6	Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina
Mar 28, 1997*	(6 E) No. 15	vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Tennessee National Semifinal – Final Four	L 66–80^[1]	31–7	Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern.

Source^[3]

Rankings[edit]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Tennessee Ends Notre Dame's Cinderella Story". The Washington Post. March 29, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
^ "Sixth-Seeded Irish Will Represent the East". The New York Times. March 25, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
^ "1996–97 Women's Basketball Schedule". Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

[finalfour-1] "Tennessee Ends Notre Dame's Cinderella Story". The Washington Post. March 29, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

[2] "Sixth-Seeded Irish Will Represent the East". The New York Times. March 25, 1997. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

[3] "1996–97 Women's Basketball Schedule". Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball
Venues	Joyce Center (1977–present)
Rivalries	UConn
Culture & lore	Notre Dame Leprechaun Bird at the Buzzer
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearance in italics