Notre Dame comes up short, losing 80-61 to Baylor

DENVER (AP) — Notre Dame's trio of senior starters shrunk in the shadow of Brittney Griner.

The Irish lost the national championship for the second straight season Tuesday night, beaten by Baylor and its superstar center 80-61.

A year ago, Notre Dame (35-4) let a late lead slip away in a 76-70 loss to Texas A&M in the title game, so they used the mantra “unfinished business” all season.

But the seniors who transformed Notre Dame's program and shook up the Big East during their careers in South Bend went out with a whimper.

Devereaux Peters was in foul trouble all night, leading scorer Natalie Novosel missed all 11 of her shots and Brittany Mallory injured her left shoulder after scoring just 3 points.

Griner had 26 points and 13 rebounds.

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