It’s gameday for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish — but obviously it’s not just any gameday. This one is for the National Championship, and the Irish will be playing the #1 ranked Baylor Bears for the opportunity to win their second title in a row.

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Much was made this week about Notre Dame Head Coach Muffet McGraw’s comments about gender equality and women empowerment. It was absolutely the right time and the right platform for McGraw to make that inspiring speech. I also, however, agree with the UConn Huskies Geno Auriemma (pass the puke bucket). Geno stated that he was sick and tired of the media making women’s basketball out to be anything other than basketball — and he’s right.

We are just a few hours away from watching the national championship between the two best teams in the country — our focus should be just that. The level of talent on the floor, the quality of coaching on the sideline, and the stakes are all on such a high level that discussing much else feels like a disservice to everyone involved.

SO LET’S GET AT IT!

Did you know that Notre Dame is sitting at 999 all-time program wins right now? They will hit that 1000th win with a victory over Baylor tonight along with that back-to-back championship. How amazing is that? Of those 999 wins, Muffet McGraw (future statue on Notre Dame’s campus) has 835 of them.

The starting five for Notre Dame is one of the best in women’s basketball history. Arike Ogunbowale, Marina Mabrey, Brianna Turner, Jessica Shepard, and Jackie Young have accounted for 10,151 points in their career together. That ranks #1 all-time in college basketball (men’s and women’s).

This will be the last time we get to see all of these seniors out on the court with Muffet. It’s getting a little emotional in this office right now, so I’ll just say this...

LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

It’s ride or die time, and I like the riders we have.

WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW TO WATCH

WHERE: Tampa BAY, FL. @ Amalie Arena (20,900)
WHEN: Sunday, April 7 @ 6:00 PM EST
HOW TO WATCH: ESPN (Adam Amin, Kara Lawson, Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe)

GAME THREAD

The game thread is open below. I know many of us are on Twitter for most of the game, but I encourage you to vent and do other things that require more than 280 characters here.