Muffet Mcgraw

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team is going to the Final Four for the 3 rd time in program history.  WSBT’s Pete Byrne and head coach Muffet McGraw talk about the state of the team, and playing in the Final Four.

Ask any golfer if they could play one course in the whole world, which one would they choose?  Chances are, many would say Augusta National.  It's iconic. Exclusive. Immaculate.  For most golfers, it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Muffet McGraw got that opportunity this week. "It was so amazing.  It was like Christmas Day.  We couldn't wait to get up and open the present the next morning. "   That present, was a round of golf at Augusta National Golf Club.   Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband Matt took their first trip down Magnolia Lane this week.  They almost didn't make it down the famous drive.

Jonathan Tsipis is the new head women's basketball coach at George Washington University. Tsipis confirmed he's accepted the position to WSBT-TV Friday morning by text message.   The long time Notre Dame assistant was first said to be going to George Washington during the 2nd half of the NCAA women's basketball championship on Tuesday night, a move Tsipis was not able to confirm after the game. Tsipis has been on Muffet McGraw's staff since the 2003-04 season, during which time Notre Dame posted a 228-77 record, including back to back national championship game appearances.

NOTRE DAME - Beth Cunningham knows a thing or two about walking in Skylar Diggin's shoes.  The current Notre Dame assistant coach has been where Skylar Diggins now is.  She too, was once the best player in program history. On Sunday, as the Irish advanced to the Elite Eight, Diggins passed Cunningham as the all-time scoring leader at Notre Dame. "It couldn't happen to a better person", says Cunningham, now second on the Notre Dame all-time scoring list with 2,322 points.  "The neat thing fore me is:  I've had an opportunity to watch her from afar the last three years.  To be apart of the coaching staff and the program now, and to be able to coach her is special.

They've faced each other in battle for years. But when University of Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt recently revealed a devastating diagnosis, it impacted many people, including colleagues and competitors like Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw. Summitt, 59, was struggling mentally and physically and after her team's season she went to Mayo Clinic for a battery of tests. On Aug. 23 Summitt announced doctors diagnosed her with early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type.

HARTFORD, CONN. -  Notre Dame swept the BIG EAST as senior guard Skylar Diggins was named BIG EAST Player of the Year for the second-straight year. Guard Jewell Loyd was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and Muffet McGraw took home BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors. Diggins, who also was the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year for two-straight seasons, helped her team go undefeated in BIG EAST play for the first time in school history, en route to their 2nd consecutive BIG EAST regular season title.

Erica Solomon, a 6-2, junior forward who had been emerging as a force off the bench, has left the Notre Dame women's basketball team. "She has left the team for personal reasons," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said after Monday's practice at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. "She is not coming back. " Notre Dame (9-3) plays in Seattle on Wednesday and Thursday against Gonzaga and Loyola Marymount, respectively, in the State Farm Holiday Hoops Classic. Solomon was unavailable for comment, and Notre Dame officials did not know if she would be transferring to another program.

NOTRE DAME - While they struggled on the court in Denver, the Notre Dame women's basketball team still came home winners. "We love Notre Dame," said Lily Bennett, one of those who greeted the team when they arrived back at Notre Dame and showed her support with a poster. "We went to almost all of their games. " Fans were ready to celebrate a remarkable season, even though Skyler, Brittany, Devereaux, Kayla and Natalie were just one win short of a national championship.

NOTRE DAME -  After the greatest regular season in Notre Dame women's basketball history, the Irish were a lock to see their name on the top line of the bracket Monday night. But that didn't make it any less of a thrill when it happened. "It was definitely still fun to see," said junior forward Natalie Achonwa.  "Also, just seeing where we were going to play". Where was a bit more surprising.  Despite earning the #1 seed, Notre Dame will open up in Iowa City, where they could face off against 8/9 winner Iowa, in what would amount to a true road game in the 2nd round.

Ask any golfer if they could play one course in the whole world, which one would they choose?  Chances are, many would say Augusta National.  It's iconic. Exclusive. Immaculate.  For most golfers, it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Muffet McGraw got that opportunity this week. "It was so amazing.  It was like Christmas Day.  We couldn't wait to get up and open the present the next morning. "   That present, was a round of golf at Augusta National Golf Club.   Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and her husband Matt took their first trip down Magnolia Lane this week.  They almost didn't make it down the famous drive.

NOTRE DAME - Beth Cunningham knows a thing or two about walking in Skylar Diggin's shoes.  The current Notre Dame assistant coach has been where Skylar Diggins now is.  She too, was once the best player in program history. On Sunday, as the Irish advanced to the Elite Eight, Diggins passed Cunningham as the all-time scoring leader at Notre Dame. "It couldn't happen to a better person", says Cunningham, now second on the Notre Dame all-time scoring list with 2,322 points.  "The neat thing fore me is:  I've had an opportunity to watch her from afar the last three years.  To be apart of the coaching staff and the program now, and to be able to coach her is special.

IOWA CITY - Neither the home team, nor the home court advantage were any match for Notre Dame.  The top seeded Fighting Irish women beat 9-seed Iowa 74-57 Tuesday night, to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 4th year in a row. Kayla McBride scored a career high 28 points, including 24 in the first half, as the Irish led by double digits for most of the game.  "Kayla McBride was phenomenal in the first half against the zone", Muffet McGraw...

NOTRE DAME -  After the greatest regular season in Notre Dame women's basketball history, the Irish were a lock to see their name on the top line of the bracket Monday night. But that didn't make it any less of a thrill when it happened. "It was definitely still fun to see," said junior forward Natalie Achonwa.  "Also, just seeing where we were going to play". Where was a bit more surprising.  Despite earning the #1 seed, Notre Dame will open up in Iowa City, where they could face off against 8/9 winner Iowa, in what would amount to a true road game in the 2nd round.

Notre Dame women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw sits down with WSBT Sports Director Pete Byrne to talk about ND's 1st Big East Conference Tournament championship and the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

HARTFORD, CONN. -  Notre Dame swept the BIG EAST as senior guard Skylar Diggins was named BIG EAST Player of the Year for the second-straight year. Guard Jewell Loyd was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and Muffet McGraw took home BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors. Diggins, who also was the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year for two-straight seasons, helped her team go undefeated in BIG EAST play for the first time in school history, en route to their 2nd consecutive BIG EAST regular season title.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Skylar Diggins found another way to beat Connecticut - maybe the toughest way yet. The second-ranked Fighting Irish trailed by six in the first overtime Monday night, then five in the second overtime before finally beating the third-ranked Huskies 96-87 in three overtimes Monday night to win Big East regular-season title outright for the second straight year. "We were done in regulation and the first and second overtimes. We just clawing away and got them to miss some free throws," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- Oranges and reds streaked across the sky as the sun set over Charleston, S.C., and a brown pelican majestically flew a few yards behind the basket, a stunning backdrop to the second half of the college women's basketball game being played between Notre Dame and Ohio State on the deck of the USS Yorktown on Friday. Notre Dame and Ohio State tipped off the women's basketball season as the first women's teams to be part of the Carrier Classic, a Veterans Day weekend event that benefits the Wounded Warrior Project.

NOTRE DAME - Coming off back to back appearances in the national championship game, the Notre Dame women's basketball team unveiled a challenging schedule that will includes 13 opponents that appeared in last season's NCAA tournament. The schedule includes a home game against defending national champion Baylor, in a repeat of last year's national championship game.  The Irish will also face UConn twice, travel to Tennessee, and play a game on top of an aircraft carrier when they face Ohio State on the deck of the USS Yorktown.