Perfect ending for Brittney Griner, Baylor in NCAA women's final DENVER - Notre Dame and Baylor used the same prod to propel themselves through the season. Their meeting Tuesday night for the NCAA women's basketball championship at the Pepsi Center was a crusade, each intent on righting past wrongs - Notre Dame's loss in last year's title game, Baylor's elimination in last season's Elite Eight. It was Texas A&M, the defending national champion, that had left them both in a bad mood. So each program embraced slogans dealing with settling unfinished business. But there could be just one comeback celebrated in a mile-high shower of confetti. And the first piece eventually dropped on the head of the game's tallest figure, Baylor's 6-foot-8 center Brittney Griner. It was Griner, a presence as well as the punctuation mark, who blocked the light at the end of Notre Dame's tunnel. Led by Griner's 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks, and coaxed by an energized coach, Kim Mulkey, now fighting Bell's Palsy, Baylor defeated Notre Dame, 80-61, to win its second national championship. "I'm just so happy," Mulkey said. You know that old saying, you're so happy you can cry? I can't stop crying. Baylor completed the first 40-0 season in the history of the sport, men or women. The Bears are the seventh undefeated champion, joining Texas (1986), Tennessee (1998) and four UConn teams (1995, 2002, 2009 and 2010). Odyssey Sims had 19 points and seven rebounds for Baylor. Griner was selected the tournament's most outstanding player. Consider it finished business. "It meant everything to us to get this championship for Coach," said Griner, who blocked 31 shots in six NCAA games. She felt [because of her illness] that she wasn't there for us. But we told her we could hear [her voice] loud and clear. The Irish (35-4), the Big East's regular-season champions, were led by junior guard Skylar Diggins, who had 20 points. But no one in green could rebound with the Bears. Notre Dame lost that battle badly, 46-27. And that was crushing to the Irish, now 0-3 in national championship games since 2001. The Irish lost to Baylor by 13 points in Waco, Texas, on Nov. 20, perhaps the worst game they played this season. It was a performance fraught by bad shooting and a critical rebounding deficit fueled by the Baylor posts, Griner and Destiny Williams, who combined for 47 points (32 from Griner) and 27 rebounds. Also, Griner had five of her 201 regular-season blocks. The Irish hoped their experience, accentuated by the grit of fifth-year players Devereaux Peters and Brittany Mallory, would help make up the difference. And Notre Dame was poised, committing just seven turnovers. But it wasn't enough. The Irish, who led 9-8 with 16:03 to play in the first half, fought back from a 14-point first-half deficit with 6:53 to play. They trailed 34-28 at halftime and were within three, 42-39, with 15:27 to play, relying primarily on guile. "We were chasing, always chasing," Diggins said. We spent a lot of energy chasing. But there simply wasn't anything they could do to compensate for what nature gave Griner - and Griner gave Baylor. Things began to go bad early for the Irish. Peters picked up her second foul just 2:38 into the game. In came sophomore Natalie Achonwa and freshman Markisha Wright, who did not even play in Sunday's semifinal against Connecticut. Peters would play only 15 minutes. "When we got into foul trouble, it destroyed our game plan," said teary-eyed Irish Coach Muffet McGraw. We really needed Devereaux. She was a big part of the plan. And in the second half, we were afraid to foul. . . . [Griner] shot it over us. There really wasn't anything we could do. Notre Dame's zone forced Baylor to work hard for its shots. Senior Natalie Novosel did her best to front Griner in the low post. But it was all too much, especially when the Irish made only four of 15 shots in the first 9:44 as the Bears opened their first 10-point lead, 20-10. Baylor was getting its points from everywhere. Griner, Sims and Williams each scored six of the first 20. Diggins picked up her second foul with 8:18 to play in the half, but by then the Bears were already in control. Their relentless rebounding compensated for their lack of outside shooting [they made one of eight three-point attempts in the first half] and the lead began to expand. After falling behind 29-15 with 6:53 to play in the half, the Irish cut it eight with deft passing, but then Peters picked up her third foul with 4:39 remaining and the momentum would follow her to the bench.