N.C.A.A. Tournament - Loss Drives the Irish to Keep On Winning RALEIGH, N.C. - A replay of last year's N.C.A.A. women's tournament championship game was on television Monday morning as Notre Dame's players waited in their hotel rooms to leave for practice. But not everyone wanted to revisit that night. "I haven't watched it once," the Fighting Irish senior Brittany Mallory said of the game, a 76-70 loss to Texas A&M. "My parents recorded every game. I watched every one up until the championship. I didn't want to watch it. I think it hurt too much. Pain can be a great motivator, though. The score of that game has been posted inside Notre Dame's locker room all season along with the words "Unfinished Business." And that is what this year's run in the N.C.A.A. tournament has been about for the top-seeded Fighting Irish. They are one step from returning to the Final Four. Notre Dame (33-3) will face No. 2 Maryland (31-4) in Tuesday night's Raleigh Region final. The winner will advance to Denver. "When we lost the last game last year, I think the whole summer workout for them was about getting back and kind of had that little bit of motivation, a little extra motivation to try to get back to that," Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw said. It has been a singular mission. Even opponents have sensed it. "Obviously, I think they're playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder like we have all year just because they want to get back and win a national title after they fell short last year," said St. Bonaventure guard Jessica Jenkins, the Bonnies" leading scorer, who had no points against Notre Dame in a 79-35 loss Sunday. I think you can kind of see that intensity. The Fighting Irish thought they might get a chance in the regional final to avenge last year's loss, but Texas A&M lost to Maryland on Sunday. The Notre Dame players said that perhaps it was just as well that they would face Maryland instead. "We're not going to get back that game from last year," Mallory said. So I guess it's a little good we're getting our mind off of that. Maryland's frontcourt should also take Notre Dame's mind off Texas A&M. The Terrapins feature the 6-foot-2 Alyssa Thomas, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, along with the 6-foot-4 center Alicia DeVaughn and the 6-3 power forward Tianna Hawkins. Coming off the bench is Lynetta Kizer, who is 6 feet 4 inches. Yet Maryland's leading rebounder against Texas A&M was guard Laurin Mincy. Not surprisingly, Maryland ranks second in Division I in rebounding margin, with 13.8 more a game than its opponents. Notre Dame, which plays four guards, cannot counter that size. "It will be difficult for us to match up, and that is one of our main challenges heading into the game," McGraw said. In our coaches meeting, that is the one thing we are trying to figure out. Maryland Coach Brenda Frese has to figure out how to counter Notre Dame's experience in big games. The Terrapins have not been to a regional final since 2009, and they have not played in the Final Four since winning the national title in 2006. "They're not going to be rattled," Frese said of the Irish. They've been in these positions. They've played great teams in the Big East in their league play. And the experience that they've had, our young club hasn't been through. Nor do they have to turn on the television and see their most agonizing moment replayed. But not all of the Fighting Irish players turned off the TV when the game came on Monday. Point guard Skylar Diggins said, "I'm not afraid of that film anymore."