Notre Dame Women Beat Duke to Return to Final Four Skylar Diggins and the Notre Dame women's team have a whole week to talk about playing Connecticut again. After a near-flawless performance in the second half lifted the Fighting Irish to an 87-76 victory over Duke on Tuesday night, earning them their third straight trip to the Final Four, Diggins and her teammates wanted to drink it in. "We're enjoying the moment right now," the senior said with teammates Natalie Achonwa and Kayla McBride seated beside her and nodding their approval. Coach Muffet McGraw wasn't biting, either. "Not tonight," she said with a smile when asked to look ahead to another game against the Huskies. The Irish had plenty to celebrate at Old Dominion's Constant Center. Diggins, the flashy left-hander named an All-American for the second year in a row earlier in the day, shook off early foul trouble to score 24 points and the Fighting Irish rallied and rolled past Duke. They shot 62 percent after halftime and finished the night with 25 assists on 29 baskets. "That is a pretty amazing number," McGraw said. The Irish have lost in the past two national championship games but will arrive in New Orleans with a coach hoping to see her flashy point guard cut down the nets, and with Diggins wanting it just as badly for her coach. Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, center, dances with her players as they celebrate an 87-76 win over Duke in the regional final of the NCAA women's college basketball tournament Tuesday, April 2, 2013, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photo/Jason Hirschfeld) Close "I want to win a championship for coach (Muffet) McGraw bad," said Diggins, one of just two seniors on the roster. And she clearly doesn't have to do it alone. Kayla McBride added 18 points, while Jewell Loyd and Natalie Achonwa had 17 each as the Fighting Irish (35-1) won their school-record 30th game in a row, earning a fourth meeting with the Huskies this season. It's also the third straight time the teams will meet in the national semifinals. Notre Dame swept UConn in all three meetings this season in thrilling fashion, winning in overtime and by margins of one and two points in the other two games. Trailing by six at the half and looking disjointed without Diggins on the court, Notre Dame got back to playing up-tempo, transitional basketball after the break and took control with a 15-2 run early in the second half. Diggins started the run with her fourth 3-pointer of the game and followed quickly with a no-look feed to Achonwa for a layup that drew an impressed roar from the crowd. Duke trailed by as many as 16 before closing the gap slightly in the desperate final minutes, and saw its season end in a regional final for the fourth straight year. The Blue Devils also hurt their cause with 21 turnovers that led to 23 points for Notre Dame.