Baylor vs. Notre Dame: Fighting Irish Should Follow Stanford's Blueprint

You can always learn from a loss. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish should have learned something from Stanford's defeat at the hands of Baylor on Sunday.

In short, Stanford actually played Baylor the right way, despite the final outcome, and paved a blueprint for Notre Dame to follow in Tuesday's national championship game.

Stanford flustered Baylor early on Sunday, collapsing on Brittney Griner while making the rest of the Lady Bears beat them. Through one half of play, everyone not named Brittney Griner had combined to shoot 34 percent for Baylor. The result? Heavily-favored Baylor went into halftime with a mere two-point lead.

For the game, Griner—women's college basketball's version of Anthony Davis—only scored 13 points on 3-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds and two blocks. The Cardinal did something no one was supposed to do: they contained Griner. And although Baylor ended up winning, the Lady Bears shot only 36 percent from the field and went 2-of-8 from downtown. Take note, Notre Dame.

Now, the Fighting Irish don't have a player like Nneka Ogwumike in the interior, who posted 22 points and nine rebounds against Baylor. The last time Notre Dame faced Baylor was in November, and Griner racked up 32 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in that game while going 14-of-18 from the field.

But it's also worth noting that Notre Dame, known for its shooting, went 3-of-18 from beyond the arc in that game. And while the Fighting Irish had 17 turnovers, Baylor did, too.

Notre Dame isn't going to out-muscle Griner, but if the guards can swarm around her and play pesky defense, perhaps they can force some turnovers and get out on the break. That's the best strategy going into the national championship game. And if you leave some of Baylor's players open on the perimeter, so be it. At this point, allowing a wide-open three-point shot is better than Griner taking over.

Stanford may have lost on Sunday, but the Cardinal gave Notre Dame a present: a blueprint for success against the undefeated Lady Bears.

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