Baylor vs. Notre Dame: Last Year's Bad Memories Won't Be Enough to Propel Irish

The Fighting Irish were here last year.

In the 2011 national championship game, Notre Dame faced Texas A&M and was ahead until about four minutes remained in the second half. That's when the Aggies took the lead and maintained their dominance en route to the title, leaving the Irish in the dust.

And though the scrappy Irish are determined to make sure this year's title game doesn't resemble last year's in any way, Baylor may be the one team they can't handle.

Baylor is the favorite in this year's NCAA women's championship game after getting to this point without a loss, much of which can be attributed to Brittney Griner. The best center in college basketball, she leads the team 23.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and presents huge matchup problems for opponents.

The last time these two teams met on November 20 in the WNIT championship game, Griner submitted a superb performance in Baylor's 94-81 victory, with 32 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. She went 14-of-18 from the field and had her 29th career double-double.

Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw is well aware of the devastating impact Griner can have on the game. She told SI.com's Richard Deitsch:

"

I think until you see her close up in a game, you really can't even appreciate how big she is. … We know what she's going to do, and we can look at that film and see the few things that did work. There weren't that many.

"

Baylor, en route to the championship game, has beaten its five opponents by an average of 21.2 points per game. Notre Dame, too, has had its share of lopsided victories—it beat Maryland 80-49 in the semifinals and beat St. Bonaventure 79-35 in the Sweet 16—but it is coming off a test in an 83-75 overtime victory over Connecticut.

That win was impressive, but Baylor is so dominant right now—and has been all season—that it's hard to believe the Bears are beatable by anyone. Just as Notre Dame knows what to expect from Griner and the Bears because of their matchup earlier this season, Baylor also knows what to expect, with an added perk: It knows exactly how to beat the Irish.

It's a different championship game a year later, but it's bound to have the same outcome for the Irish. Griner and the Bears are just too much to handle.