NASHVILLE — So much for “crashing the party.”
That was the counter-rhetoric from anyone wishing, hoping, praying for something, ANYTHING else but the expected scenario that played out at the Women’s Final Four.
After Notre Dame seared Maryland 87-61 behind the ruthless offensive feats of All-American Kayla McBride, Connecticut dismantled Stanford 75-56 with a blistering team defensive performance.
When the Fighting Irish and Huskies tip off on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena, it will be the first time two undefeated teams will meet for the NCAA championship.
UConn: 39-0.
Notre Dame: 37-0.
Their opponents have rarely come very close.
The obvious question was quick in coming regarding the historic significance of what’s to come.
“As the season went on, it always looked like it was inevitable,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “Like it was supposed to happen.
“Our sport probably doesn’t have as many signature moments. I don’t know that we have the kind of moments that happen last night at the men’s Final Four where you get a 7 and an 8 seed [UConn and Kentucky] playing for the national championship.
“So to have the spotlight on Tuesday on two teams knowing one of us is going to lose for the first time is pretty remarkable.”
If ESPN and others were quick to push the “Pursuit of Perfection” theme from the start of the tournament, then the hype was validated Sunday night.
There was little suspense after a while in either of the games, played before a near-capacity crowd of 17,548.
Notre Dame stretched a 23-21 lead to a 48-31 advantage at the break, as McBride scored 11 of her game-high 28 points over the final 7:56 of the period.
In the nightcap, UConn overcame sluggish first-half shooting to pull away from Stanford, and kept Cardinal All-American Chiney Ogwumike in check most of the night.
UConn and Notre Dame demonstrated on Sunday what their opponents always find out painfully, and what they do better than the rest — score from all five positions on the floor. 
And this:
“We’re the best 2 passing teams in the country,” Auriemma said. “That’s something a lot of teams can’t do. Pass the ball.”
The Huskies’ defense was especially ferocious, and they’ve always been able to get that when they’re not clicking offensively.
Indeed, it was a defensive-oriented move that opened up everything for UConn on both ends of the floor.
Reserve center Kiah Stokes played 22 minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing four rebounds. Her presence enabled national Player of the Year Breanna Stewart to float around more on the perimeter.
Stewart’s 18-point performance was far from her best, but defensively she could move away from defending Ogwumike, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the final game of her sterling career.
But when Ogwumike starting jacking threes (1-for-3) and Stanford made just six of 25 from behind the arc, UConn used its scoring balance to pull away. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, who was scoreless in the first half, lit up for 15 in the second half.
“When they went big, their size was really disruptive,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.
McBride’s fiery play is nothing new for Notre Dame, but against Maryland she was as cold-blooded as ever. The Irish were playing for the first time without center Natalie Achonwa, who tore an ACL against Baylor in the Elite 8.
But McBride did more than score. She pulled down seven boards, dished out two assists and willed Notre Dame out of an early lull. The Irish followed her lead.
“I think we’re very fearless, we have a certain toughness about us, and I think we’re ready for anything,” she said.
After four meetings last season — three wins by the Irish, followed by a Huskies victory in the Final Four — Uconn and Notre Dame will be meeting for the first — and only — time this season.
“Well, it’s better than meeting in the semifinal,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “That would be much better.”
Auriemma said Notre Dame is “far and away the best team I’ve seen thus far. It’s not even close.”
The most heated rivalry in the game could attract as big an audience for a championship game as it’s ever had.
So ESPN — and the NCAA, unofficially — has the desired matchup.
Will the sport get the showcase it needs to make a significant impression on the casual viewer?
“I hope it’s a great game,” VanDerveer said. “Maybe that will get the attention of some people.”
