Unfortunately for Notre Dame, much of the Irish's narrative this season has been summed up by three awful letters: A-C-L. Coach Muffet McGraw's basketball team has been hit so hard by knee injuries -- four players are sitting out with them -- that you half-expect a knee brace to be added to the Fighting Irish's leprechaun logo.
But what they did Thursday in a table-turner for the ages against Tennessee -- from down 23 to winning 84-70 -- wasn't just the "fight" part of the Irish in a never-give-up sense. They fought to establish what has become a staple of McGraw's program: a smart, efficient, dependable offense. That's how they came all the way back from potential blowout loss to a double-digit victory in South Bend, Indiana.
A week after the Irish endured a 100-67 drubbing at the hands of Louisville -- in which the Cardinals did to Notre Dame what the Irish typically do to many foes -- there was a sense that maybe it was just too much to ask a team so affected by injuries to be able to respond to a big challenge from a fellow top-10 foe.
Not because there's a lack of belief in Notre Dame. But because at some point, there's only so many gut punches a team can take. And Lili Thompson's ACL injury, suffered Dec. 31, was quite a blow. Thompson was eligible for one season in South Bend after playing at Stanford. She was a very important stopgap between eight consecutive years of point-guard excellence -- Skylar Diggins to Lindsay Allen -- and the next-generation Irish point guard.
When Notre Dame lost Thompson, in addition to All-American forward Brianna Turner, forward Mikayla Vaughn and guard Mychal Johnson, it just seemed like overkill by fate. Where was the so-called luck of the Irish this season?
Running into Louisville on a night when the Cardinals looked like they wanted to scrimmage a WNBA team could have really torpedoed the Irish's confidence. McGraw wasn't going to let that happen. Notre Dame came back from that Jan. 11 rout to punish Boston College 89-60 on Sunday.
The Irish dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 in the Associated Press rankings this week, while Louisville moved to the second spot behind UConn. Tennessee visited Notre Dame on Thursday ranked No. 6 after an overtime loss at Texas A&M and a victory at South Carolina last week.
The Lady Vols had let a big lead almost slip away against the A'ja Wilson-less Gamecocks, but Tennessee steadied itself in the closing minutes and handed South Carolina an 86-70 loss Sunday.
Tennessee seemed to pick up where it left off with a very strong first half against the Irish, leading 27-10 after the first quarter and 39-27 at halftime. But in the second half, Notre Dame's commitment to running its offense complemented the Irish defense's ability to make things harder for Tennessee. And the Lady Vols seemed to panic.
While all the credit in the world goes to the Irish for having the moxie to pull off the biggest comeback in their program's history, this is a stinging loss for the Lady Vols. Tennessee's biggest issue the past few years has been consistency -- the ability to play to a certain level over the course of many games, instead of an up-and-down ride that can be thrilling sometimes and incredibly frustrating others.
The progress that Tennessee seemed to make with that against South Carolina evaporated in the fourth quarter against the Irish. Notre Dame outscored Tennessee 34-10 in the final 10 minutes, as the Lady Vols looked rushed and lacked cohesion.
To be fair, this was Tennessee's third consecutive road game against a ranked team. And this is a Tennessee squad that has put a lot on the shoulders of freshmen. But there are two seniors in Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared who have been on this roller coaster a long, long time.
Russell, one of the top centers in the country, took only seven shots all night, and none in the meltdown fourth quarter. She was one of five Tennessee players to finish in double-figure scoring, led by Meme Jackson with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Nared and freshman Evina Westbrook were a combined 10-of-26 from the floor for 26 points. They also combined for 12 of the Lady Vols' 28 turnovers.
Now, Tennessee tries to figure out how Thursday's game went so wrong, and has to get ready to face undefeated Mississippi State on Sunday in Knoxville. Meanwhile, the Irish, who host Clemson on Sunday, can and should celebrate one of their signature victories.
That's because Thursday's win was about everything McGraw instills in her players. Keep your head up. Don't feel sorry for yourself. Remember what we do here. Continue to plug away. Believe in the system.
Granted, it's easier to accomplish all that with spectacular guard play from the likes of Arike Ogunbowale (27 points), Marina Mabrey (20) and Jackie Young (18). But Notre Dame doesn't just recruit these types of guards -- it helps make them great. This was not just a team, but a program victory. It symbolized what Notre Dame has come to stand for in the women's game. Keep fighting? The Irish always do.