Kayla McBride was named to an All-America team for the second time this season Friday. AP PHOTO

Villa Maria graduate Kayla McBride and the Notre Dame women’s basketball team will meet archrival Connecticut in the Final Four tonight.

The Fighting Irish (35-1) will go for their third straight appearance in the NCAA championship game and will attempt to beat UConn (33-4) for the fourth consecutive time this season. Today’s game is scheduled to tip off at 8:30 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN.

The winner will advance to Tuesday night’s title game against the winner of tonight’s first game between Louisville (28-8) and California (32-3), which is set for a 6:30 start.

McBride, a 5-foot 11-inch junior guard, has been one a roll lately after playing three of her best games against UConn. McBride joined teammate Skylar Diggins on the 10-player Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America Team Friday. Earlier, she was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press.

Read previous McBride posts on the On Campus blog.

Check out Notre Dame’s preview video:

Also, take a look at the Fighting Irish at the Final Four:

Kayla McBride

Like most of her Notre Dame teammates, Kayla McBride struggled during the first half of Tuesday’s NCAA Tournament Elite Eight women’s basketball game against Duke.

However, after trailing by six points at halftime, McBride and the No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish recovered to pull away for an 87-76 win in Norfolk, Va., as Notre Dame claimed its 30th consecutive win and earned a third straight trip to the Final Four. No. 5 Duke closed at 33-4.

McBride, a Villa Maria graduate, made 3-for-4 shots in the second half — all 3-pointers — and scored 11 second-half points on her way to 18 for the game. She also dished out seven assists. She had made only three of her first 13 field-goal attempts during the game.

ND senior Skylar Diggans scored 24 points and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Norfolk Regional. McBride, who was named a third-team All-American Tuesday, also made the regional’s all-tournament team.

Notre Dame (35-1) will face archrival Connecticut Sunday night in the Final Four. The Irish have swept three games from UConn this season and have beaten the Huskies in the past two Final Four matchups. Notre Dame has been the national runner-up two consecutive years.

Here’s the postgame press conference, including McBride:

Kayla McBride

Villa Maria graduate Kayla McBride got some good news before the Notre Dame women’s basketball team’s NCAA Tournament game tonight against Duke.

McBride was named a third-team All-American by the Associated Press today.

It’s the latest honor for the 5-foot 11-inch junior, who earlier was named to the Big East Conference first team and the WBCA All-Region I team. She claimed Most Valuable Player in the Big East Tournament and made the watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award.

McBride is averaging 15.9 points per game this season. She is also averaging 21 points per game in three NCAA Tournament games.

In addition, Notre Dame senior Skylar Diggins was named All-America first team today, and junior forward Natalie Achonwa was named honorable mention.

The Fighting Irish (34-1) will take on Duke (33-2) in an Elite Eight game today at 7 p.m. in Norfolk, Va. The game will be televised by ESPN. Notre Dame finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the country, while Duke was No. 5.

Check out Notre Dame’s pregame video:

Kayla McBride

Villa Maria graduate Kayla McBride is making a habit of playing her best basketball against one of the nation’s premier programs.

McBride scored a game-high 23 points Tuesday night while helping Notre Dame to a 61-59 victory over rival Connecticut in the Big East tournament championship game. McBride was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament as Notre Dame won its first Big East tournament title.

The 5-foot 11-inch junior guard made an array of shots on jumpers and drives to help the No. 2 Fighting Irish improve to 31-1.

In three games against UConn this season, McBride has average 23.3 points per game. She scored a then-career-high 21 points in their first matchup and a poured in a career-high 26 recently when Notre Dame clinched an unbeaten Big East regular season with a win over the Huskies.

During Tuesday night’s ESPN telecast, both an announcer and Irish point guard Skylar Diggins suggested that McBride deserves to be selected as an All-American.

McBride and Notre Dame will now focus on the NCAA Tournament. The Irish are certain to be a No. 1 seed.

Check out some highlights from Tuesday.

Kayla McBride

Villa Maria graduate and Notre Dame basketball player Kayla McBride was named to the all-Big East Conference first team today.

McBride, a 5-foot 11-inch junior guard, was one of 12 first-team honorees and one of three Notre Dame players to make the team. She was joined by senior guard Skylar Diggins and junior forward Natalie Achonwa.

McBride ranks second on the team with an average of 15.3 points per game. She is coming off a career-high 26 points in Notre Dame’s 96-87 triple-overtime victory over UConn, which completed the Fighting Irish’s 16-0 season in the Big East.

She has been named to the Watch Lists for both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award.

Kayla McBride

Kayla McBride continues to turn in some of her best performances during the biggest games.

The Villa Maria graduate scored a career-high 26 points and hit a huge 3-point shot at the end of the first overtime Monday night to help the Notre Dame women’s basketball team clinch the Big East Conference regular-season title with a 96-87 win over visiting Connecticut in triple overtime. Read a game story from the Associated Press.

She made a 3-point field goal in the final seconds of the first overtime to tie the game and send it to a second overtime. McBride fouled out during the second OT.

McBride, a 5-foot 11-inch junior guard, scored a then-career-high 21 points in the Fighting Irish’s first victory over UConn this season.

She also scored 25 points in a comeback win over nationally ranked Syracuse on Feb. 26. McBride scored her 1,000th career point in that game.

Check out video from the game, including McBride’s big shot at the 4:39 mark of the video.

Villa Maria graduate and basketball star Kayla McBride has been named to the early season Naismith watch list announced by the Atlanta Tip Off club. The list is based off last year’s performance and expectations for this season. The Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year will be handed out April 8 in New Orleans. The list will be narrowed to 30 in late February and reduced to the final four in March.

McBride, a starter for nationally-ranked Notre Dame, had 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists in the Fighting Irish’s season-opening 57-51 win over Ohio State. She appeared in every Notre Dame game as a sophomore, starting 36 of the 39 games, and was 13th in the Big East with a .496 field goal percentage. McBride was 27th in the conference with 11.6 points per game and was also the top free throw shooter in the Big East last year with a .919 shoot percentage.

Click here for the complete Naismith list.

–Tom Reisenweber