(OSV News) — Since NCAA Division I women’s basketball first instituted a postseason tournament to determine a national champion in 1982, the University of Notre Dame has been the only Catholic school to finish on top.

In fact, the Fighting Irish have been the only Catholic school to even reach the final. Along with championships in 2001 and 2018, Notre Dame finished runner-up in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2019.

If a Catholic school ultimately lassos this year’s national title, it would be either Notre Dame or Creighton. Neither program snared their respective conference crowns, with Notre Dame losing to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals, and Creighton falling to UConn in the Big East championship.

On paper, Notre Dame appears to have the better chance of surviving the six-game journey that ends April 8 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. With a 26-5 record and a three-seed, the eighth-ranked Irish play at home — where they’re 14-1 — against 14-seed Stephen F. Austin on March 21. A win there would provide Notre Dame with another opportunity to play in front of their fans in the following round on March 23.

Earlier this season, Notre Dame climbed atop the national rankings and had defeated eventual NCAA tournament number-one seeds USC and Texas as well as two-seeds UConn and Duke. Following a 19-game winning streak, however, the Irish struggled down the stretch, with three losses in their last five encounters despite averaging a gaudy 84.7 points per game.

A Catholic education has proven to be paramount for a Notre Dame program making its 30th trip to the NCAA tourney. Five players, including three starters, enjoyed headliner careers at Catholic high schools.

The roots of graduate student Liatu King (Bishop McNamara in Forestville, Maryland), junior KK Bransford (Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati), junior Bella Tehrani (St. Jean de Brebeuf in Hamilton, Ontario), senior Sonia Citron (The Ursuline School in Eastchester, New York), and star sophomore Hannah Hidalgo (Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey) emulate Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey.

After graduating from Cor Jesu Academy in Affton, Missouri, Ivey became one of Notre Dame’s best-ever players, highlighted by scoring 12 points in the come-from-behind, 66-64 victory over Purdue in the 2001 national championship. After joining legendary coach Muffet McGraw (Philadelphia-based Bishop Shanahan High School and St. Joseph’s University) as an associate coach, Ivey celebrated the 2018 national title.

“It’s a blessing,” said Ivey. “I’m so grateful to be a part of this program and to lead this program. I love this university so much. It has done so much for me. This is the way that I get a chance to give back by being a mentor and a coach.

“I’m always so grateful for all the support,” she added. “We have so many Irish fans that are rallying behind us.”

For Notre Dame to outlast a brutally tough field, players like the aforementioned trio of first-team All-American Hidalgo (per game averages of 24.2 points, fourth best in the country; 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.7 steals), Citron (13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game), and King (11.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game), along with second-team All-American senior Olivia Miles (16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game) need to immediately recover their prowess prior to recent struggles.

As for Creighton, the 23rd-ranked Bluejays bring a 26-6 record and a nine-seed versus eight-seed Illinois on March 22 in Austin, Texas. Behind a pair of 2,000-plus career scorers and perennial Big East standouts — seniors Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly — the Bluejays aim to at least imitate the program’s best season that ended in 2022 with a loss to eventual champion South Carolina in the Elite Eight.

Included in the main mix, graduate student Molly Mogensen has contributed 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game.

Earlier this season, Maly was asked to describe being a teammate with Jensen and the anomaly of two players on the same squad joining the ranks of the top three all-time Creighton scorers.

“It’s been so great to play alongside her for four years,” said Maly. “It’s a blessing to be here.”

At most Creighton games, Maly and Jensen can’t get too far without adoring young fans seeking autographs and photos.

“I grew up looking up to basketball players,” said Jensen. “To be able to be that for the next generation and inspire them means everything. It goes beyond basketball. It’s greater than the game.”

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John Knebels writes for OSV News from Philadelphia.