Diggins, Irish begin quest for 2012 title game

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins sat at her locker, shaking her leg in disgust.

She was frustrated, angry and already pondering how to correct her mistakes when she gets back on the court.

All Diggins really wants after Tuesday night’s 76-70 loss to Texas A&M in the championship game is a second chance to get it right.

“We’ll be upset and you’ll see the disappointment in our faces, but it all starts again tomorrow,” Diggins said in a defiant tone. “It will help me become a better leader for next year.”

Diggins doesn’t have a choice if she’s going to have the coronation she really craves.

She’s determined to work out the kinks in her game and get teammates such as Devereaux Peters more involved to reach Denver for next year’s Final Four. And even though Diggins fell short of her biggest goal this season, she emerged as the next shooting star in women’s basketball.

Diggins scored 24 points in the victory over Tennessee last week, 28 in the win over Connecticut on Sunday and 23 in Tuesday night’s loss against one of the nation’s toughest defenses.

Along the way Notre Dame (31-8) became the first team to beat Tennessee and Connecticut in the same tourney, reached its first title game in a decade and re-established itself as a team to be reckoned with in the rugged Big East.

“She’s extremely hard on herself, and she will spend the summer, I’m sure, thinking about this game,” coach Muffet McGraw said. “That’s probably a good thing for us. That’s probably how we got motivated last year.”

Count Diggins in.

Minutes after McGraw uttered those words on the riser, an angry Diggins walked into the locker room and acknowledged Notre Dame’s quest for a national championship begins Wednesday.

Diggins will dictate what happens.

When she played like her usual self Tuesday night, the Irish were in control. She connected on 7 of 19 from the field, 8 of 9 from the free-throw line and came up with four steals.

But when she played like a sophomore, well, Notre Dame struggled, especially late.

Diggins couldn’t prevent Tyra White from knocking down a shot-clock beating 3-pointer with 1:07 to go _ the play McGraw described as a knife through her heart and in the final minute, A&M forced Diggins into several miscues.

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