1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team

The 1996–97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Irish, led by tenth-year head coach Muffet McGraw, played their home games at Edmund P. Joyce Center as members of the Big East Conference. The Irish finished the season 31–7, 17–1 in Big East play to earn second-place in the regular season standings. They defeated Rutgers and Georgetown before losing to UConn in the Big East Women's Tournament championship. Notre Dame received an at-large bid as the No. 6 seed in the East (Columbia) region. They defeated Memphis and Texas to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they defeated Alabama and George Washington to advance to the first Final Four in program history. The Irish were beaten by Tennessee, the eventual National champion, 80–66.

Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Regular season

!colspan=9 style=| Big East tournament

!colspan=9 style=| NCAA women's tournament

Source