SOUTH BEND – The Notre Dame women’s basketball team will be without one of their aces for the Final Four.

Make that without their “Ace.”

Senior star Natalie Achonwa, who is nicknamed Ace, is out for the remainder of the season. An MRI on Tuesday revealed that the 6-3 forward suffered an ACL tear in her left knee. Achonwa sustained the injury Monday night with 4:51 to play during No. 2 Notre Dame’s 88-69 win over No. 5 Baylor in the Notre Dame Regional final in South Bend. She will have to undergo surgery at a later date.

Achonwa, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds Monday night to help the Irish earn a fourth straight spot in the Final Four, was hurt on a hard foul by Chardonae Fuqua as she drove to the basket. The senior tri-captain was averaging 14.9 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game this season. She also was shooting 61 percent from the field and had posted eight double doubles.

Achonwa, who earlier on Tuesday earned third-team All-American honors from the Associated Press, was stellar in the four NCAA Tournament wins  by the No. 2 and undefeated Irish. She averaged 20.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in the four victories and shot 71 percent from the field.

Achonwa, who earned all-regional honors, is 12th in program history with 1,546 career points. She also ranks in the top 10 all-time in rebounds, field goal percentage, games played and double doubles.

Notre Dame (36-0) will face the winner of tonight’s regional final between No. 4 Louisville (33-4) and No. 11 Maryland (27-6) on Sunday night in a semifinal contest in Nashville. No. 1 and unbeaten UConn (38-0) will play either Stanford (32-3) or North Carolina (27-9) in the other semifinal.

The women’s national championship game is April 8.