The Fighting Irish, led by thirty-first year head coach Muffet McGraw, played their home games at Edmund P. Joyce Center as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

They defeated Virginia and Florida State before losing to Louisville in the ACC Women's Tournament championship.

After upsetting then-unbeaten Connecticut 91–89 in overtime in the Final Four, Notre Dame played Mississippi State in the national championship.

The Irish became the first team in NCAA Women's Basketball history to trail by double digits in both the semifinal and National Championship games and come back to win.

Brianna Turner, an All-American forward in 2016–17, was injured in the 2017 NCAA tournament; senior guard Mychal Johnson was lost in a preseason practice, freshman center Mikayla Vaughn only played 6 games; and starting senior point guard Lili Thompson was lost on New Year's Eve.