DENVER -- Brittney Griner took the Baylor Lady Bears to new heights.

Blocking layups, snagging rebounds, hitting shots over two and three helpless defenders, all season long she towered over the competition.

That left Griner with just one more task Tuesday night -- cutting down the nets.

Griner had 26 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks to lead Baylor to a dominating 80-61 victory over Notre Dame in the NCAA women's basketball championship, capping an unparalleled 40-0 season for the Lady Bears.

"She'll go down as one of the greatest post players in the history of the game," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "I'm so glad she got that ring."

When the buzzer sounded, Griner finally celebrated, hamming it up as she helped take down the nets and dancing with Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III.

Then she lifted coach Mulkey up on her shoulders briefly, just the way she has done for the Lady Bears during this long season.

"It meant everything for us to get it for coach," said Griner, referring to Mulkey's struggle with Bell's palsy during the tournament. "She felt like she wasn't there for us, but we told her every second that we could hear here loud and clear, everything she was saying."

Baylor became the seventh women's team to run through a season unbeaten and the first in NCAA history to win 40 games. It was the second national championship for Baylor, which also won a title in 2005.

"Looking back when we get older, I'm always going to remember this moment, always going to remember confetti falling and being here with my team," Griner said.

Baylor did it in a nearly wire-to-wire victory, finishing with a flourish when anything less than bringing a title back to Waco would have been a huge disappointment.