Ogunbowale does it again: Irish win it all
Arike Ogunbowale reacts after hitting a three-pointer with 0.1 of a second remaining in the fourth quarter to give Notre Dame a 61-58 victory over Mississippi State in the championship game of the NCAA Tournament. Ogunbowale also hit the game-winning shot in Notre Dame’s semifinal upset of previously unbeaten UConn. It’s the second title for the Fighting Irish, who won in 2001 but had lost in the championship game four times since then. Jessica Shepard (left) was Notre Dame’s leading scorer with 19 points.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Arike Ogunbowale floated in a three-pointer from the corner with 0.1 of a second left, lifting Notre Dame to its second women’s basketball title with a thrilling 61-58 comeback victory over Mississippi State in the NCAA championship game Sunday night.
It was the second straight game that the junior guard hit a shot in the final second to carry the Irish. Her jumper with one second remaining in overtime knocked off previously unbeaten UConn in the semifinals Friday.
With this game tied, Ogunbowale took the inbounds pass from Jackie Young, dribbled twice toward the corner and, closely guarded, lofted home an off-balance three from in front of the Notre Dame bench, nearly the same angle as her shot that beat the Huskies.
“It just felt right,” said Ogunbowale, who scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half. “I practice late-game all the time. I just ran to Jackie and said, ‘Throw it to me, throw it to me.’ ”
Ogunbowale was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
All the Irish players could celebrate after pulling off the biggest comeback in title-game history. They rallied from a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and were down five in the final 1:58. Marina Mabrey hit a three-pointer from the wing and Young had a shot in the lane to tie it.
The title came 17 years to the day after Notre Dame (35-3) won its other championship in 2001 on Easter.
“It’s Easter Sunday, and all the Catholics were praying for us,” head coach Muffet McGraw said.
When the final buzzer sounded, a wild celebration started with the Irish faithful who were part of the sellout crowd. McGraw’s team had fallen short four times in seven years in the title game, losing in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Many of the Notre Dame alums who were on teams that had fallen just short of winning a title were there to enjoy it
This version of McGraw’s squad refused to lose, and the run was even more improbable because the Irish lost four players over the season to ACL injuries.
Tied as the clock ran down, Mississippi State’s Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, and both teams committed a turnover in a wild sequence. McCowan fouled out of the game stopping an Irish fast break after consecutive turnovers and that set up the final three seconds.
“It hurts right now,” Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer said. “They played their hearts out.”
It was the second year in a row that Mississippi State (37-2) fell short in the title game. It lost to South Carolina last year after ending UConn’s record 111-game winning streak.