The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Irish win with last-second shot
Ogunbowale hits Easter basket right on time to take title.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Arike Ogunbowale hit the shot of her life — again.
Ogunbowale floated in a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.1 seconds left, lifting Notre Dame to its second women’s basketball title with a 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 3 in front of the Notre Dame bench. Close to the same spot on the court where she took down the Huskies, too.
“It just felt right,” said Ogunbowale, who scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half. “I just ran to Jackie and said, ‘Throw it to me, throw it to me.’”
Ogunbowale earned most outstanding player honors for 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 3-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’s only other championship in 2001 on Easter. “It’s Easter Sunday, and all the Catholics were praying for us,” said coach Muffet McGraw, wearing floral shoes in honor of the holiday. This was her 800th win at Notre Dame and the 888th of her career.
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.
Tied as the clock ran down, Mississippi State star Teaira McCowan missed a layup with 27.8 seconds left, and both teams turned the ball over. McCowan then fouled out, stopping an Irish fast break, to set up the final 3 seconds. The Irish (35-3) were buoyed by foul trouble by Mississippi State that saw all five starters with three fouls in the third quarter.
It didn’t look good for the Irish in the first half. After getting out to a 12-6 lead with 3:41 left in the opening quarter, Mississippi State outscored Notre Dame 24-5 the remainder of the half. At the same time, McCowan and Victoria Vivians were powering the Bulldogs offense.
Vivians finished with 21 points and McCowan 18 to go along with 17 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs (37-2).