ANOTHER OVERTIME HEARTBREAKER
Notre Dame ends UConn’s title hopes, beats Huskies 91-89 in Final Four classic
Columbus, Ohio — Most interpretations of the situation might have suggested dire circumstances Friday night for the UConn women:
Playing Notre Dame, the school famous for so many religious connotations, on Good Friday?
And sure enough, the school that’s famous for the occasional sports miracle, pulled off another one.
The Irish, beset by four different injuries all season, nonetheless stunned the Huskies, 91-89, in overtime at Nationwide Arena.
The loss, UConn’s first of the season, sent the Huskies home in the national semifinals for the second straight year.
And it happened the same way: on a buzzer beater. Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale made a long jumper with one second remaining.
“I just had to shoot it at the last minute. I didn’t want them to have a chance to get the ball,” Ogunbowale said.
Notre Dame will play Mississippi State in the national championship game Sunday at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs eliminated UConn in last year’s semifinals on Morgan William’s buzzer beater, a frequent talking point at this season’s Final Four and a shot that has vaulted into women’s basketball lore and legend.
UConn (36-1) blew an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, hurt by turnovers and an inability to score from the perimeter. But the Huskies forced overtime, rallying from a five-point deficit in the final 20 seconds.
UConn, once a victim of a three-game losing streak against Notre Dame in 2013, hadn’t lost to the Irish in seven straight games.