Notre Dame tops UConn in classic overtime affair

COLUMBUS, OHIO » Arike Ogunbowale’s jumper from the corner with 1 second left lifted Notre Dame to a 91-89 overtime victory over UConn Friday night in the national semifinals.

She finished with 27 points and Jackie Young had a careerhigh 32 to lead the Irish back to the championship game for the first time since 2015.

It’s the second consecutive year an undefeated UConn team lost in the Final Four on a lastsecond shot in overtime. Last time it was Mississippi State and Morgan William, ending the Huskies’ 111-game win streak.

The Irish will face the Bulldogs on Sunday night in the title game. Muffet McGraw’s squad will be looking for its second national championship to go with the one the Irish won in 2001.

Ogunbowale had a chance to seal the game in the final minute of overtime, but she missed two free throws. Crystal Dangerfield then hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 89, setting up the fantastic finish. The Huskies threw the ball down the court after the 3, but didn’t get a chance to tie it.

This was the latest chapter in the greatest current rivalry in women’s basketball. The sellout crowd that included Lakers great Kobe Bryant, who was sitting behind the Huskies bench with his wife and daughters, saw quite the show with epic comebacks from both teams. MISSISSIPPI STATE 73, LOUISVILLE 63 » Teaira McCowan had 21 points and 25 rebounds to help Mississippi State reach the national championship game for the second straight year with an overtime win over Louisville.

Down three points, Roshunda Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 59 with seven seconds left in regulation. Louisville’s Myisha Hines-Allen then drove the length of the floor but missed a layup as time ran out with McCowan dogging her.

In overtime, the Bulldogs asserted themselves and Morgan William, who hit the game-winning shot in OT last year in the Final Four to end UConn’s 111game winning streak, made two free throws in the last minute to help Mississippi State (37-1) pull away.

Louisville (36-3) managed just one basket on 10 shots in the extra period.

McCowan broke the rebounding mark set by Charlotte Smith of North Carolina in 1994 when Mississippi State’s 6-foot-7 center grabbed her 24th board.

Asia Durr scored 18 for Louisville (36-3), which was making its third appearance in the Final Four.

RON SCHWANE — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale, right, hits the game-winning shot as Connecticut’s Napheesa Collier, left, defends during overtime in the semifinals of the women’s NCAA Final Four on Friday in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame won, 91-89.