Irish book return trip to final
Mallory hits two threes in overtime
DENVER — Notre Dame will have a chance to win its second NCAA women’s basketball championship after it ousted arch-nemesis Connecticut 8375 in overtime Sunday for the second consecutive year.
The Fighting Irish (35-3) will meet top overall seed Baylor, a 59-47 winner against Stanford, on Tuesday for the title.
Natalie Novosel scored on a follow shot with three seconds remaining to force overtime after Connecticut used an 8-0 run to take the lead with 11.8 seconds left.
Brittany Mallory was 0-for-4 on three-pointers before hitting two in the extra period. Her free throw with 41.1 seconds left gave the Irish a five-point lead that Uconn could not overcome.
“We put ourselves in position to win the game in regulation, then when we got into overtime, we just didn’t have enough,” Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said. “Brittany Mallory made two huge shots. That’s who we wanted to shoot the ball, and, God bless her, she stepped up and made shots.”
Notre Dame coach Muffet Mcgraw said persuading Mallory to return this season was her best recruiting job.
“I am euphoric right now for Brittany Mallory,” Mcgraw said. “What a way for a senior to come through like that in one of her last games of her career.”
Mallory’s primary role is as a lockdown defender. Her 5.8point scoring average is lowest among the starters.
“But my teammates kept talking to me, ‘You’re going to hit a shot,’ ” Mallory said. “I didn’t get down on myself. We didn’t want this to be our final game.”
Notre Dame and Uconn (33-5) were playing for the fourth time this season. The Irish won the regular-season matchups before Connecticut triumphed in the Big East final.
A year ago, Notre Dame derailed Uconn’s drive to a third consecutive title with a 72-63 win in the semifinals. But the Fighting Irish lost to Texas A&M in the final, and that disappointment led Mallory and Devereaux Peters to return as graduate students in an attempt to erase those memories.
Uconn led 36-33 at the half Sunday on the strength of 55.2% shooting. Stefanie Dolson hurt the Irish inside with 12 points, while Notre Dame struggled to get good looks in its halfcourt offense against a team allowing a nation-low 46.1 points a game.
The Irish had the first four points of the second half to take the lead, and Dolson went to the bench with 17:19 to go with four fouls. Uconn trailed 54-49 with just over 10 minutes left when Dolson returned.
Dolson finished with 20 points. Bria Hartley added 18 points as five Huskies hit double figures. But Notre Dame got 20 points off 21 Uconn turnovers.
Novosel led the Irish with 20 points, while Peters had 17 and 12 rebounds. Skylar Diggins had 19 points.